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I'm not sure if there are new rules regarding awarding AP credit without taking the AP exam. DD takes her AP courses through Florida Virtual School, and if the student does NOT take the AP exam, they are only awarded Honors credit. I've seen this with other online AP courses as well. You might want to do a bit more research and/or call College Board just to see their perspective on this.

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I'm not sure if there are new rules regarding awarding AP credit without taking the AP exam. DD takes her AP courses through Florida Virtual School, and if the student does NOT take the AP exam, they are only awarded Honors credit. I've seen this with other online AP courses as well. You might want to do a bit more research and/or call College Board just to see their perspective on this.

 

She isn't looking for AP credit. She is enrolling in an approved online AP calculus class, taking the class solely to prepare for college calculus.

 

When we send her transcript to colleges in the fall of her senior year, knowing she will not take the AP exam, it sounds like most of you are saying it's okay to label the course in progress "AP"?

 

Does this lead admission officers to assume she will be taking the exam or do they even care?

 

Thanks for all your answers!

Edited by nynyny
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She isn't looking for AP credit. She is enrolling in an approved online AP calculus class, taking the class solely to prepare for college calculus.

 

When we send her transcript to colleges in the fall of her senior year, knowing she will not take the AP exam, it sounds like most of you are saying it's okay to label the course in progress "AP"?

 

Does this lead admission officers to assume she will be taking the exam or do they even care?

 

Thanks for all your answers!

 

I'm sorry, I guess my answer wasn't clear...it was early :-)

What I meant was that with FLVS, etc., they will not list it on the transcript as AP unless they actually take the AP test. Otherwise, it is only an Honors class. The AP test is required to count as an AP class on the transcript.

Hope this helps.

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I'm sorry, I guess my answer wasn't clear...it was early :-)

What I meant was that with FLVS, etc., they will not list it on the transcript as AP unless they actually take the AP test. Otherwise, it is only an Honors class. The AP test is required to count as an AP class on the transcript.

Hope this helps.

 

So...do you think I need to ask each admission counselor how to list it for each college?

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Admissions officer look at the transcript and some schools rate the "load" of a student's academic work. If you are applying to a school that does that, AP coursework will help during admission absent a test score.

 

Students aren't considered slackers if they skip the test?

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Most will assume that she was administered the AP exam. Some may question it, and if they discover the test wasn't administered it may flag the transcript. There is no definite answer as it depends on the administrator reviewing the transcript; however, there is a chance it could be questioned.

 

I would suggest labeling the course as Honors and applying a weighted GPA to it. This would allow the course to receive more weight and recognition for the additional effort put forth in it, and it will eliminate any questioning that may happen.

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When we send her transcript to colleges in the fall of her senior year, knowing she will not take the AP exam, it sounds like most of you are saying it's okay to label the course in progress "AP"?

 

Does this lead admission officers to assume she will be taking the exam or do they even care?

 

Thanks for all your answers!

 

I have read of other students who have not taken the AP exam on the AP classes taken during senior year if they don't want the college credit. These students still list the class as "AP whatever" on their transcript and have no problems with admissions.

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So...do you think I need to ask each admission counselor how to list it for each college?

 

No. :)

 

If your student takes an AP course from an instructor who has gone through the audit process and has an approved syllabus, you can list the AP class on the transcript. The course and the exam are decoupled. A student can take an AP course and the exam. A student can take an AP course and not the exam. A student can take the exam and not the course. It sends no mixed signals to admissions officers. All of these scenarios are legitimate.

 

If your student has taken an AP course, he or she deserves the transcript "credit" for taking a challenging course that is well defined and understood in college admissions offices. Additionally, if you are weighting grades, you will want to list an AP course on the transcript so you can give the added weight to the weighted GPA.

 

Best,

~Brigid

Edited by Brigid in NC
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No. :)

 

If your student takes an AP course from an instructor who has gone through the audit process and has an approved syllabus, you can list the AP class on the transcript. The course and the exam are decoupled. A student can take an AP course and the exam. A student can take an AP course and not the exam. A student can take the exam and not the course. It sends no mixed signals to admissions officers. All of these scenarios are legitimate.

 

If your student has taken an AP course, he or she deserves the transcript "credit" for taking a challenging course that is well defined and understood in college admissions offices. Additionally, if you are weighting grades, you will want to list an AP course on the transcript so you can give the added weight to the weighted GPA.

 

Best,

~Brigid

 

OK, AP it is. Thanks Brigid and everyone else!!

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Students aren't considered slackers if they skip the test?

 

No, I don't think so. Nothing in the books I've read indicates that. I suspect it is for several reasons, first admissions occur for the last year, when the most APs are often taken, before the tests are taken. And I suspect some schools don't offer the test after offering the course.

 

For that matter, they even have a special indication for public school students who take the highest possible courses they can, but their school does not offer many or any AP exams.

 

College admissions folks want to find the best students not the best transcript. They use the transcript to help them identify the best students. What this scaling system indicates to me is that they don't want students who took easier courses when there were more difficult ones available.

 

It may have an added benefit for home schoolers in that it shows you tracked down a higher level option and that your student has worked for someone else.

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No, I don't think so. Nothing in the books I've read indicates that. I suspect it is for several reasons, first admissions occur for the last year, when the most APs are often taken, before the tests are taken. And I suspect some schools don't offer the test after offering the course.

 

For that matter, they even have a special indication for public school students who take the highest possible courses they can, but their school does not offer many or any AP exams.

 

College admissions folks want to find the best students not the best transcript. They use the transcript to help them identify the best students. What this scaling system indicates to me is that they don't want students who took easier courses when there were more difficult ones available.

 

It may have an added benefit for home schoolers in that it shows you tracked down a higher level option and that your student has worked for someone else.

 

OK, thanks for the good advice. She is going into education, and most likely will never need calculus, but I would like her to be prepared in case she changes her mind about her major. So, she really doesn't need the exam.

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