AP's -- a scam!?

<p>ap credits seems to be accepted less at colleges now.</p>

<p>agh. you don't get college credit that matters. unless you take a really easy major that only wants 70 credits in that field, and you need like 120 to graduate, and so you can graduate early. other than that, ivies only give you elective credit that doesn't count toward your major. so it's pretty worthless if you take a hardcore major like engineering, cs, etc. it might work for you if you take Mass Comm at Cal, though. LOL.</p>

<p>ebony,</p>

<p>I disagree with your analysis. It really comes down to the school and thier policy. Most schools have either a core or distribution requirements. Many schools enable you to use your APs to satisfy these requirements. Further, if the AP test is within your desired major, i.e Mathematics of Engineering, you get placed into the advaced Math Class if you get a 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC test.</p>

<p>With that all said, you should not take the AP tests just to test out of certain requirements of a school. Further, many schools have their own tests that they administer during orientation that provide either credit or placement that are similar to the APs. See the link to the University of Chicago site I posted earlier.</p>

<p>they don't. Again, my cousin is at Berkeley and she got a 5 on AP Bio and an 800 on the SAT II Biology - and she's still taking Bio 1 at Berekely. Because those schools don't let you use AP grades to fulfill their core requirements - you only get elective credit! I know a bunch of people - at Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, LA, etc. U of C may be an exception; but I am fairly sure (since my cousin also got accepted there) that they also only give you elective credit. One unique thing Yale does do is give you advanced placement for AP grades - yeah, you move up on the class tree. HOWEVER, and esp. if the AP test is in your desired major, they make you take the class again. AGAIN, most college classes are culmulative, hence you need a good foundation. So if you are majoring in math they will MOST DEFINITELY make you take Single Variable Calculus again because that's the foundation for Multivariable, Differential, Linear Algebra, etc. </p>

<p>For most of the ELITE colleges, they only give you elective credit. APs do not satisfy core requirements - even at UCI. Yeah, U of C may give you their own tests - but that's only b/c they don't accept AP credit to fulfill reqs. </p>

<p>I think if you actually researched the policies of these colleges (or speak with people who actually attend them) you'll see that colleges place a huge emphasis on the core, and esp. if the AP has to do with your major, they do not let you advance. For example - at USC everyone has to take Writing 1, no matter what your English AP grades are.</p>

<p>AGAIN, I specifically attended an interview at Stanford (just this weekend), and talked to many qualified people - a sophomore in environ science, a senior who is off to Stanford Grad School next year, another who is off to Stanford Med School. My analysis is straight from their experience. THEY DON'T LET CREDITS FROM AP GO TOWARDS YOUR MAJOR.</p>

<p>this is really a futile discussion because really, i've said this many times. If you don't want to believe me, you don't have to, but that's just the way it is at the elite colleges.</p>

<p>Ebony,</p>

<p>Sorry that your cousin has to retake Biology. Berkeley is not a big believer in the AP system. Other schools are. You appear to be limiting your search and discussion to some elite schools and not others. Here are a few schools and their Advanced Standing/Advanced Placement requirements.</p>

<p>Princeton:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/pr/admissions/u/ap/info.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/pr/admissions/u/ap/info.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'll pull out one specific statement:</p>

<p>"B.S.E. candidates need four advanced placement units, including two in physics, one in mathematics, and one in chemistry or computer science. B.S.E. candidates need a minimum of 32 courses to graduate, of which a maximum of three may be taken away from Princeton with prior approval."</p>

<p>Cornell:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/undergrad/apcred.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/undergrad/apcred.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>for one of the schools</p>

<p><a href="http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/student-services/academic-advising/academic-information/ap-credit/ap-credit-table.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/student-services/academic-advising/academic-information/ap-credit/ap-credit-table.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>for the engineering school, with placement at other levels.</p>

<p><a href="http://admissions.cornell.edu/application/international/Adv_Placement_Intl_Credentials.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.cornell.edu/application/international/Adv_Placement_Intl_Credentials.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>general AP credit at Cornell and that they also have departmental placement tests.</p>

<p>Harvard:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Efdo/publications/0304/as/general.htm#3%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fdo/publications/0304/as/general.htm#3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note that they have departmental placement tests.</p>

<p>BTW, here is what Stanford says:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/academic/AP.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/academic/AP.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Key phrase from the Stanford site:</p>

<p>" AP credit may be applied as elective units toward graduation and toward the major, if allowed by the major department."</p>

<p>Further, here is their chart:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/pdf/AP_Chart_2005-06.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/pdf/AP_Chart_2005-06.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note that the science and math APs are counted. At a minimum, you can get a higher placement.</p>

<p>With that all said, most of the schools are tightening their AP requirements. 15-20 years ago a student could get college credit at all or most of these schools with a score of 3 or better. I suspect your bold statements may be true in the future as they tighten the policies further but it is not yet true and requires further investigation.</p>