My state favors DE, and if DE is offered, AP is not. You want your kids to appropriately challenge themselves. If they get college credit, great! If they don’t, well the experience was hardly a waste. My kids went to private colleges, in the same state where they got the DEs, so that may be the difference, but they went in with 29 and 44 credits. Not all “counted.” For instance, they went in with 12 and 16 AP/DE hours of lab sciences. For one, who majored in nursing, none counted as the major requirements were more specific for nursing. For the other, 4 were needed for gen ed and the rest were extra. Your kids should take what they want to explore or already love. If you can afford the fees without hardship, pay f do the credits and hope for the best.