<p>My school has a very rigid schedule with a lot of required courses, and we only get a choice of one elective every year until senior year. I'm currently a junior, and by the end of the year I will have finished only 3 AP classes. I have a few AP classes I still want to take but I don't think they will all fit in my schedule for senior year. So is it worth it to study on my own for the AP exam and take it without taking the course? Are there any benefits to doing that? Will it count on my transcript when I apply for college? Will I get credit for it in college?</p>
<p>The only major benefit is the credit for college. However, whether each college accepts the specific test is another question. Not taking the course won’t prevent you from getting credit.</p>
<p>It will not count on your transcript when you apply for college (unless your method of self-study is taking an accredited online class, which isn’t really self-study anyway). You can self-report the score you get on the exam when applying to colleges (what I am doing with a couple of exams that I got 5’s on but did not take the AP class for), but AP exam scores are not a large factor in college admissions anywhere. If you score well and the college you end up attending takes AP credits for your score, then you will have credit in college. The major benefit to self-studying or to taking an AP exam without having taken the actual class is the credit that can potentially help you opt out of gen ed classes.</p>