does good scores on advance placement exams save you money at UCs? how about other colleges? (USC? HYPSM?)
thank you i’ve been wondering this for a looooooong time.
<p>It saves you money if you can graduate early and save tuition. Otherwise, no.</p>
<p>I've heard of some kids who have good scores (4s & 5s) on LOTS of AP exams, who use this to not take those courses & take the next level (as allowed by their schools). Some folks who have gone to very academically challenging schools often choose to repeat the class & be able to devote more energy in freshman year to adjusting to a new environment, since they know much of the material from their HS AP coursework.</p>
<p>Taking the higher level courses & not re-taking the course you tested out of (which is allowed by many schools) allows students to be able to either graduate early or get a bachelors & masters in the same 4+ years it would normally take to get a bachelor's, or have more time to sample all the options college has to offer, including travel, ECs, internships, job, etc. </p>
<p>Son's GC suggested speaking with the colleges who admit son to find out whether they recommend son re-take the courses he tested well in or just get the credit & more on to the next level (or be exempted from requirements & get credit).</p>
<p>but you have to realize that by not retaking the course you tested out of, you will have forgotten a lot of the material taught since it has been a few years since you took the class. Taking the higher level courses will be difficult as you have to go back and review material from the class you tested out of.</p>
<p>A classic example is chemistry at UC Davis. One year of chemistry is required. A 5 on the AP Chem exam gives you credit for 2 quarters. But you are still required to take 2 more quarters. You will have trouble in your chem class as you will have forgotten quite alot of the chemisty you learnt in HS.</p>
<p>At Penn, you get a free credit for Chemistry, but in order to place out of their classes, you'll have to pass their internal placement exams. So that forces ppl to get back "in shape" if they want to skip.</p>
<p>Many private colleges (Stanford is one) won't let you graduate early, but having all those credits can help fulfill breadth requirements and electives, allowing for space on the schedule to pursue a double major or begin working on post graduate courses while still an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Remember that you pay tuition by the semester and not by the number of classes. You can always take an extra class.</p>
<p>Siemens give out a number of scholarships every year to people who have 5s on lots of math and science APs taken before senior year.</p>