taking ap tests w/out the ap classes?

Applying to College
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<p>i've taken a lot of dual enrollment courses during high school. when i graduate in june, i will have about 40 college credits. yet this means nothing to a lot of the private colleges i am applying to--without ap credit/scores, i can't skip any of the freshmen mandatories (chem, calculus, etc.) or any other of those "core" classes, even though i have already taken them.</p>

<p>my de courses are very rigorous, and i'm learning the same things w/ the same difficulty that people i know who are taking aps are (in some of the classes, perhaps more). would it be advisable to just take a few of the ap tests, in the subjects i'm confident in and want to skip? would this work, and would i get credit?</p>

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<p>There is no requirement for taking an AP course prior to taking the corresponding exam. Whether you get credit or not depends on your score and the AP policy of your college.</p>

<p>I assume CLEPs won't work for your potential schools? If they did, that would be another alternative.</p>

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<p>Check to see if the colleges you're applying to have their own placement tests you can take once you've enrolled. They are free and it might be easier to do that than taking a lot AP tests this spring.</p>

<p>That said, I have taken AP tests without AP courses, and it all went pretty well. It is true that I took them in subjects for which AP might not have as specific syllabi, if that makes sense. (I've never taken an AP course though, so I'm not exactly sure how specifically the course translates over to the test, but my understanding is that the two are very closely linked.)</p>

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<p>okay, sarazlig, i will check that out w/ my colleges. i never thought they might have their own tests.</p>

<p>dianer, forgive my ignorance. but....what is a clep?</p>

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<p>CLEP stands for the College-Level Examination Program, yet another type of testing College Board does. <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The tests are designed to show knowledge of the material covered in a variety of college courses. They are shorter than AP tests (90 minutes) and are mostly multiple choice. If the college you choose grants credit for CLEPs, you need not repeat those courses in college.</p>

<p>The college board site has a link for seeing which colleges take CLEPs. As a general rule, the "top" colleges accept APs but not CLEPs. (Not trying to be judgmental here; I suspect there are plenty of good colleges on the CLEP list.)</p>

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<p>ok, thank you. i'm glad there are some options out there--i will find out more about them.</p>

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<p>Umm Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and Johns Hopkins accept CLEP exams...</p>

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<p>Thanks for the correction! I skimmed looked through the list some years ago and such schools weren't there (as I remember). Is this a recent trend or am I getting senile?</p>

<p>Beyond looking 5 or 6 years ago, I've been relying on people who keep repeating this supposed fact about CLEPs. I guess I've learned my lesson ...</p>