<p>I apologize for what is assuredly the repetition of this subject, but what are the rules, etc.?</p>
<p>from <a href="http://www.smith.edu/admission/firstyear_faq.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/admission/firstyear_faq.php</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
What is your policy on AP classes, IB classes and college classes prior to coming to Smith?</p>
<p>A maximum of one year (32 credits) earned through any combination of AP, IB and college credit may be used for application toward the Smith degree. Credit may be used only (1) to make up a shortage of credits incurred through failure; (2) with the approval of the administrative board, to make up a shortage of credit incurred as a result of dropping a course for reasons of health; or (3) to undertake an accelerated course program.</p>
<p>Credits are recorded for scores of 4 or 5 on most Advanced Placement examinations. The credits to be recorded for each examination are determined by the individual department.</p>
<p>Smith will award up to a year's worth of credit for students who have taken part in an International Baccalaureate program. The exact amount of credit will be determined once an official copy of results has been sent to the registrar's office.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What it doesn't say there (well it does, but it's kind of reading between the lines), is that some departments do not accept AP credit to apply towards your major. History is one example I know of.</p>
<p>There is a rumor floating around on facebook that Smith doesnt actually give you any credit. AP test and such are just for placement. I'm hoping, of course, that this isn't the case...</p>
<p>I actually asked my interviewer when I was there because I have a ton of college credit (not AP's even though I plan to take a few next year). She said that they will take anything I have. Now I have no clue whether this counts towards AP's but in my case I will technically (if I am accepted and attend) be entering as a second semester sophomore. I don't see how that's possible though considering what the website says. Who should I believe?</p>
<p>I would say that you should call the registrar and check, or else wait until you get accepted and then see what they list on your transcript. I don't know why the admissions counselor would tell you that, because Smith is pretty picky about what kinds of college credit they recognize. I know from people who have transferred to Smith and from Adas who came in with credit that not everything gets accepted, or not everything gets the credit count it got at the original institution. </p>
<p>Also, traditional students can have an excess of credits and it doesn't really affect there class year. You only need 128 credits to graduate, but you can have more than that and not have to change years. Unless of course, you want to graduate early.</p>
<p>The registrar will decide what credit gets counted based on where you earned it and what it was for.</p>
<p>ah, thanks!</p>
<p>S&P's post is correct. And fwiw, I wouldn't be inclined to give many units actual credit for AP, IB, or anything else. I'd look at credit for placement as the opportunity to take so many more neat, wonderful classes that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to take, to as a way to accelerating the undergrad college experience.</p>
<p>My daughter arrived at Smith with several AP credits and several credits taken at a well-known university. This is what happened: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The actual college credits don't show up anywhere on her Smith transcript. She did not receive credit for them. Although these credits were in a foreign language, they did not result in a waived placement test. She had to take the test anyway. Still, the knowledge served her well because she was able to take higher level courses in that language.</p></li>
<li><p>Her AP credits show up on her transcript as single credits (no grades), even though she has not applied them. Essentially, they count for nothing, but they remain part of her official transcript.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the top tier of schools, AP scores are rarely (if ever) accepted as real college credits. They are used for placement only -- and only if the individual department considers the tests valid. AP credits in English might result in placing out of a freshman English class, but sometimes the top schools do not use it even for that.</p>
<p>No one arrives at Smith with sophomore status unless she was accepted as a college transfer student.</p>
<p>This was in the thing I posted on top, but you can only get Smith credit for AP classes if you need the credits to accelerate or if you need the credits to make up for a credit shortage. For each case, you need to petition, and there are rules about what counts in which instance.</p>
<p>My D graduated in spring '06 and Smith rules and procedures may well have been different for her class than those now entering, but I do want to mention one application of AP credits that worked great in her case.</p>
<p>She entered Smith with a full year of credit for AP exams taken in high school (the max Smith would allow). In addition to allowing her to take some upper-level classes in some areas of interest right off the bat, they saved us considerable money in how she applied them to enable herself to do a JYA alternative plan.</p>
<p>My D, rather than doing a "pay Smith tuition for it" junior year or semester abroad experience, used her AP credits to take a leave of absence for the fall of her junior year. Combined with the preceding summer, she got a six-month experience in China for which she was paid a salary and benefits (including private language instruction in Mandarin). She worked teaching business English to executives in a couple of locations in China (so got to move around a bit) and socialized with locals, took fitness classes at a local gym, etc.
It is hard to imagine she would have gotten any better abroad experience via sitting in a classroom.
She was able to save us a full semester's tuition and R & B (considerable savings for us as we did not qualify for FA so were full-pay) yet she still graduated with her class (actually could have graduated the January before but we allowed her to do the eighth semester at Smith taking additional courses that she might need for grad school anyway).</p>
<p>Anyhow, this worked wonderfully for her and for us and I am surprised that more people don't consider using their extra or AP credits to pave the way for a "do it yourself" abroad experience. Having actually worked professionally in a foreign country got her a lot of interest when she did her post-grad job search. She was an economics major and her business experience in a rapidly growing new economy was a real plus. Employers know that people who have already worked in a foreign country have what it takes for such potential assignments in the future.</p>
<p>My daughter was able to use her AP credits and taking extra courses while at Smith to do a one year internship her entire junior year and still graduate on time</p>
<p>Yeah I'm a current student, who entered with some college credits from the University of Minnesota. Like people have touched on, you won't enter with any sort of different standing unless you apply to accelerate by a semester or year. But that might me a good option if, you want to take time off, do a special study abroad etc. No school comparable to Smith would let you enter as a second semster sophomore unless you were a transfer. A lot of folks are in your situation with AP's, look at it as a reason why you got accepted as well!</p>