Have a question about DE for those of you with older kids: How easy was it to get college credit for the DE class? I’m trying to figure out whether D should take the AP test for a DE class she is taking next year to get the college credit.
@itsgettingreal17 it was a very mixed bag for us as SS11 went to a private school so much of it did not transfer in. Had he gone to a state school I believe it would have been a much better result.
Some schools will have transfer links online and you can look up to see if certain things have been submitted before and if so, what they might get for it. I know the one DE class S17 has, while it might “count” for credit instate, it really only counts for math placement and as an elective…largely meaningless for most colleges. However, the same can be true for many of the AP tests so you’d want to compare. If it’s not till next year though, lots of time to figure that one out!
@eandesmom That is probably more of a factor of being part of a sorority than what happens on your avg public college campus. My kids have never encountered any situation where an entire dorm floor or college-based “house” went on a trip as unit vs. their just doing things with friends. That is different b/c the sense of exclusion is different.
D15 had DE credits and also went to a private school. She had to work hard to get her credits to transfer. This included submitting the syllabi for the classes she had taken, textbook used, and some papers she has written for the classes so the school could evaluate their rigor. This was more difficult than it sounds because she took these classes over a period of two years and hadn’t kept all of the syllabi (she had to recreate them by finding them posted on the web or e-mailing the professors who taught the classes). She was surprised when they allowed her to transfer 4 of her classes over. Frankly, it was easier to get the credit for the AP class. We learned a lesson for S17 - Keep all of the course material in case…
@itsgettingreal17 Depending on the course, the content may not line up well with the exam.
FWIW, my ds was able to get credit for all of his courses. For some universities he had to provide textbook and syllabus info. I would suggest your dd hang on to the syllabus for any DE courses.
It really depends on the school and course. Not very helpful I know!
@CaucAsianDad Congrats to your D on the job!
@itsgettingreal17 What’s the corresponding AP test? Is it one that your target schools likely give credit for? How well would the DE class align with the AP class content – that is, how much extra study required? We don’t have older kids, but have thought about this issue a fair bit.
@itsgettingreal17 One thing to consider is that by the time of APs next year you will know where your child is attending. So you can always sign up for the AP exam and have them skip it or take it depending on the college and their DE policies. It might be money lost, but at $100 or so per exam it is possible.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek perhaps. Though I wouldn’t say the whole house went but there were always people who could, and those who could not. Which really isn’t any different in HS. Large, expensive FL, Drama and Music trips happen many/most years at our school. There is some fundraising but the reality is that not all can go for financial reasons. I suspect that each child’s tolerance for that in college, feeling excluded or like they were missing out, varies tremendously. I know for the 4 in our house, it would bug 2 of them (not enough to sway their choice of school but bother a bit nonetheless) one could care less and one would care…only if he thought it put him at an educational disadvantage lol. I have one right now that is mightily peeved I won’t pay for a fall dama trip to London. He will get over it. Or get a job.
To a degree to expose kids to the variety of financial situations out there, the disparity and having them learn how to manage any jealousy they may have…is not a bad thing. However if it is at the expense of self esteem…it is.
Thanks everyone. It’s AP microeconomics. Her school only offers AP macroeconomics, so she is taking that. Microeconomics has to be taken DE. But they do offer the AP exam at her school. She is trying to get credit for both now since they are accounting pre-reqs/lower level classes.
I guess there are
- rich people who are aware of non-rich people around them and sensitive to their needs and situation,
and
-
rich people who are so oblivious to non-rich people around them and clueless about their needs and situation.
-
ends up having lots of friends from different SES group and 2) ends up hanging out exclusively within their SES group.
Anyway, not all rich people are stuck up queen bees. There are plenty of nice rich people. At the same time, not all low/middle class people are humble hard workers. There are plenty of mean nasty low/middle class people.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek , “sense of exclusion” Yes, this is the key words no matter who is excluding you, rich people or not.
@itsgettingreal17 Not AP, so I’m not sure if you’ll find this helpful, but here is our experience with DE credits transferring. YMMV
My DD14’s 19 DE credits transferred to an out-of-state public with no problem. She just had to make sure she requested her transcript from the CC she got the credits from according to the university’s timeline. They only counted as gen ed requirements for her since she didn’t take any DE required for her major (as she was undecided when she started college), but she was 1.5 semesters ahead.
In regard to classes required by the major, DS17 is in a DE program for engineering. Most schools (all public universities) we’ve visited to date have said he won’t be able to use those 6 credits for required intro to engineering classes but he would receive general ed credits for them. ETA: AP calc would enable him to bypass the first calc class required for engineering at most of these colleges.
@eamdesmom We will just have to agree to disagree. A student not skiing on one of Stanford’s dorm ski trips (which are a huge deal and all over the Internet) is different from knowing kids who are doing things and you’re not. (Bc on a large public campus, a heck of a lot of others aren’t either.) Others may think they are equivalent experiences, but I know that my friends’ kids and my kids have had very different cultural experiences on their respective campuses.
Not all kids are going to want to experience that difference. I respect the posters’ kids who state they don’t feel they would fit in bc the differences are real.
Hypothetically speaking, is my fake kid proactive, kind, polite, and energetic?
Or do I have to “love the fake kid on the couch”?
In fairness, posts like these are why I got an “Average Father” coffee cup from D17 for father’s day. And pansies.
@itsgettingreal17 I’d also suggest you see how many GE credits are needed at the various schools. As I hammer through possible curricula it varies a ton and I can see where some DE might fulfill a GE category and others just end up as extra credits but not meeting any graduation requirements as they don’t fall into the required GE buckets (basically what happened to SS11). It would seem safest to just take the AP test as well.
@itsgettingreal17 Your dd could also look and see if the CLEP exam is accepted for credit. Of the schools accepting CLEP credits, the 2 econ exams are the most widely accepted. If the credit doesn’t look like it would easily transfer, the CLEP could be taken whenever she wanted and might.
Once you know what schools she is going to apply to, you’ll have a clearer vision of what she should do.
FWIW, D15 courses were all anthropology or archaeology. No AP tests for this subject. They actually are very important for her because she just declared anthropology as her major. These classes let her jump into some upper division classes. She almost doesn’t care if these these classes are applied to her major, she was really happy to not have to retake the intro classes. The fact they do count towards her major will allow her to add a second major and/or an additional minor. She is not planning to graduate a semester early or anything like that. (Mom, there are too many classes I want to take!!)
@mtrosemom My kids have also transferred in courses with no AP equivalent that were accepted as core major classes. It really gives them a lot of freedom.
Only 1 AP exam left here! English language on Wednesday and then D is basically done for the school year. She got back from Biology today absolutely giddy at the fact that she is almost done with testing.
@BusyNapping, same at our house. D says English Language is “unstudyalbe” so it’s basically rest and recover time. Since D took the AP exams for her classes, no finals. 2.5 weeks of lower stress.