<p>I have taken the APs and all my subjects qualify for credit at my university.</p>
<p>Now, how exactly will I save money? If I join the fall batch, will I be sent to attend the classes that the spring batch (the batch that joined 6 months before me) attends? I would appreciate if you could tell me how exactly this works.</p>
<p>Also, in general terms, is a humanities subject required for people who pursue engineering?</p>
<p>If I pursue electrical engineering, then will I get credit for AP Physics C Mechanics too (if there is some kind of general engineering class attended by all, regardless of whether they are pursuing mechanical or electrical)?</p>
<p>If you take AP Mechanics you get credit for that class and don’t have to take that class in college. Since it is a required course for engineers, that opens up a spot in your schedule to allow you to take another class. It all brings you closer to your 120 or 180 credits needed for graduation. Nearly all engineering require some random humanities classes (4-5) to graduate so that checks another box required for graduation as well.</p>
<p>In reality though, it probably won’t save you money. You’ll probably end up using your AP credit to take lighter course loads or just give you some wiggle room to do something interesting rather than spending long hours in the library. </p>
<p>There are no batches of courses. Especially for the first 2 years, you pick your own path through the prerequisites. Some people like to do chem before physics. Some like to take a light first term. Some of the more crazy people like to take chem, physics, and math all at once. </p>
<p>Regardless if whether you major in Political Science or Electrical Engineering, AP credit from history to mechanics will be of great use to you and, if you wish, could use it to graduate early.</p>
<p>I’ve realized how credits open up spots and I can do a lot with it. But if I prefer to save money, is that also an option? Like, instead of filling up the freed space with another subject, I could leave it open? Like, I am already getting credits (that will count for the 120/180 needed for graduation), so I could do nothing in those freed spots. Or I could fill those spots with subjects I would anyway have to do later (thus would be finishing college earlier).</p>
<p>Thus, unless I fill those spots with something that interests me (and is not really required), I guess I will be saving money.</p>
<p>It would help to know which college you’re discussing.</p>
<p>Most colleges have a full-time rate, usually over 12 credits per semester or 8 credits per quarter. Above that number of credits, leaving a spot “open” does not reduce the cost. For example, if your schedule says to take 17 hours, and you only register for 14, you pay the same price. However, if you are able to reduce from 17 hours in a semester to 9 hours in a semester, you would pay a reduced rate (since you would be a part-time student and not a full-time student)*.</p>
<p>A more likely scenario to save money would be early graduation because of credits.</p>
<ul>
<li>If you plan to reduce your hours to part-time status, keep in mind that you may not be eligible for some scholarships, grants, and loans, your loans might trigger repayment, and you might have visa issues if you are an internationals student. You should verify all of these situations before registering part-time.</li>
</ul>
<p>Each U has its own rules about what your requirements are for graduation. For some of them, you can get the credits for your APs and sone WON’T give you ANY credits for them. Some will exempt you from some required classes while others won’t. It also varies by school and department within the U. For example, if my S had wanted to get a non-engineering degree, he could have graduated a year early! For engineering, they did NOT allow him to exempt out of many courses. It did make his first years a good review, since he had already covered so much of the material in HS.</p>
<p>Most schools have a lot of required courses for engineering, so there is not much latitude, even if you come in with a lot of APs. One other advantage of coming into the U with lots of credits (from APs & completing college courses while in HS) is that registration is often determined by how many credits you have completed. S was a sophomore (by credits) whe he started, so he has always gotten to register early, giving him more choices.</p>