<p>I'm thinking of taking AP courses online. Right now, I'm looking into AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, and AP U.S. Government and Politics. My school does not offer AP courses and I want to take economics and get into good colleges, so I don't know if that's enough. Also, I've been wandering through a couple of forums here and I found out that some people just took the AP exam and did well. I didn't know that was possible. I know that it's more recommendable to take the actual course than just the exam, but can someone explain how you can get still get credit out of that? I'd also appreciate it if someone explained the whole idea of AP and how credits are earned from it. Thanks!</p>
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AP is a college level program (for lack of a better term). The different subjects are supposed to be college level so high school students can have an opportunity to get a head start on college level material. The credit from an AP is determined by the score you receive on the AP exam. You can score between a 1-5. 5 being the best. Every college is different regarding it’s AP credit policy, some schools don’t even accept AP credit (like Dartmouth). On a much general basis, a 4 or 5 could get you some sort of college credit. But you would have to do school specific research in order to find out their AP policy. </p>
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As I said, the credit is determined by the score you receive on the AP exam. As long as you take the AP exam and score well, you have an opportunity to receive credit. If you take the course and get an A, that’s great, but if you don’t take the AP exam, you will not receive credit. That’s why you can take just the exam and not the course and still receive credit, because the credit is determined off the exam. The purpose of an AP course is to prepare students for the AP exam. The course does not give college credit. Only the exam. </p>
<p>I hope this was helpful. </p>
<p>Macro and micro are frequently studied together. For example, my school only offers Macro, but most people do a little extra (buy the Micro book) and take both and do well.
Do you want to go into economics? If you want to go into the sciences or math that’d change which AP’s you’d take. Good luck!</p>
<p>I gather from your post that you aren’t homeschooled. It might be best to consult your guidance counselor and ask her advice on self-studying AP exams or taking online classes, as she will have more insight into your particular school situation.</p>