<p>For instance, if a student self-studies and gets a 4 or 5 on the AP Bio exam, but never actually took an AP Bio course with the labs, will colleges still issue the credit?</p>
<p>I don’t know any college that differentiates between self-studying and taking the course when it comes to getting college credit. I’m pretty sure it just depends on the score.</p>
<p>Generally they will, but for some courses, a high score may not mean you actually understand the material, and you’d be better off not taking the credit. You should be fine for Biology, but a self-studied 4 or 5 on say, Calculus, doesn’t necessarily mean you understand the material.</p>
<p>Yea, I’m self studying physics just because it would look good on apps, and I’m bored from my school’s puny 2 AP classes… but since I’m going to be an engineer I’m opting to take the class in college anyway…</p>
<p>EDIT: That was in response to the above poster, sorry for not answering your question: Yes, only your score matters, not the class. Similarly, the class does not get you credit unless you do well on the exam.</p>
<p>I have heard that some colleges require you to show a record of your lab work in order to get AP credit in lab sciences. However, I have never actually seen a college that requires this, so it may not be true.</p>
<p>It’s only the score that counts. So yes, you will get credit for self-studying if your score is high enough for that specific college and that college offers credit – some only offer higher course placement for a 4, for example.</p>
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<p>That’s never a good reason, imo, to self-study or take an AP class. </p>
<p>Anyways, to answer the OP, I’m sure you could get credit for self-study. Some potential exceptions: no one gets credit for certain APs, even if they took the class. The colleges want to see, for sciences, that you had a lab portion in the class (I’ve heard this one before, don’t remember where though). I really can’t see them denying you credit for the typical AP class just because you self-studied.</p>
<p>@GammaGrozza: Did you read the “And” after that quote? Lol. My school only offers 2 AP classes, and neither of which are sciences, which I would like them to be. I’m working on getting my old Chem teacher to put together an AP class for next year, but as for now I have to teach myself. I’ve taken bio and I’m taking physics (preap) this year, so I thought it’d be fun and challenging to fill in the gaps between that and the AP curriculum on my own time :]</p>
<p>It certainly won’t hurt when I’m applying to colleges to say that I made a “5?” on the biology and physics B exams, but there’s a reason I’m taking those two and not like, Microeconomics: Because they are interesting. :)</p>
<p>Yes…there ARE schools where it would “look good”. So you go right ahead if you want to. </p>
<p>Example: My D was considering applying for a combination philosophy/physics course at Oxford. But you MUST have “advanced physics”. She came to this decision late…and won’t be able to get the A/P physics class done now. However, Oxford also requires three SAT IIs at 700+, or three A/Ps scored all fives. </p>
<p>So…if she were to self study the extra physics and “ace” the test…I think it would be a strong argument that she’d met their requirement.</p>
<p>There ARE reasons to do it. And yes it CAN look good. Not sure how it will look if it’s, as my daughter calls it, an “epic failure” though. Of course then you could just say “eh, I tried it by myself, didn’t do so well”, and have an “excuse” of sorts.</p>