Question about AP and college credit

[kangato3]

From my research of some colleges, I see that passing an AP test with a certain score can satisfy some course requirements. What I'm not clear on is if that means the student receives college credits, or do they just satisfy a course requirement?

 

This is all new territory for us.

Thanks.

[choirfarm]

It probably depends on the college as well as the major your child chooses. For example, my junior son wants to be a computer major. ( Exactly which kind is still unsure.) I print off the degree plans for the varying types of computer degrees for his various colleges. ( filed in a notebook) His AP stats class will count as 3 hours of college credit since he received a 5; HOWEVER, it does not satisfy an requirement for his degree since he has to take a more advanced statistics class and not the one he got credit for. Now his AP Government and Chemistry that he is taking this year WILL count toward his degree. Next year, I am going to have him take AP Calculus and Physics but don't plan to even have him take the test. Most of the degree plans he is looking at require Calc I, II and III and the same thing for PHysics. I would not want him placing out of one of the basic classes that you have to build upon. ( Not sure if the colleges would allow it anyway. I know they typicallly do not for premed.) I would rather him have an easy introductory class and pick up whatever the AP class missed, than to start in Calc II and struggle.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Christine

[creekland]

It probably depends on the college as well as the major your child chooses. For example, my junior son wants to be a computer major. ( Exactly which kind is still unsure.) I print off the degree plans for the varying types of computer degrees for his various colleges. ( filed in a notebook) His AP stats class will count as 3 hours of college credit since he received a 5; HOWEVER, it does not satisfy an requirement for his degree since he has to take a more advanced statistics class and not the one he got credit for. Now his AP Government and Chemistry that he is taking this year WILL count toward his degree. Next year, I am going to have him take AP Calculus and Physics but don't plan to even have him take the test. Most of the degree plans he is looking at require Calc I, II and III and the same thing for PHysics. I would not want him placing out of one of the basic classes that you have to build upon. ( Not sure if the colleges would allow it anyway. I know they typicallly do not for premed.) I would rather him have an easy introductory class and pick up whatever the AP class missed, than to start in Calc II and struggle.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Christine

 

:iagree:

 

The greatest value to AP tests is helping one to get accepted into more selective colleges. Almost all public schools offer them (or IB) and top kids usually have several. Colleges use AP scores to help "compare" students who apply even though they are never "required". It just "happens" because so many students have them. They aren't as necessary for less selective colleges, but can still assist with scholarship competitions.

 

As an added bonus, at some schools, you may get actual credit for scores of 4 or 5, but as mentioned above, this will depend on the chosen school and major. Other schools do just use them for placement.

 

The one regret I have from homeschooling is not having my guys do more AP tests. Our local high school hardly offers any having switched to offering community college credits instead. I followed along and signed my guys up for a few community college credits. At state schools (in-state) and less selective colleges it doesn't matter, but for more selective schools, I've been told multiple times that they prefer to see AP scores due to the fact that those are more "consistent" than cc classes. Several of these schools won't give credit for cc classes, but they will offer credit for a 4 or 5 on a similar AP test.

 

My middle son will still have some nice choices of places to go to college, but I think I hindered his chances at "top of the top" schools.

 

Youngest isn't even heading to a top of the top school, but I plan to have him study outside of school to take AP tests anyway. We have to go to a private school the next town over to actually take the test, but it's worth it.

[Imprimis]

 

The greatest value to AP tests is helping one to get accepted into more selective colleges. Almost all public schools offer them (or IB) and top kids usually have several. Colleges use AP scores to help "compare" students who apply even though they are never "required". It just "happens" because so many students have them. They aren't as necessary for less selective colleges, but can still assist with scholarship competitions.

 

As an added bonus, at some schools, you may get actual credit for scores of 4 or 5, but as mentioned above, this will depend on the chosen school and major. Other schools do just use them for placement.

 

 

 

I agree with this, however, I just want to point out that even an AP score of 3 is enough to earn college credit in select subjects at some colleges.

[nynyny]

It probably depends on the college as well as the major your child chooses. For example, my junior son wants to be a computer major. ( Exactly which kind is still unsure.) I print off the degree plans for the varying types of computer degrees for his various colleges. ( filed in a notebook) His AP stats class will count as 3 hours of college credit since he received a 5; HOWEVER, it does not satisfy an requirement for his degree since he has to take a more advanced statistics class and not the one he got credit for. Now his AP Government and Chemistry that he is taking this year WILL count toward his degree. Next year, I am going to have him take AP Calculus and Physics but don't plan to even have him take the test. Most of the degree plans he is looking at require Calc I, II and III and the same thing for PHysics. I would not want him placing out of one of the basic classes that you have to build upon. ( Not sure if the colleges would allow it anyway. I know they typicallly do not for premed.) I would rather him have an easy introductory class and pick up whatever the AP class missed, than to start in Calc II and struggle.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Christine

 

Are you saying that he will not take the AP tests because he would automatically be bumped to a higher level of Calc and Physics his freshman year?

