<p>My kid is likely like your kid. Pushed to the wall this week with AP tests...and I have to ask, why are they taking them? From what I understand, most stellar colleges don't care much about the scores (they care about the AP course grade), you don't have to report them if you don't care to, they don't affect your grade for the class, and fewer colleges are accepting them as ways to skip freshman classes. Am i missing something here? </p>
<p>To get credit so they don’t have to retake the class in college. I haven’t seen anything about fewer colleges taking a high score for credit. Actually, at public Us I think it’s more common now.</p>
<p>AP scores in some subjects often are useful in getting advanced placement so that the student is not required to repeat material that s/he already knows. (Though it is a good idea to try the college’s final exam for the course that it allows skipping.)</p>
<p>Not sure why AP tests would be like being “pushed to the wall”. If the student did well in a good quality AP course, then s/he should be well prepared to take the AP test without having to cram for it or otherwise be stressed out about it.</p>
<p>I hear you on the credit thing…Marketplace on NPR ran a piece last year that fewer top-tier colleges are accepting them <a href=“More colleges stop giving credit for AP exams - Marketplace”>http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/education/more-colleges-stop-giving-credit-ap-exams</a> but other sources note (as you do) that many more public universities are taking them. One item I noted…the number of high school students <em>taking</em> APs has soared…like a 80% increase in MA alone…so it’ll be interesting to see how the colleges handle large % of their incoming freshmen skipping freshmen courses…</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus You need to spend some time at our school – LOL… Most of these kids just finished another round of SAT/ACT…then they go into end-of-year-projects, then between 4-6 AP exams (that they arrive early to school to take), each test takes right about 3 hours…and then next week are final exams…which are <em>truly</em> stressful…its been crazy! </p>
<p>Maybe its a little like the “wax on-wax off” scene from the Karate Kid. Building in a “muscle memory” for rigorous academic work prepares a student for challenging curriculum. Also I would guess a nationally normed subject exam (like the AP) really helps admissions officers get an objective view of the students knowledge.in addition or comparison to a course grades which could be subjective.</p>
<p>Also, some schools (not mine) require AP tests if you take the course, or will give you an overall A if you get a 4 or 5, etc.</p>
<p>I’m with you, @SouthernHope . At our public U my S will not be getting out of most intro classes (that’s with 5 APs with 5 scores and 6 APs just taken). He will get elective credits for some, but not all of them. Seems like it’s just a waste, except that he feels good when he does well on them.</p>
<p>D started at her LAC with 24 credit hours from AP courses. She was able to place out of many general courses and jump into higher-level courses in her major. It was well worth it for her. Her school is one that requires taking the test if you take the course. And she didn’t do any extra studying - taking the course was her preparation.</p>
<p>Most schools don’t care about AP tests with regard to admission, and yes, on the admission app you self-report. AP scores only are relevant if you’re looking to get credit, and at that time you need to send an official score report. And yes, each school (and even department within the school) sets their own policies with regard to what they will accept. But for D it was well worth it to not have to take a math or science in college, and to skip intro classes in her major(s). But then she only took 3 AP classes each year (Junior and Senior) so for kids taking 5-6 APs I guess it could be much more stressful.</p>
<p>As for the number of students taking the test soaring - that doesn’t necessarily translate into an equal amount skipping freshmen classes. We’ve seen a significant increase in kids in our county TAKING the test, but not a significant increase in kids scoring high enough to place out (AP says 3 is passing, but most schools require a 4 or even 5 to place out of many classes).</p>
<p>College credit and to show colleges we have a rigorous schedule for the purposes of admission.</p>
<p>S16 is taking dual enrollment math next year at the local community college, because his high school doesn’t go past Calc AB. His AP score in calc will keep him from having to take college algebra, which is the cc’s usual starting place for sual enrollment students, unless they challenge it.
Of course, that’s predicated on him passing the bloody thing with a 4 or 5.</p>
<p>The other reason my kids are taking AP classes is that, frankly, they’re harder than the dual enrollment classes, which tend toward “thirteenth grade public high school”, at least in this area.</p>
<p>My son took them so he could skip some of the entry level courses in college. It worked out very nicely.</p>
<p>I took 4 this year because I could get out of prereqs for engineering.</p>
<p>I took 5 last year because if you know the material, you might as well take the test. I’ll be using 3 of these exams to fulfill intellectual breadth courses. One of these exams will probably be made useless (BC credit includes AB credit), and only 1 was a complete waste of time in my opinion.</p>
<p>AP scores matter more than people think. Harvard places a lot of importance on AP scores and SAT 2 scores. Part of the reason I got rejected from a school was because of AP scores . Sure, you can self-report them and what-nots, but they provide some sort of standard to measure you/your school against other applicants. And again, some people may do well in the class and then bomb the test because of an unforeseen circumstance (maybe they were ill), but if that was the case, then other test scores (SAT, ACT, Subject tests, other APs) would show that the 1 on a test was an isolated incident. Or the student could provide an explanation for it in their application. On the other hand, if there’s a lot of grade inflation at a school, then the scores all around will not be good. </p>
<p>Like others have said, many kids use them to get college credit and perhaps graduate earlier. I know many schools don’t grant credit for them, but many do grant placement, which can be useful. </p>
<p>Outside of the test, I think AP courses also provide as a nice transition into college work. AP courses are definitely harder than high school courses, but not as a difficult as college courses. Students who take 3-4 APs senior year won’t feel as bombarded with the workload as kids who haven’t taken a single AP course. </p>
<p>AP courses are crucial for me, I am hoping to double major in Musical theatre and Marketing so it surely is a big help to lighten the course load</p>
<p>I think you are indeed, missing something. The exams cost $80, and most colleges will let you skip that class if you get a 4 or 5. Paying $80 vs $900-2000 for the class. Now that seems like a good deal to me. </p>
<p>Thanks folks, very interesting perspectives…and just to be clear, i completely understand the value of AP courses…I was questioning the reasons behind the end-of-year tests…though it sounds like more colleges accept them than I realized…so I appreciate the insights! </p>
<p>a boost to my ego and it being free and forced upon me.
I won’t be using any non-english/humanitites credit from AP.</p>
<p>Chessy18, agreed but the savings can be even greater. If a student is able to apply enough AP credits to knock off an entire year. Then you have the savings of the full COA for a year! This is our D’s plan, her first choice school will allow up to a quarter of the credits required for her major to be from AP credits.</p>
<p>Many, if not most, top-tier schools are still giving credits to good AP scores. Nevertheless, some schools have stopped giving, or giving less, credits to AP. All the schools my D applied still give credits to most AP scores at 4 or 5, but I do notice the total number of credits my D is going to get at the matriculated school is less than what I calculated a couple years ago. It is not a big deal for us as my D will have just the optimal number of credits. Some AP give her better placement for 3 subjects that already cover half of her freshmen requirements. In other words, she is like one semester ahead of schedule for graduation. At the same time, she will need to pay upperclassman tuition one semester earlier than schedule. If she gets a couple more AP credits, she will need to pay upperclassman tuition even another semester earlier (but without any further advancement in graduation schedule). So one need to play this AP game carefully. When you have a lot of AP credits, most would be for electives only that may not accelerate the graduation too much. There may still be certain core requirements and pre-requisites that would hold you back from graduating 2 semester earlier than schedule. </p>