<p>This is a question for those of you that have taken/scored well on several AP exams, and I know that there are many of you out there. Was it really worth it? For the student that went into college with 15 or more credits, did you use all of them? Or were some just unnecessary? Was it worth all of the time you put in in high school? </p>
<p>I have heard a lot of people say that they wish they had taken more AP, but I wanted to know if there are students out there that feel the opposite. Thanks</p>
<p>I took 12 AP’s in high school, and I can actually use 10 of them. Overall, I would say it was useful to have taken all of those AP’s because they took the number of General Education classes I need to take from like 40 credits, down to about 15-20. That has made a double major very do-able for me. I am doing Engineering, so Calc AB/BC, Chem, and both Physics C exams can be used for my major, while the other ones count towards General Education requirements.</p>
<p>In the long run, I don’t wish I had taken any more or less than I took. More would have required self-study, and I didn’t think the classes were particularly difficult as a whole. I wish that I did better on 2 exams (US History and English Lang) so that I got more credit, but beggars can’t be choosers.</p>
<p>AP’s are worth it if you score well, but I wouldn’t say they are worth sacrificing other things. I took 7 AP’s my senior year because I could handle that without changing anything else I did in high school. If you can only handle 4 or 5, then do it. Generally, outside of engineering, you won’t use the majority of your credits for your major anyway. My friend going into Journalism can only use like 1 AP out of his like 6 for his major.</p>
<p>It really all depends on which college you end up attending–some schools will accept 3s and others won’t give you credit for any score. The only universal rule is that you should take as many APs as you can reasonably manage, given whatever amount of time and energy you want to devote to schoolwork. You can never really “waste” them because even if you don’t get credit, all the work you do in high school will prepare you that much better for college and prove your ability to prospective schools. That’s the whole point of an AP course, actually.</p>
<p>Also, it’s probably good to have a variety of subjects rather than all science or all history, because that gives you the most flexibility in applying them to your major.</p>
<p>I took ~10 AP exams in high school, and my college gives credit for all of them, which means I’ll be able to graduate a year early. So, was it really worth it? Yes, it’s saving me tens of thousands of dollars. :P</p>
<p>Depending on the school you go to and what you major in, it can really be worth it.</p>
<p>I took 21 AP tests, and if I go to our state university I will get thousands of dollars worth of credit for it</p>
<p>Protip:
Pick a university you may go to (a nearby state school if you can’t pick)
Find a page that tells you what a test gives you credit for (class numbers, ENG 301, etc.)
(hard part) Find a list of degree requirements for a major that interests you</p>
<p>Believe it or not, World History isn’t that likely to help. US History is extremely likely to help.</p>
<p>(but don’t completely discount things you don’t see, as you may need them to fulfill some elective requirement or broad category)</p>
<p>I took 12 tests and all 12 could get me credit at my school - but some would have absolutely no use to me. Thus, I am only going to claim 8, because they give useful credit. Just because you get credit doesn’t mean you can graduate earlier.</p>