<p>I want to find out how the process to redeem credits given by AP test scores works, assuming that I meet a college's requirements. I'm not sure when I should do it, but I sure don't want to take the classes that I don't need to take! I'm pretty sure plenty of people on this site have done this before, so can I get some clarification?</p>
<p>I am going to assume you are asking about when you go to college that you will get credit for like a 5 on bio test then can get bio 101 credit? This totally depends on the college. D1 went to a college that gave no AP credit - period. all first year classes had placement exams. D2 went to a college that gave credit based on the exam and the score - for instance bio 5 got 4 credits, bio score 4 got 3 credits, bio score 3 none. usually the website of the college will break it down for you and tell you what they will give. but you have to keep in mind that you have no idea what score you will get until you take the test. most people take ap tests if they plan on applying to several schools and are not sure which ones they get into. i know the tests can be pricey- some high schools pay for them, others you pay for them…good luck</p>
<p>You send the AP score report to the college.</p>
<p>The college’s web site should indicate what credit and placement each AP score can give you. (Sometimes, specific departments or majors have AP score policies specific to that major.)</p>
<p>However, if the course you may skip with AP credit is a prerequisite to a more advanced course you plan to take, it would be a good idea to review the college’s final exam for that course so that you can be sure that you know the material from the college’s point of view.</p>
<p>When you are checking the college’s Web site for their AP policies, make sure you pay close attention to the maximum number of AP credits they’ll accept. My daughter’s college only accepts 24 AP credits which isn’t even a full year. A neighboring state U would have given her almost two years worth of credit (she also had credit from three college classes that counted in the total).</p>
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Yeah, I looked up the specifics on the Collegeboard site. I am aware that some colleges don’t accept AP Credit. What I was asking was that assuming that they did, what methods would I use to redeem the college credit?
Thanks for the advice so far, will look into each individual college’s policies</p>
<p>For my daughter, she had her senior year AP test scores sent to the college she decided to attend (the college Web site will have the College Board code for you to fill in on the tests). The College Board sends all AP scores to the college whether the student took the test that year or earlier. She worked with her college advisor to figure out which scores to use. </p>
<p>She was accepted to a state U early on and sent her junior year AP scores to that college and they automatically entered her scores for her along with her college classes because she had to send a college transcript when she applied. </p>
<p>So, I would think each school could apply the credits differently but you can find out how it’s done after you are accepted as long as you’ve figured out their AP policies befoe you apply (like the minimum score needed for credit, maximum number of credits, if the credits count for skipping basic courses, etc.) so you can use that information when making your college decision.</p>
<p>And some college will not give you credit for the AP, but you won’t have to repeat the course. You can use the class for a prereq for a higher level class or just take something else for your lower division credits.</p>
<p>I just realized my answer was probably confusing. My daughter applied to several colleges but only sent her scores to one state U her junior year (her safety) because it’s free to send the scores if you indicate the college on the test. She then had all her scores sent to the college she’s now attending when she was taking her senior year AP tests. By the time she took the tests she had made her college decision so, once again, it was free to send the scores. Both school handled the distribution of AP credits a little differently.</p>
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So you’re saying that your daughter is just allowing herself to receive more college credit if her scores qualify? When I was taking AP Tests as a high school sophomore and junior, I didn’t want to send free scores since I didn’t want to look bad when applying to colleges later in case I did poorly. I guess once you’re accepted your AP score can only help you?</p>
<p>You will need to have the scores sent by AP to the school you attend. This you will do shortly before attending- ie not during the application process but in the spring/summer you graduate from HS (when you know where you will go). AP credits could be used as prerequisites for signing up for classes but the AP credits were not added to the college record until the first semester was completed at son’s U. They may have changed it since his recent tenure but then it meant that you didn’t get the credits that could bump you up to sophomore standing for earlier spring semester registration. The AP credits became part of your college transcript and counted towards graduation. The type and number of credits depended on the AP course and test score. High scores could mean credit for a specific university course, a passing one could mean only humanities or such credit. Double check on which AP scores are sent- son didn’t use the same identifier all years and so needed to make a second request to have all scores from all AP tests taken sent to his U.</p>
<p>Even if the college you attend doesn’t allow AP credits the AP courses and exams are still a useful learning tool.</p>
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<p>The Collegeboard site is less reliable than the colleges’ own web sites. For some colleges, the AP credit listing on the Collegeboard site is almost completely incorrect.</p>
<p>In most cases, simply having the AP scores sent to the college will be sufficient. However, if the college has new frosh pre-registration before AP scores are released, then you may have to guess what your AP score will be when choosing courses whose placement depends on your AP scores.</p>
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<p>In a few schools, credit units from AP scores may count against a credit unit limit, although you may have the option of refusing some or all of your AP scores. An example would be AP credit units beyond 9 at Texas public universities for the purpose of collecting the $1,000 rebate for graduating without attempting too many credit units worth of courses: <a href=“http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=447[/url]”>College For All Texans: $1,000 Tuition Rebate for Certain Undergraduates;
<p>In a few other schools, if the AP scores allow placement into a more advanced course, the school does not allow retaking the course that you would skip, even though some students and most other schools do this if they are not confident in their knowledge of the subject material. (This is where reviewing the college’s old final exams can help in making this decision if you are not at a school that disallows retaking courses you have AP credit for.)</p>
<p>Calzone - my daughter sent her scores both junior and senior year. I was worried about her junior year scores for the same reason you stated but she did well on all her tests. She didn’t do so well on her senior year tests (not all of them–she took 6–were a 4 or 5 so a few didn’t count for college credit) but she had already been accepted.</p>
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I agree, personally I felt that not only has those courses given me valuable content, it’s allowed me to organize and take notes in the fashion that helps me the most.</p>
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Thanks for the heads up, though I usually cross-reference the info I get there with US News & World Report’s (which I don’t trust in its rankings) profiles. I will certainly double check what I have.
