Before I begin, I just want to apologize if this is the wrong category for this question- I couldn’t really find a perfect fit.
A little background on myself, I am a rising senior looking to double major in biology and an undecided, but related, field. I have taken five AP tests and have scored relatively well on all of them. My scores are as follow:
AP World History: 4
AP US History: 5
AP Microeconomics: 4
AP Macroeconomics: 4
AP Language and Composition: 5
Assuming the college I enroll in accepts the scores I have, would they accept all of them, or is there a certain limit to how many course exemptions you can receive through AP credit? I am asking because I would rather spend my time taking various science and math related courses than english, history, etc. Money is also a big concern for me, so I am hoping my exemptions would allow me to graduate early thereby saving me money.
Thank you!
I could be totally wrong on this. Like 100% wrong! But I feel like most colleges accept all credit, but some might have a max of 30.
It totally depends upon the college. Generally, public universities are more generous than private colleges with AP credit. Private colleges will usually limit credit to the equivalent of one or two semesters, and top private colleges will not usually give credit for anything other than a 5.
However, basically all colleges list the AP credit policies on the websites, so you can search for your answer there.
Also want to note that it is important that at least some of your exam scores go towards degree requirements (typically general ed courses or intro major courses) because if you’re double majoring, you’re going to be using a good bit of your electives to fulfill the second major - if all of your AP credits end up being elective credits, you may not be saving time/money.
Try doing a web search for “[college name] AP credit”.
In some cases, giving subject credit may depend on the major or division.
If you plan to take more advanced courses, you may want to try the old final exams for the college’s course that may be skipped with the AP credit, so that you can assess your knowledge against the college’s expectations.
Mine took all AP credits (79) with a lower tier university so I was able to graduate engineering in 3 years at a place where the 4 year graduation rate in my major is 2%. Skipped all the GE courses but 3 of them that can’t be tested out of and registered as a senior during my second semester so I got most of my classes. On average my college gave each AP 3 GE credits and 3 elective units.
It really varies. The school websites will have that information. For my Ds it varied from everything (39 credit hours) to only a few taken (can’t remember exactly but I think less than 12 hours). Some also only give you the AP credit if you take and receive credit for next course in sequence. For instance, might not take AP calc for credit but might allow you to place into higher math to start with - but still would need to take a math class at that institution.
This information is often on a link somewhere on admission pages. Happy googling.
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all the help!