<p>It seems like most students that are accepted to UNC come with several credits from AP classes, how do the majority of students utilize this? i.e. - take more advanced classes, graduate early, double major, start graduate classes??</p>
<p>You can use it in whatever way suits you. Another option is to take a lighter load the first semester until you get acclimated to college life.</p>
<p>My daughter came in with 30 AP credits and essentially started out as a sophomore. She is taking next semester off to travel and volunteer abroad – but will still graduate on time.</p>
<p>momof2- So is that officially a GAP semester that your D is taking after her freshman year? Is that something that she officially applies for through the school so that she doesn’t have to re-apply? I think that sounds like a really great plan and would like to see my D do the same. It looks like she too will start with around 30 credits. When and how to they determine how many credits you already have? (I saw the charts but my D took a handful of SAT Subject tests too and it looks like she can get some credits for those as well as the AP’s.)</p>
<p>What are your D’s plans for her GAP semester? Is she going alone or with a group? Planning the whole thing herself or with help from the school? I’m sure that it will be a life changing semester for her!</p>
<p>Turtle - during orientation prior to her first year, her advisor informed her of the actual number of her incoming credits (most were AP and some were from a CC course offered at her high school). He’s the one that planted the seed that she should consider how she wanted to use those credits (ie graduating early, taking fewer credit hours/semester, etc.). </p>
<p>She consulted with her advisor about how best to handle the gap semester. He suggested that she withdraw for the fall semester (to avoid paying tuition and fees) and then reapply for admission in for the spring semester. He was required to tell her that readmission isn’t guaranteed but he assured her that due to her high GPA and some other issues, he didn’t foresee a problem. He pointed out that students take semesters off all the time for a variety of reasons. he also suggested that she apply for several grants that are available thru the school for just that thing.</p>
<p>She will be volunteering in Guatamala for 10 weeks beginning in July. She will live with a family, take Spanish lessons in the morning and teach English in the afternoons. From there, she will travel to Buenos Aires with another organization where she will have an 8 week internship with an NGO. Her goal is to become fluent in Spanish and gain actual experience, while pursuiing her passion for Latin American Studies (she’s a History/Latin American Studies double major with a Spanish minor). She organized this all on her own and is traveling with two different organizations. </p>
<p>I guess the best part here is that UNC CH is very flexible, open and supportive. Coming in with all those AP credits allowed her to jump right into her major and take upper level classes as a first year. It also made it easier for her to pursue a double major and minor. It sounds like your daughter will have similar opportunities. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>momof2- Thank you so much for the information. It sounds like your D has a really great advisor! We might want to keep in touch with you as that sounds like something that my D might want to mirror. Languages come very easily to her and she is currently in AP Spanish. I could see her wanting to become fluent and minoring in it.</p>
<p>I’m not crazy about having to withdraw and re-apply but it would be nice not to have to pay tuition for the semester. It seems odd that you could get grants from the school but not have to be a students while you do it.</p>
<p>What are the two organizations that she is working with? You mentioned NGO but I am not familiar with that.</p>