<p>kajon,
Yes, upper classmen have priority in registration. AP credits will help to reach upper classmen status sooner. However, at D’s school Honors still have priority for registration, so D. has always registered before most others. It is important when they have minor(s) or double majors with complicated schedules.</p>
<p>The surprise for me was how many units the university granted for a high score on an AP foreign language exam – I think it was fifteen or sixteen semester units for a 5, about 12 for a 4, and I think 8 for a 3. D used the credits, because it also meant that she’d met proficiency standards. Meanwhile, AP Lit and AP Lang both still didn’t exempt you from the second semester of freshman comp, though getting a 4 or more on one of them got you out of the first semester of it. (Public university.)</p>
<p>No surprise here. My S took 8 APs for the sake of learning and challenge, not to get college credit. We knew that the type of school he was likely to attend would be unlikely to give credit, although it might affect placement.</p>
<p>Strongly, strongly agree with MiamiDAP – best not to use AP credits in courses directly needed for the major. Many, many horror stories of kids who skipped General Chemistry after getting a 5 on the AP exam, and then getting burned big time on the successor class. Calculus had different issues: the AP exam does not have a focus on proofs and theory, and seems to be much more oriented to practical problem solving. But math, physics and engineering students (and possibly some of the other sciences) get offered calc classes in college that go on to have tremendously greater rigor. I’m pretty sure that at CalTech, everybody still takes the Calc sequence, and I’d guess that well over 80% of their students got scores of 5 or high IB scores in math. Getting the AP Calc credit was a big bennie for arabrab D, because she’s majoring in a pretty non-mathematical social science, but I would not have recommended taking the credit if she were in science or engineering, and definitely not if she planned on pre-med. (Which, to all of our fortunes, she is not.)</p>
<p>Yes, everyone should carefully review the AP policies of colleges they are considering. They vary enormously. Some colleges (such as Boston College and Providence College) are very strict. Other colleges (such as American U. and Villanova) are much more permissive. Also, make sure you are reading the most current policy.</p>
<p>UVa just tightened up their AP policies for incoming 1st years. Several classes now need a 5 in order to get credit.</p>
<p>Some colleges have a strict maximum no. of credits. Some give 6 or 8 credits for one AP test (most often Chemistry or US History). Some give credit for 3s (such as University of Delaware). Some colleges will only give AP credit for up to one semester. One college only gives credit for macroecon if you also pass the microecon test.</p>
<p>Investigate - it could be worth $10,000 or more of tuition costs to you.</p>
<p>We were negatively surprised that S did not receive more credits for his IB diploma. My husband was upset when he read during the application process that Lafayette could give sophomore standing for the diploma. I explained to him that he didn’t have to graduate early but it would give flexibility with his schedule. Didn’t matter. Kid got 3 credits and I think that might have been from his APUSH that he did sophomore year. While S was upset and thinking that all of the work he did to complete the diploma was a waste of time, I pointed out to him that it probably was a major factor in both his admissions and the merit aid that he was offered.</p>
<p>We found that all three of our kids’ schools capped AP credit at something like a 24-28 maximum. Most of it was for scores of 5 - the requirements can be tough at some schools. Regardless, the extra credits allowed them all to double major, since they were not required to take as many electives, and could skip some beginning courses in their majors, like Comp Sci and Econ. One received placement into a special math track for those with 5’s on the Calc BC - no extra weight or honors, but the freedom to not have to drag through math with mere mortals!
