@ fretfulmother: Hey there! Are we both sending one out in '20?
( I’m reading backwards ip through the thread, so sorry if you’ve already laid this out. I thought we were one year apart at this end of the college selection process.)
@octagon - Some colleges are on quarter systems, and the AP classes come in with higher levels than on semester systems. But its true; they all vary. Like AP Music theory - that was worth 9 semester credits for some reason! And BC calc with a 5 was worth 9 too.
My son is looking at Engineering and that college will only take 1 AP english class as credit; so while he might have a passing score in 2 AP English classes, one class would count for nothing really. My thoughts: make a spreadsheet with each college you’re interested in to see how credits transfer.
@VickiSoCal, did your older D look at University of British Columbia? If she did, what was her impression of it? D is trying to expand her list to include internationals.
@bgbg4us Thanks - very useful information.
Top CA state schools are so competitive due to its affordability. D knows it a crap shoot in many ways as she’ll be vying for a spot along with 100k+ applicants (many with similar or even better stats than her.) While she has a state school as her top choice, she is looking to cast a wider net.
As an IB Diploma student, she has made the choice to continue the insane rigor in her senior year. It is nerve wracking to watch all of this.
@lilmom My D18 seriously considered UBC in Vancouver. Visited three times and was accepted. She absolutely loved it, but felt her major (Cognitive Science) didn’t have enough flexibility. UBC’s campus is stunning. It’s huge but walkable, with a variety of gardens and beaches and great facilities. It is somewhat isolated from the city. There are buses that frequently go into Vancouver. It’s 20-30 minutes to downtown. Housing at UBC is tight. Student body is pretty outdoorsy, not surprisingly. I’m happy to answer more specific questions.
@lilmom no, she very much wanted to go to the UK and the tuition is higher at UBC.
@bgbg4us: “My son is looking at Engineering and that college will only take 1 AP english class as credit; so while he might have a passing score in 2 AP English classes, one class would count for nothing really. My thoughts: make a spreadsheet with each college you’re interested in to see how credits transfer.”
Can I ask, how much will the transferability (to credits or placement) of the AP credits influence the conversation your family will be having over which college he’d like/you’d like him to enroll in?
I thought that the mainstay of conversation swaying kids to enroll in the AP-level courses had begun as a way to cut down, ultimately, on college costs. But with so many colleges not actually granting credit for some of the APs, the conversation around taking them, and the attendant expected financial advantage, must surely be changing.
@Waiting2exhale, I think a lot of kids (and their parents) today see AP’s as a way to show rigor, and subsequent ability to handle college-level work. Another interesting side-effect - some kids like my daughter prefer to take APs over regular classes because her friends are also challenging themselves and taking harder classes, so she has more chances of being in the same class with them by going the AP route. I do wish we didn’t have to pay so much for the tests though…
@Waiting2exhale - we are a merit chasing family and know exactly how much our midwest state flagship costs (2 there now); how merit works there, and how AP credits transfer. Of course he can look other places; but money will play a large place in his decisions I have a feeling. He’ll take AP classes for the rigor his senior year; but maybe not the AP test in English Language.
Don’t forget, there’s the CLEP that they can take at their chosen school for credit. My older kid could’ve taken it to test out of psychology. She had taken the AP class but not the test and regretted it.
I have a kid headed to a pre-professional program at our state flagship, and while the university does accept AP credits, the college starts the kids off their freshman year taking major-related classes AND you have to keep a certain number of credits to be considered a full-time student. Too many AP credits could mean the student drops from full-time to part-time. I’m hoping she can knock a class off each semester for her first year at least (so 12-13 hours for four classes). Also, by taking the AP classes in high school, she has demonstrated that she is on her way to handling more rigorous classes and she’ll at least be exposed to the material which may make the college class a little easier if she has to take it.
@ typiCAmom: This is what I’ve come to see, that the kids are taking the classes for rigor and an eye toward college assessment, yet I really hope some keen-eyed group of folks (@bgbg4us) are able to take full advantage of the defraying-of-tuition-expense built into the APs.
Seems I almost never hear that aspect as a draw (with an eye toward graduating early, if possible) much anymore.
(Is the ability to place someone’s CC tagname in a comment and have it highlighted not working anymore?)
Ahh…it showed up as highlighted after I posted.
“Seems I almost never hear that aspect as a draw (with an eye toward graduating early, if possible) much anymore.”
The way i look at it is “what’s the rush”. Enjoy your college life, working full time for the next 30-40 years is not all it’s cracked up to be. I just took a 2 week vacation for the first time in 19 years! College is one of the few times in your life that you have the freedom to do many different things without the burden of working class responsibilities and commitments.
The UNC system schools (including NC State) are now giving credit for 3s on AP exams. This applies to current students as well.
DE credits allowed our oldest ds to graduate from college with his chemE degree in 7 semesters(1 of those was a summer session.) It meant that he co-oped for 12 straight months but still graduated in 4 yrs.
That was important to him. He and his wife were high school sweethearts, got married when he was cooping, and were ready for life outside of school.
Not all kids want to be students.
D17 told me she should be able to graduate in 4 years with a ChemE degree, plus a business minor and a full semester of co-op. I really doubt that, but she seems very confident. She said it was confirmed by her adviser. She brought 45 (47?) AP credits and had to cancel 8 due to tuition impact. uMich started charging her upper class tuition rate ( junior+) her second semester freshman year. She cancelled 8 AP credits ( ones that won’t be counted towards any of her major/minor requirements) to stay qualified for lower tuition rate.
My kids accumulated a lot of DE credits but none have graduated early and I don’t expect D20 to either. It allowed them to add minors, additional classes they were interested in and/or to take lighter course loads. D20 will graduate high school with over 80 DE credits.
@whataboutcollege I didn’t realize that UMich had a tiered tuition plan. Is that common at other schools?