@“aunt bea” I agree with your caution flags and they are very helpful.
I just want to clarify, I am not recommending any thing specific here. Like many of you, I am also sharing thoughts and options to consider.
In our case, we didn’t know about 3 year track possibility until my son called UCLA and went over his APs with them for his intended major’s graduation requirement. Even though he may or may not choose UCLA, this information can help to save up to 65K for people with similar path. These are the things universities won;t share proactively. Each school is different in crediting APs and allowing “Preset credits” at college level, So I always encourage students to communicate with school and also discus with parents for their inputs.