The rewards of AP classes are much greater than a score or credit. At our HS, the best teachers are assigned to APs - many of them are also AP test graders. This puts their classes at a substantial advantage, and, unfortunately, makes for a large dropoff in quality for non-AP courses. YMMV.</p>
<p>S could have gotten credit for AP’s but was strongly advised not to for core classes in his major. Now he wishes he had taken the AP Chem credit, his freshman class is very easy, he says. Well, at least it’ll be good for his GPA.</p>
<p>I was quite pleased that my son ended with a semester’s worth of credits, a total of 15 (their max). He had taken 8 APs, got mostly 5s. (USHis, Bio, Chem, Euro His, Math, Span, Eng Lit/Comp, Math) In some cases, the credits meant he used them as elective credits. In other cases, his scores and SATs helped determine which Calc he got in. Span fulfilled a language requirement. </p>
<p>To address the other issue that has been raised here about was it worth it? I’m not disappointed he didn’t get more credits; that was a secondary consideration. It was still worth the effort. While he didn’t get as many credits as some got at their schools, he did learn new skills and associate with a high level of teachers and fellow students that has carried beyond those days in HS.</p>
<p>Son attends a school that does not offer any AP classes, but the school states that all courses are taught at an AP level. So, before deciding to take his AP exams at the end of junior year we looked at each school he was interested in and determined what they would do for him with appropriate scores on AP exams. Money is a factor as the tests run $85 each, so it is a good idea to decide ahead of time if taking the tests are worth it. He did well enough that a couple of his schools will give him 32 semester hours credit and he is thinking about taking 3 more this year. He doesn’t plan on graduating early, he is more interested in being able to take more breadth of coursework in his intended major. In my experience, planning pays off.</p>
<p>My son took APUSH (scored a 5) and Euro History (4). His school (American University) granted 12 credits for those scores, which will allow him to graduate a semester early. An investment of $160 for those two courses will end up saving us $18K in tuition, etc.</p>
<p>My S got a year’s credit which was the maximum his school allows for APs. This allowed him to select his on-campus housing his second year as if he was a Junior. Same with selecting off campus housing “as a Senior” beginning his third year. It also allowed him a car on campus earlier.</p>
<p>He has been very pleased that he could use these credits to allow him to take many additional upper level courses.</p>
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<p>This varies from major to major and college to college – and often, the colleges or individual departments give specific advice about it.</p>
<p>My son was a computer science major at a state university. He could have placed out of introductory computer science because of a 4 on the AP exam, but he chose to take it anyway and was pleased with how much additional material he learned.</p>
<p>My daughter is an economics major at a top-20 school. She had AP credit for microeconomics, macroeconomics, and BC calculus, with 5s in all cases. The economics department at her college advises students to go ahead and take intermediate-level courses if they have AP credit, rather than repeating the introductory courses. She did this, and it worked out just fine.</p>
<p>YMMV</p>
<p>Marian, I definitely agree that students need to listen to the suggestions at their departmental adviser offers, but in the end, they need to make the decision that is best for them. My son’s adviser for one of his majors wanted him to retake calculus, stats and economics. He had 5s on all the exams. He thought that he had a strong background in all four subjects so he ignored the advice. He did great in the classes that follow. On the other hand, he has a friend who rejected all of his AP math and science credits, because he felt he did not learn the material adequately while in his HS/dual enrollment classes.</p>
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<p>Same APs, same scores. That was also my S’s experience in his mathematical economics major.</p>
<p>arabrab,
“definitely not if she planned on pre-med” - yes, I confirm to that, I based my points in P.# 17 on my D’s experiences as a pre-med and a very successful one. She was much more careful with her AP credits than some others. However, she was very happy that she could skip college history (her least favorite subject) and at least one semester of college English as one semester of Honors English that she needed to take was complete waste of time, way too easy “A” for a very strong writer as she is. I would advise everybody not to worry too much about saving money or graduating earlier, but evaluated use of AP credits from educational points / requirements of your major / your own interests and ability level in each class vs. difficulty level of college class at your school.</p>
<p>APs are a great way to get out of requirements that are not in your major. It gives you flexibility. Every college is different and often, departments in the same university are different, so you have to check the website.</p>
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If I’m not mistaken, History is the only area that has changed for the next incoming class.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd doesn’t give any credit for AP classes. I think the theory is that 1) most of kids have AP level HS classes in the math and science core, so they start from that base; and 2) there is value in taking the basic core and humanties classes that you don’t get in the AP classes. I have heard professors from other schools complain that the kids who skip the intro classes because of AP credit, just aren’t as well prepared as the kids who take the classes at the specific college they are attending.</p>
<p>I think we saw both extremes with our two kids. Our son went to American and got credit for all 11 APs he took which gave him the standing of a second semester sophomore when he started. This allowed him to bypass many of his gen ed requirements which gave him the time to add a couple of minors to his degree. It also got him into a nicer dorm earlier.</p>
<p>Our daughter had 13 APs (thank god our school district pays for the AP exams), but at Harvard the only benefit is if you choose to take advanced standing and graduate in three years and very few choose to do that (but most could). Harvard has placement exams before you start to help guide you on what level of class you should start in for certain key areas (math, foreign languages, etc) which makes the AP scores superfluous.</p>
<p>But the most important thing for both of them is that the AP classes really prepared them well for college work. They commented on this.</p>