Having tons of AP credits allowed my kid to complete BS and MS degrees in engineering along with a couple of minors, and to take a semester off for a co-op, in 4 years. The AP credits took care of all the GER requirements, and allowed the kid to skip ahead in calc, phys, and chem.
@gwnorth - your question wasn’t directed towards me but my dd is going to be a chem e so I thought I’d chime in. Her school accepted her AP credits for: AP calc, AP Physics - both E&M and Mechanics, AP language, APUSH, AP euro, and AP stats. She also got credit for her DE courses in Spanish and Gov.
AP calc allowed her to skip ahead and start in Calc II
AP stats counts towards one of her required math electives
AP language got her out of one of her two required communications courses (AP lit doesn’t transfer in her school)
The history APs and spanish got her out of the other general ed requirements
The rest of the credits just impact her “standing” and helped her get priority scheduling for courses and housing
She opted not to try to skip ahead in chemistry at her advisor’s suggestion, and engineering physics is integrated into her required honors engineering design class.
She was just offered a co-op though and if she accepts, there will be no chance of graduating early because of course sequencing challenges.
@momofsenior1 thanks for that. It looks like the program DS19 applied to would be similar as it would give 1 semester credit for AP Calculus BC (but not Physics or Chemistry) but this school doesn’t have gen eds and this program doesn’t have any electives room until 3rd and 4th year (and there are only 3) so other APs would be of limited use.
@gwnorth - Going from memory, but I believe she got credit for Calc BC, Chem, APUSH, Language, Spanish, Stats, and maybe 1-2 more. I know she started in a Calc 3 and Organic Chem. Her university encouraged fully utilizing your AP credit.
As was mentioned above, one of the biggest benefits of having extra credits for my son was when interviewing for internships. Besides having AP and DE credits, he was able to place into upper level math and CS classes freshman year, which helped get great internships after both freshman and sophomore years. Having those internships led to multiple job offers during junior/senior year, encouraging him to do the 3 year plan.
If I recall the number of AP credits son got from WashU, the 5s in AP Euro and APUSH took care of the lower division credits for his History major. The 5 in BC took care of his math credits for his other major (Biology).
The 5 in Biology was useless since he still needed to take both of the introductory classes.
My child decided she wanted to attend university in the UK. AP scores were essential as UK universities place a lot of of emphasis on standardised tests - in fact, most don’t even ask for GPA. IB scores are well regarded too - but for most US students, the AP route will be the main way of getting in.
Good AP scores show rigor on resume college application and validate your GPA, gets you out of basic courses, helps you pick better classes, go for double or triple majors. You can graduate early. You save money. Most of all, kids who do well in lots of AP courses, are able to easily handle college academics.
If a kid is able to take advanced science or math courses in high school, for example MV Calc or Linear Algebra, and does not receive college credit, are they often allowed to try to test out of those courses and take higher level math courses instead? I know that many colleges require X credits to be received from them before granting a degree so trying to understand if kids end up repeating classes or test out?
For my son, having AP credits proved very beneficial after he got very sick during his first semester and had to drop a class. Having the AP credits allowed him to remain ahead of the curve in terms of requirements.
The answers to these questions depend on the college and major.
It is better for an advanced high school student taking more-advanced-than-AP level courses to take them at a local college, since actual college courses are more likely to be accepted for transfer credit or advanced placement than high school courses.
To my kids the important benefit of AP’s was the knowledge, as opposed to credits, earned. The idea of achieving literacy in a foreign language, an appreciation of art history, and an understanding of calculus in high school would have been unthinkable in my high school, back in the dark ages.
However, being able to avoid having to repeat what one has already learned in high school, allowing the substitution of additional electives in college, is a way of using them to extend one’s knowledge.
I.e. taking AP calculus in high school, earning an A and a 5, and then repeating calculus 1 in college throws away any advantage in gaining additional knowledge. But starting in a more advanced math course and using the additional schedule space gained by not taking calculus 1 in college for something else does help gain additional knowledge.
My D started college with second semester junior standing due to 15 AP courses and several DE courses (all gen eds completed). It will allow her to complete a triple major (dual degrees), minor, and master’s degree and spend a semester abroad where most of the credits are awarded as only elective credits.
I forgot … Way back in the day, I used AP credits to graduate in 3 years, single major.
Would those who want to eventually be accountants with CPA favor colleges that give generous credit units for AP scores, since they can count toward the 150 credits (instead of the usual 120 credits for a BA/BS degree) needed as a prerequisite for the CPA exam?
@ucbalumnus One of my D’s majors is accounting. We’re not sure at this point if she’ll go for the CPA as she seems to be headed for management consulting. But since the 150 credits required for a CPA doesn’t require a MAcc (Masters of Accountancy) it is definitely an advantage to go to a college where AP credits is awarded and the student can therefore graduate in 4 years with 150+ credits. A MAcc has no value outside of helping students reach 150 credits (additional CPA prep can be had much cheaper through a CPA course than an expensive MAcc 5th year). There is no increase in pay for a MAcc.
One of my kids did the same- graduated in 4 years with dual degrees in Accounting and Finance and went to work in IB. Used the AP credits for gen eds and electives and was able to study abroad for a semester.
For my D I would say it might have helped her graduate on time. She only took two AP classes and she also took 2 honors classes. She didn’t double major, but she did have a minor, but I don’t think it made a difference there. Overall, I don’t think her APs made a huge difference.
For my S it will probably end up being about the same