<p>Has anyone been faced with the issue of losing most of their AP credits by going to a top 15 school?</p>
<p>By the time my son graduates, he probably will have gotten a "3" or more on FOURTEEN different AP tests. And all you need in Florida is a "3" to earn college credit. He has already passed 8 exams, and is taking 6 more before he graduates high school. </p>
<p>So that's 14 courses, and probably about 42 college credits, which is almost 1 1/2 years of college credit.</p>
<p>That seems like a lot to give up. If he went to the state school (either University of Florida or Florida State), it seems that he could graduate in 2 1/2 years.</p>
<p>Since he is planning on going to graduate school, would it make more sense simply to go to the state university, unless perhaps he got into a Harvard type school?. (He would probably earn admission to the honors program at the state university) </p>
<p>Has anyone else had to deal with this issue when deciding which college to attend?</p>
<p>Go to state. I brought 60 credits with me to UF and I got a scholarship for a full ride… Most of my friends who brought as much hours got substantial money. Worth looking into. I’m an Engineering major who is already being recruited by GE and Disney for CoOps and Internships. Also, I emphasize this if he decides to do grad school. Go cheap on undergrad so you can afford a stelllar grad school</p>
<p>Ufgator:</p>
<p>Did they give you scholarship money at UF just because you have a lot of AP credits?</p>
<p>Also, on another note, I am not even 100% confident he will get into UF, let alone earn scholarship money, because I have seen threads on CC where kids with great gpa’s and great SATs complain that they got rejected at UF, while they were admitted to more prestigious schools.</p>
<p>Why don’t you let him decide? It’s not your choice, and IMO you shouldn’t pressure him to pick a different school just because he’ll graduate sooner. Let him go where he thinks he’ll enjoy his college life.</p>
<p>14 ap courses, lol?? He has a substantial chance of getting in…</p>
<p>UF is competitive but not that competitive. And since you are instate you have a better chance as well.</p>
<p>Kudryavka</p>
<p>Dad gets to have some say because he is paying the bill. Even if his kid gets a full scholarship there is usually other costs not covered.</p>
<p>I had a problem with my dd choice because it took less of her IB and AP credits. Made me a little upset but after a while you get over it. I think most of the top tiers accept 5’s on AP and 7’s on IB tests. Some make you have a set amount of them and then grant a full year. </p>
<p>It is so hard not to take the best cheapest college when it is offered. I would wait until you had all your offers before deciding and don’t apply just because you think you will get something. We were very surprised about what happened with our dd.</p>
<p>If you go to grad school, employers look at what grades you got in undergrad, not where you went. If you feel like you can get into Harvard after 2 1/2 years at UF, go for it. Unless your son has his heart set on a specific top 15 school. For UF, if you can get a scholarship, you can save sooooooooo much money. It makes a big difference for grad because you don’t get much financial aid for it.</p>
<p>I would disagree about UF not being competitive. Last year saw 29,429 applications with 11,249 admissions of which about 6,800 for Fall, 2800 for Summer B and the remainder for Spring 2012. This year atleast 25% will be required to go only in Summer and Spring with no Fall semester attendance during the 4 years. Projected applications for Class of 2016 are expected to reach between 32,000-33,000 which would mean that acceptance rate would be 35-36%. Remember there are only 6,400 slots available in the Class of 2016. This is by its terms competitive.</p>
<p>It depends if you think college is simply a means to a diploma or if you are actually hoping to gain a college education. I am not saying there is a right or wrong answer here and for some, the financial realities might now allow a choice, but you are really talking about two different experiences. I believe those two experiences would provide very different outcomes in terms of education and personal growth.</p>
<p>I also don’t believe that a high school AP class is in any way equivalent to the course that would be taught at a top 15 university.</p>
<p>My oldest daughter is attending a top 20 university that did give credits for her AP 5s. Younger daughter–with more APs–just started a top LAC that does not give credits but uses AP scores to place students out of courses in certain subjects. I believe their robust college experience will prepare them well for graduate school and beyond.</p>
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<p>It depends on the AP course and the course at the university. Most universities have an AP credit chart that can be found by putting “AP credit” in the search box of their web sites, though some (like Berkeley) allow each division or major department to determine AP credit policy for subject credit (which can make looking this up a hassle since it means checking each possible division or major department).</p>
<p>But when it comes to 14 AP tests, chances are that many of them are not accepted for subject credit because they do not match up to courses at the university (even a non-top university), though they may be accepted for generic (lower division) credits toward the credits needed for graduation (state schools may be more generous with generic credits since they want in-state students to graduate as quickly as possible to reduce the state tuition subsidy spent on them).</p>
<p>Only a few, like English Language and Literature, and Calculus AB and BC, seem to be pretty well accepted, with acceptance of others being less common, depending on which AP test and which university; foreign language APs are often used as a suggestion for placement, though most universities have their own placement procedures for those without AP credit.</p>
<p>Also note that many schools (including non-top schools) require or recommend a score higher than a 3 to place into a higher level course. For example, a school’s math department may suggest that only students who get a 5 on AP Calculus should move ahead, while those with lesser scores (particularly scores of 3) may want to redo calculus from the beginning.</p>
<p>Repeating AP credit may also cause the school to cancel the credits associated with the AP credit. For example, if a student gets a 3 on AP Calculus AB but then takes first semester freshman calculus, the school may cancel the credits from the AP test.</p>