International student with no awareness of the american education system here. I got admitted to sjsu fall 17 as a software engineering major. So I’ve learned that students take AP tests to transfer credits and save money but not quite sure how. I checked the sjsu AP credits table and my majors required courses and have picked few AP courses (30 credits). So as i have to earn 120 credits does that mean I can save upto 1 years fee (16,000$) or would that work only if i complete exactly in 3 years? I’ve been thinking of taking these AP’s and completing all required courses in 3-3.5 years and taking the rest of the time doing an internship etc. I’ve been thinking to space it out too. In this case would i have to pay the fee for 4 years? If thats the case and i take up AP do all major courses and spend the rest of the year doing other courses of my choice will i have to pay for 4 years or 4 years+extra fee for other courses. Sorry if it was confusing. I’m really confused and would really appreciate some help! Thank you! 
For full-time students, the amount you pay is based on the number of semesters it takes you to graduate. If the AP credit doesn’t reduce the time it takes to get the degree, it won’t save you money.
You don’t have to pay tuition for semesters where you don’t take classes, so if you have an co-op or internship some semester and don’t take classes, you won’t pay tuition during that time.
Remember that you’ll also need to complete general education requirements.
@halcyonheather that’s helpful. However I just want to ask one more thing. So if I take these AP’s , complete all courses required for graduation by the end of third year I don’t have to pay for the last year right ?
Also I’m an international student so I can technically only work if I gain credits for it. So “internship” is a course (CS190&CS190I) and I’ll gain 4 credits. So does that mean I’d have to pay for the 4th year also as the job is technically a “course” I’d be taking.
Anyways your comment was helpful and I’ll take the AP’s and figure the rest out when I reach the university and meet the counsellor.
AP classes / tests are taken while you are in high school. My understanding is that to take an AP course or test while you are in college, you would need to find a high school to admit you as a student - which is highly unlikely. You can’t register for AP tests on your own, you register through a high school as they are the ones who administer it. So if you are thinking to get AP credit while you are enrolled in college, I don’t think that’s a plausible option.
In college, you pay for the credits you take. Many schools have a fixed cost for credits taken as a full time student, at my son’s school that’s defined as 12-18 hours a semester. You pay per credit hour for anything over 18 hours a semester or under 12. A specific number of hours and specific courses is needed for graduation, depending on your school and major. As an example, a fairly typical major at some schools requires 120 hours, which amounts to taking 15 hours/semester. So to graduate in less than 4 years, you would need to either come in with substantial college credit (through AP courses, dual enrollment credit, etc), go to summer school, or over load the number of course hours you take on a regular bases (typically not recommended as a strategy).
Does this help?
Assuming you actually graduate in three years, yes. You can delay your graduation and keep attending the school in the fourth year (which might be a good idea if you want to take advanced classes beyond what is required for the degree), but you would then pay tuition for four years.
@JustGraduate. I appreciate your help.
But are you sure that I can’t take AP course before entering college. I’m from India. Literally no school offers AP courses and the college board site allows me to register for the test. Also they recommend self study in the FAQ section.
https://international.collegeboard.org/prepare-to-study-in-the-us/ap-in-india
https://international.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/ap-india-faqs.pdf
Taking AP’s prior to entering college is normal yes. My impression was that you were considering taking AP tests while enrolled in US university. Apologies if I misunderstood the nature of your questions
From your links, it looks like AP testing in India is done at testing centers as opposed to high schools as it is in the US. The rules look straight forward, wouldn’t expect any issue with you doing that while in India. Yes you can self study. Actually self study is fine in the US as well, home schooled students do it regularly. They work with a local high school to take the test.
In the US, most students who take AP exams do that at their own high school. Most people take them while they are still in high school. However, anyone who wants to take an AP exam can. They just have to pay for it and they have to find an exam center that has space for them on that date.
You should check the SJSU website to find out if CLEP exams are accepted for credit. They are shorter and a bit easier than the AP exams. Also you can take them at any time in the year so you wouldn’t need study for many dfferent exams at the sametime.
Since you mention SJSU specifically, the base tuition for students taking >6 units in a fall or spring semester is a flat price, but students who are not California residents pay $372 per unit non-resident extra tuition on top of that. In addition, fewer semesters of attendance can save on living expenses.
http://www.sjsu.edu/bursar/fees_due_dates/tuition_fees/index.html
http://www.sjsu.edu/faso/Applying/Cost_of_Attendance/
If you are able to earn enough units and subject credit for your major and general education requirements from AP scores, then you can complete your degree in fewer semesters and units than the nominal 8 semesters and 120 units, reducing overall costs.
Also, you need to be aware that some AP credits are used as elective credits by universities; this means that the AP course credit you receive, may not apply to your university graduation requirements. These credits may or may not shorten your time at a university. You have to ask your university. It is university specific.
I second taking CLEP exams to place out of General education classes. Go to College Board’s website, they administer CLEP.
You can take AP exams before entering college to possibly gain course credit. Do you have, or will you have before college, any high level international Baccalaureate (IB) exams? Those could also qualify for credit, see http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/catalog/ib.html. You can finish in less than 4 years with AP or IB credit coming in. CLEP , mentioned above, is also a possibility for credit, see http://testing.sjsu.edu/clep/
With a semester based college like SJSU, you typically have to complete a certain number of smester credit hours, called “units” at SJSU, to graduate; 120 for most majors. 120 averages out to 15 a semester, a typical load, although at SJSU you can take up to 19, and after freshman year via petition, possibly up to 21 units a semester. Many single courses are 3 units a semester but some are higher and some lower. Being able to graduate depends on completing the total number of units (with accepted AP and IB units counting toward total) and required courses regardless of how long it takes, e.g., if you can do it in three years, you can graduate in three years. Note, however, it is incorrect to assume you can complete all requirements to graduate by end of third year and then, instead of graduating, delay your graduation for another year and take an odd course or two. As you will see from link below, you would still have to pay tuition for those extra courses and pay about $1,000 in semester “fees,” so you should plan to graduate when you have the first opportunity to do so.
Mentioned above is the common way of charging tuition at many colleges, in that a full time student, taking 12 to 18 semester hours in a semester pays the same total tuition regardless of how many hours they take in that range, i.e., it cost the same for 12 hours as it does for 18. There are also certain “fees” per semester added on that usually do not vary according to number of hours. Unfortunately as to the tuition cost, the CSU’s including SJSU are different, particularly when it comes to out-of-state students, including internationals. A California resident currently pays $2736 in tution per semester if taking any number of units more than 6. An international has to pay that amount plus $372 for every unit taken; meaning, for example, you pay that extra $372 per unit for 15 units if you take 15 but for 18 units if you take 18. There are also fees on top of that tuition, see http://www.sjsu.edu/bursar/fees_due_dates/tuition_fees/fall/index.html
If you do a full time internship during a semester and take no courses, you may or may not have tuition to pay for the semester (e.g., some majors provide some unit credits for internships and thus you may need to pay for those unit credits) Also, the fees other than tuition will likely have to be paid.