I thought one could take the AP test and then choose to submit the scores or not.

Does it depend on the individual school policy?

[choirfarm]

No, he wouldn't automatically be bumped up. I just didn't know if I wanted to bother paying for the test when at that point he should be admitted to a college and won't use the college credit.. Does that make sense? I want him to have hard calculus and physics classes so that he will be well prepared. I haven't decided yet. That is still over a year and a half away. I may have him take the test. I don't know.

[creekland]

We're undecided with the AP Calc and AP Psych tests this year too. Middle son is taking the classes for them, but since he's a senior and will likely have his college selected by then, I thought I'd let his college adviser decide. I really don't plan to pay for tests his senior year if he won't get or use credits in those subjects. He will still have all the knowledge he gained by doing the work.

 

Earlier years it's different as those will count toward admissions.

[creekland]

I agree with this, however, I just want to point out that even an AP score of 3 is enough to earn college credit in select subjects at some colleges.

 

True. I had forgotten that. He has two college that would give credit for a 3, but personally, my guy wouldn't take those credits since he's heading pre-med. If I had another student who didn't really need that subject for their major, but needed some credits for it I might consider think differently. It all depends on the student.

[Gwen in VA]

I know many public schoolers who take AP exams for every AP class during their sophomore and junior years. Good AP exam scores really show how academically strong the kid is!

 

They make the decision about whether or not to take the AP exams at the end of their senior year based on where they are going to college and how the college will treat the AP scores.

 

If the college won't accept any scores or the college won't give credit for a particular exam, there is no point in taking the exam. Or if, for whatever reason, the student does not want to receive credit for the exam, he should not take it.

 

One caveat about tailoring whether or not you take senior year AP exams -- there is always a chance that your kid may want to transfer. If he doesn't take the exam but he ends up transfering to a college where it would be accepted, he can't go back and take it.

[MomsintheGarden]

How many APs your student take and credit he/she accepts is dependent on your student's readiness for intense study for a test that is all or nothing. It also depends on the student's college, major, grad/medical school plans, and his/her ability to deal with taking advanced courses as a college freshman.

 

Here are a few details about what our oldest two did. Perhaps that may give you some insight on what to do for your student.

 

Our ds is at a large competitive state university, in engineering school. He took several APs and some CLEPs. When he was a freshman, most of his friends had 12-20 hours of AP credit. The maximum allowed at his school is 30 hours (note: check with the school). It is considered average for an engineering freshman to have that much, especially in Calculus, Chemistry, and English. Because of his credits (and extremely hard work - 2 semesters of 23 hours, 1 semester of 21 hours), he will be able to graduate in four years with a double major. He is happy with how things have worked out. I look back and wish I had been savvy enough to help him do more in high school.

 

Our dd is at a large Christian college, in a small/medium life sciences department. She did more APs than ds, and a few CLEPS. Because of her credits going into college, she has been able to take a lighter class load, minor in a couple of other subjects, and participate in some rewarding extracurricular activities. She is the type of student who was ready for more in high school, and I was thankful to have been able to fuel her fire for learning (and credit earning). She was also glad to have gotten a lot of the lower level courses done at home so she could take more advanced classes at college. She's done well in them and is thriving because she's been challenged, rather than bored with taking the same class again (i.e. general chem). Her college is not competitive, so sometimes it has been a bit awkward to be the only younger student in higher-level classes, although it's gotten her noticed by professors - that's been a very good thing. She's thanked me many times for helping her do APs in high school.

 

Our next ds will be ready for one AP in 9th grade (he's in 8th). We will slowly ramp up to more in later high school years. We'll need to see about the younger children. Some will be ready and able to do them, but some may not. We will try to challenge each child as an individual without overwhelming.

 

One other thing about APs and credit - many colleges, especially engineering schools require a validation exam for certain subjects to receive credit. This is most common in Calculus. Ds received a 5 on the Calc AB exam but still had to take a test at the school to be placed in an appropriate class. The most competitive schools often don't give credit at all. They will place a student in a higher-level class.

 

I recommend thinking about your student's plans and starting college research, keeping in mind that plans can change. Take a look at the "AP Credit" sections on some possible college websites. Look at their catalogs to see the degree requirements, and compare with the credit awarded for each exam. You will get a feel for how much credit-by-exam is reasonable. If you have any specific questions, search these boards or post. The WTM boards have gotten to a place where there are a lot of families here who have gone this route.

 

HTH,

GardenMom