Sounds like I’ll have to check with the colleges later on their AP credit caps. But it doesn’t sound like a big problem, as I’ll only have 4 total AP tests by the end of my senior year (most AP Tests at my school couldn’t be taken in my frosh or sophomore year).</p>
<p>Our S attended a U that maxed AP and college credits for entering freshmen at 60, which is what he was awarded after sending the U his AP scores and the transcript from the one U course he took one summer. He did retake for credit and grade the courses he got credits for–would have had to challenge his school to get exempted. Another student we know chose to challenge and get exempted, earn two bachelors degrees and a masters in 4 years and a summer (the guy is driven). </p>
<p>The extra credits did give S standing to register earlier, so he got the courses, times and instructors he preferred. He could have graduated one, two or more terms early but chose to graduate with his peers, with our encouragement. He did get exempted out of a few courses with all his credits and graduated with many more credits on his transcript than needed.</p>
<p>Spring senior year send your scores to the college you will be attending, then look up the AP policy at that college. My kids two colleges handled them quite different. (CMU is much more generous than Tufts, but does make you take a math exam instead of just accepting the AP score.) Generally speaking in both colleges the matter of credit and placement was sorted out during the freshman class registration process with their freshman adviser.</p>
<p>OP - if you’re asking about how “should” you use credit, not “can” then I would say it depends on major. D2 goes to school that gives lots of course credit. The honors students were advised to look carefully at taking AP credit for science and math, especially if they were STEM majors. For instance, a 5 on AP chemistry could potentially put you straight into organic and they don’t really recommend that. School feels college level science is more rigorous. So, for instance, if you are premed, they recommended honors level chem or bio (and even offered a “bridge” chem for students with AP chem credit). But if you are English major and have AP science - why not take the lab credit and not have to take science in college if it’s not your thing? </p>
<p>I think you just have to look at courses individually to see if you need to continue in that area and if you feel the AP class put you in good enough shape. For my D, she took her AP English credits and had no trouble going straight to upper level English. She actually did go straight to Vector with good BC Calc score - but after we checked out text book and realized it was same one she used in HS for AP calc. She had no trouble in that class, but some friends dropped back to Calc 2 because they weren’t as confident.</p>
<p>One thing I was unaware of is that if you are thinking of going to med school be careful what you use.</p>
<p>Many med schools do not accept AP credit for pre med courses</p>
<p>My son goes to a big state flagship that takes APs for either credit or placement. He came in with a bunch of 5s in all kinds of subjects, from Calc BC to Psych, but decided not to take advantage of them all. (Idk if there was a limit on how many he could claim. he doesn’t want to finish early.) He used his English score not to take English, but he still has to take a writing course. He just chose a course in a topic he was more interested in than English per se. He used his math for placement, though the university also has a placement test, so his AP score wasn’t the deciding factor on where he placed. I think he used his Physics score in a strange way, getting credit for the lab, but using the score for placement. </p>
<p>I guess bottom line it depends on the college how AP credits can be used, and then it depends on the student how best to use them. My son claimed his credits during freshman registration after thinking about the best way to use them. He talked to his adviser, but I think he got the best advice from upperclassmen on what to do.</p>
<p>OP, I do not understand why you are not looking at the individual college/university’s website. You have said that you look at College Board’s site and check that information again US News & World Report. Neither one of those will be as reliable as the actual school’s website. If you are in the research stage of determining where you will apply, check each school’s site. All of them should have a stated current AP policy.</p>
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<p>If the college’s old final exams for the course that you may skip with AP credit are available, then you can use them to check how well you know the material from the college’s expectations.</p>