<p>That is the question facing many incoming freshman, like you and me. </p>
<p>As orientations and college course scheduling draw ever closer, I can see the immediate benefits of having college credit prior to even sending out a deposit...skipping the annoying intro to ______ classes and starting right away in advanced level courses, speding less money on courses you need to graduate (phew!), easier time building up applicable credits towards a specific major/minor (double phew!), and for that sigh of relief that all the endless hours spent studying for that 2 and 1/2 hour AP exam actually paid off. </p>
<p>But, although some may say credit is credit, there is a certain difference between earning a passing grade on the AP exam than retaking the college course equivalent freshman year, and earning an A in something you've already mastered. Which is the better route to take? taking the AP credit, or retaking the course at a college level and "fluffing" your GPA with an almost garunteed A (provided of course you remember the material, and don't have a professor whose son you accidently hit with a baseball bat your first ever t-ball game). </p>
<p>How about when that course, say Calculus I, may be a requirement for all you pre-meds out there to apply to med school. Obviously, an A in Calculus I looks much better on an your transcript for med-school applications, right? Won't it feel great to have a class that won't add to the endless stress of your hectic little pre-med world?</p>
<p>So what to do? Hold on to your AP scores for dear life, and use them to shell out as much credit as you can, or love and let go, and retake the college course equivalent and therefore have a class you know you could easily hit the snooze button for that early Monday morning, and still earn a grade worthy of bolstering your college GPA?</p>