<p>I appreciate that test scores may be more important for homeschoolers not armed with traditional classroom grades and GPAs. </p>
<p>DD is a skilled test taker, so no worries on this front. I AM worried, however, that the time commitment required by AP coursework will interfere with the rest of DD's academic, social, service and sporting life. </p>
<p>When I graduated near the top of my class from a highly regarded public high school in NY, I had just 2 APs under my belt. I read now about a cold war in high schools, students in an AP race to rake up more APs than humanly possible.</p>
<p>Is it OK to reconcile the possible need for AP scores by not enrolling in an online AP class, but instead studying all the material independently and then taking the test?</p>
<p>Both of my daughters did exactly that --- studying AP course material on their own and taking the corresponding tests. They never enrolled in any online classes for their AP subjects. They scored very well.</p>
<p>Hi jml, Thank you for your reply. Did their colleges give them credit as if they had taken the AP coursework? Or was the test score sufficient to receive credit?</p>
<p>The test score is sufficient to award credit. Each college has an AP policy that defines what AP score they require to receive credit and how much credit is granted. That is all based on the score alone.</p>
<p>We did most of my son's AP coursework just like we do any homeschool class - I bought a text, and assigned him work and gave him a grade. He took the test in the spring with our local private school students. Worked fine and he got as much credit as his (AP stingy :-) college allows.</p>
<p>Does the test have to be taken at a private school?
what if there is are classes and tests you'd like your student to take?
How do you go about finding a way to take the test?
Do you have to be in a certain grade to take the test and receive credit?</p>
<p>My daughter took her AP exams at the local public school. Call some of your local schools after the first of the year to see what you have to do to test there. Some are more accommodating than others. You can take the tests in any grade. Colleges grant credit based the score --- not the grade the student was in when they took it.</p>
<p>The College Board website explains homeschooler registration for AP tests pretty clearly. Look that up now. My son has fared well taking multiple AP tests, including tests in subjects not offered at the schools where he tested, at two different public high schools in successive years. </p>
<p>Self study for AP tests is fine. There is a good thread about that </p>
<p>My kids had positive experiences taking AP exams at a local private school.</p>
<p>Ds wanted to take an AP exam not offered locally by any school, public or private. Our public school system refused to give him the exam. Since oOur state has a law requiring schools to offer tests to homeschooled students, we felt that the school system needed to offer our son to take the AP exam. We ended up threatening to sue the school system in order for my son to be allowed to take the AP exam in question. Fun, fun, fun. </p>
<p>So AP exams can be a bit of a problem. We are planning on having our younger kids do AP's though!</p>
<p>I understand admissions officers will evaluate applications in the context of the opportunities available to the student. For example, the student who took the one AP course offered by their school may be looked upon more highly than a student who took only one AP course at a school that offers a full slate of AP courses. </p>
<p>And the student who doesn't challenge himself by taking the honors and AP courses, but takes the AP tests and does well, may show the committee that he is smart (or that he tests well) but that he doesn't apply himself day-to-day. </p>
<p>So if our homeschooling students have access to many different AP online providers, but we choose to completely self-study, would that possibly concern the admissions committee?</p>
<p>I can't see why it would.
I've had two kids so far go through the process with SAT Subject Tests, no courses or APs, who did just fine in college admissions.
I always suspected that self studying to a fine score was more impressive than being taken by the hand through material in a formal course.</p>
<p>I went throught the College Board AP Course Audit for all of our homeschool-study AP course, so we are allowed to use the designation just like any school. It's a bit of a hassle - you have to create a syllabus according to very strict guidelines, but it's doable. Some subjects they seem much less picky than others, so your mileage may vary. I've had quite a few courses approved.</p>
<p>lwilliams -- I usually look at the texts used by the online providers, perhaps ask some professors I know, look for online syllabuses, even the example syllabuses at College Board will suggest texts, which you can then look up reviews on.</p>
<p>I was very concerned about the Course Audit too, but now that I have been through applications with one child and five to go, I have no concerns about having the official designation. The colleges are freely using the letters "AP", and ask you to list the AP tests you have taken. </p>
<p>On the transcript, I have the course level beside the grade, and College Level is College Level - AP tests and SAT subjects are simply confirmations that the material was learned, which I conveniently list beside the grade and level. </p>
<p>My son has self studied and taken 10 APs so far, with another 5 planned for this May. We use Kaplan prep books, and I find the most highly ranked books for the course on Amazon through ListMania! and reviews. College Board makes actual teachers' syllabi available in the AP Central portion. I searched MIT's Open Course Ware and other colleges' listings to find real syllabi too. I have another portion of the transcript where I list these books we use (by class) in the order of the grade page.</p>