Looking at the graduation and major requirements at various schools, it seems as if for most majors at most schools, it would be possible to knock off a year or more (or at least a term) with AP credits so long as a kid knows what they want and sticks with a major.
So how many people actually do so?
I would think that this could change the cost equation a decent amount for full-pays.
Older discussion:
It worked out well for our family. 4 courses at a community college to an AA, then transfer in as a Junior to a state flagship with all “breadth” (general education) requirements satisfied.
Some students end up getting zero college credits from their AP/IB coursework. That’s OK because challenging coursework that helps the decide college preferences is “priceless”. If they get credit too, that’s a bonus.
(Locally we have many students that get IB diploma and do get credit at CU. But due to course sequencing, especially for engineering, it may still take 4 years to graduate.)
S entered his U with 60 semester credits due to all the APs he took. Primarily, it helped him be able to register earlier. He could have graduated a term or perhaps even a year early but we encouraged him to enjoy his time at the U and take some “fun” courses. He took sailing and geology and how to build a receiver, which he enjoyed. Another good thing was that the AP courses gave him a VERY good background so that he had no issues academically in EE and was able to focus on adjusting to college socially and building friendships. It also helped him keep and get additional merit awards, which helped keep up with increasing college costs.
We know people who graduated early or got a master’s degree because they entered with a lot of APs and were very motivated. S did get them to waive one course because of all his APs, but otherwise, didn’t really “use” most of those AP credits. We and he have no regrets anyway.
My kid went in with 30+ AP credits so was considered a 2nd year immediately. She will not graduate early but will be able to take some electives (especially multiple foreign language credits) and higher level courses in areas she’s interested in (e.g., taking 1 semester of Vector Calc instead of 2 semesters of regular Calc; starting with Intermediate Micro and Macro instead of Intro Econ classes). She also will have a semester abroad where she can take a slightly lighter class load. Due to merit money a full 4 years will cost less than we had budgeted for, so we are fine with her taking four years to explore and take some higher level classes rather than try to finish early and save some money. She (and we) knows she is fortunate to have that leeway.
AP- not the same as taking college courses in a formal college setting- The AA/community college route is not at all the same thing.
Our son had many AP credits, ended up at our flagship so those credits counted. However, he took beginning courses in math and sciences because the Honors versions had so much more than the AP versions they gave him credits for. Good for earlier registration second semester and breadth reqs (although he took plenty of course in college to meet those as well). With a math major he could have finished in three years- but would not have finished the Honors reqs nor been well prepared for grad school or the GREs. He was young to begin with, and ended up not going to grad school. He actually did a 5th year to finish a second major in comp sci and now works- is still intellectually satisfied. We could afford it- son did 5 years of college and 4 instead of 5 in elementary school- and still ahead by birth date cutoffs for most states.
There is so much more to college than just getting the credits to graduate. AP courses are great for being better prepared for college courses- they certainly are merely average and not top tier level. They do allow more flexibility when some courses not in the student’s interest can be skipped. As in post #5, being able to take more higher level courses is worth more than hitting the job market a year sooner. Enjoying a four year college experience at this age is better than adding a year to a decades long working career.
@wis75, and yet in England and much of the rest of Europe, people generally graduate from uni in 3 years and somehow manage to survive (yes, I know that the English have 2 years of college before uni that are sort of but not quite like 2 years at a CC). Would you say their maturation is stunted?
In any case, I agree that growth and maturation are big deals, but they can take place in other settings as well. Not to mention that someone could still spend 3 years worth of tuition but spread over 4-5 years with the free time spent working or on other endeavors (akin to what co-op students do).
In short, what you describe sounds more like a luxury than a necessity.
So let me pose scenario:
Family has saved enough and has enough income for 3 years at an elite or 4-5 years at a non-elite (“regular” flagship or enough merit at another non-elite).
Elite sends plenty of kids to PhD programs, prestige industries and what-not. Non-elite does not send as many.
You believe that paying for 4-5 years at the non-elite is better?
Do many elite schools allow you to AP out of a full year’s worth of courses? The ones my son applied to limited AP credit or didn’t allow it at all (except for placement). None of them came close to allowing a full year of credit.
@Otterma, to the best of my knowledge, a full year is possible at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Northwestern. Possibly more, though obviously not all.
Possible at pretty much all publics (though for some majors, it’s almost impossible).
Not true at Yale unless there’s been a recent change. The only thing my son got for his AP credits was the ability to start out at higher level classes. They did NOT count as credits at Yale in 2012.
My older son started college with 67 credits, thanks to his 13 APs/dual enrollment classes. He chose not to graduate early, as he had a National Merit scholarship that offered full tuition for four years. Instead, he did two majors and two minors. He got the chance to go to Costa Rica twice with service projects and did a study abroad in Belgium. My younger son is glad he had 56 credits thanks to AP/dual enrollment. He can do a double major in econ and finance and a minor in math. The finance major at his university is 128 credits, which is longer than many schools. He should be able to graduate on time, unlike some of his friends who need an extra semester because they did not have any credits going in.
Son was awarded 58 credits at his school. Completed a second major as he was on a full ride and stayed 4 years.
And some of these schools have the best financial aid policies. So if a student was lucky enough to get accepted there, I’m not sure why s/he would/should rush to get out.
At Harvard, AP policy is all or nothing; one can get Advanced Standing and graduate in 3 years (or, if the department allows, go for a BA/MA in 4) or else, one gets no credit - only placement. Very very few students take advantage of the Advanced Standing Option.
D13 had 42 credits going in and it has mostly helped her keep her Chem E schedule more manageable and allow her to use some of the hours for research. D16 will hopefully have 30-40 AP credits and plans to double major. If all goes as planned it should allow her to do this in 4 years without undo stress. One thing I’ve noticed in these responses is that the kids taking a lot of AP courses are also the kids getting good scholarships (obviously) so for them it’s not as much of an incentive to graduate early as it is to enhance their college experience.
D ended up graduating NYU a semester early by using AP credits. Because class registration based on # of credits the student had, she was able to register for classes early and seemed to get her choice of schedules. It was a win-win for her.
My D has 19 credits from AP, but she won’t shave off a semester from her 2 year prepharmacy program. Otherwise she would have to take Ochem 1 and 2 plus lab all in one semester. And it wouldn’t help because she would have to wait until next fall to start pharmacy school anyway.
So she is using her AP credits to be able to take fewer prerequisite credits per semester and adding a language class she would normally not have time for.
S has chosen accounting and he will be able to get 150 credits as an undergrad thanks to AP and dual enrollment. It was a mixed bag. APs got him credit for chem and a lab science. One of the dual enrollments was a macro-micro economics hybrid. His school requires a semester of both. Another dual enrollment helped him test out of stats. All of this should save us a year’s worth of paying for a MAcc.
I used AP credits to graduate a year early. My D won’t. She plans to use AP credits so that she can triple major, minor, and study abroad. AP credits are great because they allow choices.
I have heard of University of Alabama being very generous with AP credit.
I know of several students there who double majored or finished a master’s degree as well as bachelor’s degree in 4 years, thus saving them money for the master’s degree.