AP, SAT subject, CLEP, how do you choose?

[MommyThrice]

How do you choose which tests to have your students take? My impression is that...

1) AP's are the most difficult & most widely accepted. You really need to study for each particular test.

2) CLEP is the easiest or covers the most general information, and not so widely accepted. Useful to verify what you are teaching at home.

3) SAT subjects tests - somewhere in between the other two? I really don't know.

 

Which have you used and why?

[regentrude]

We do some SAT2 's because many universities specifically require them for admission. They test high school level knowledge. They are easy to schedule through the College Board, and most are offered mutiple times a year.

 

We may do one set of APs. They may give college credit, but it depends on the school. I would not want my student to test out of anything related to her major. They are harder to schedule because you have to go through the local school, not every school offers every test, and there is only one test date each year. We would use it to demonstrate academic rigor.

 

CLEP is easier to schedule because you go through a local university or college testing center and can choose your date. How many CLEP's are accepted depends on the university and major. We probably won't do these.

 

I personally prefer dual enrollment to demonstrate mastery of college level material, because a) not everything hinges on one single exam, b) it also shows that the student can work in a classroom, c) the professor would be a person to ask for a letter of recommendation.

[brandigirl]

I am taking AP's this year and they are listed in my sig. I am doing this because I might be able to save a little in college. Although I would rather not test out of some classes, a penny saved is a penny earned. Since most of my choices want 50,000 dollars a year and my degree needs dr. if you want to go somewhere I am doomed. I am also taking SAT II's because my colleges require 3 of them :)

[MommyThrice]

I'm thinking about having my freshman take the SAT 2 for the biology he has been studying this year. There are two sections - E & M - and you can only take one at a time, even though it says both are usually covered in a high school course. Any advice on which to take and why?

 

Here's my plan...

We're using dual credit for classes taken in junior & senior years. Mostly math, science and foreign languages. We live in Texas and can't take dual credit before then.

 

We're using AP for classes where we might have a difference in values at the community college (ie. literature) or classes taken before the junior year. We're leaning towards AP US Gov't & Comparative Gov't next year.

 

Probably take SAT2's for regular high school classes to show proficiency and to support the mommy grades. Possibly CLEP for the same purpose.

 

Doe's that seem reasonable?

[MommyThrice]

I would not want my student to test out of anything related to her major.

 

Yes. We are using these tests specifically for courses that my kids DO NOT want to see again when they go off to college. :)

[creekland]

I chose dual enrollment at our local cc for classes I didn't feel comfortable at home (English 101, Microbiology 201, Effective Speaking 101). These classes provided great letters of reference plus let college admissions know my guys could keep up in a classroom. Oldest got credit for English (the only one he took). One major negative... oldest has told me the content was no where near the same quality as what he would have had in his 4 year school. He's happy he had the easier class. I sort of would prefer he had the more rigorous class.

 

Oldest didn't do any AP tests. In hindsight, I'd have had him take Calc AB because he could have taken that credit in college and saved himself a "boring class." At the time my reasoning was that he would "have an easy class" if he needed it helping him transition to college. He didn't end up needing Calc, but has to take a lesser math for his Business major (double majoring). He's bored stiff in that class. Had he had the AP credit he could have skipped the more boring class.

 

Middle did AP Stats and will be taking AP Psych this year. We specifically picked those so they would transfer saving himself the "basic" classes in college. He could take AP Calc, but I'm not having him do it. Again, I'd rather he repeat Calc at his 4 year - and he will be in Calc since he's going Pre-Med. A good grade is better than any boredom if it were to happen. In hindsight for him I'd have had him do far MORE AP tests as he could have done them without much difficulty AND pretty much all of his competition for merit aid/scholarships at colleges has them, so he stands out with just one. While he ended up with nice scholarships and loves where he will be going, I still wonder if he couldn't have done just a little better with more AP. Honestly though, I can't complain.

 

We never did any SAT 2 tests and not having any only cut Emory from his list of colleges to consider. Emory doesn't require them in general, just for homeschoolers and my guy didn't want to jump through hoops for one college on his list. Oldest didn't need any either, though all of his applications were at less competitive colleges. Check colleges you're interested in for their HOMESCHOOLING requirements before making decisions on SAT 2. Every school we ended up going with told us not to bother (since my guy had his cc classes and that AP).

 

CLEP has never interested me and I've yet to hear any college admissions group session talk about it. Therefore, I [perhaps incorrectly] assume they aren't as interested in those and never put them on our radar.

[AngieW in Texas]

The dual credit rules are different for every community college district in Texas. In my district, you cannot take classes as a dual credit student until you have completed 10th grade. They do allow earlier entrance to cc classes for some students, but it is hard to get approval for and you are not considered a dual credit student and don't get to take 2 classes/semester at no charge (which is what you get as a dual credit student in my district).

 

My oldest didn't do any SAT-II tests and didn't do any AP tests either. She did take a lot of dual credit courses. She took one each summer, two each during fall and spring of her junior year and four each during fall and spring of her senior year. She ended up dropping one of the courses in spring of her senior year because the teacher was awful. She had to get approval to take more than the standard two courses that are usually allowed for dual credit students.

 

My middle dd is applying to some schools that require SAT-II tests, so she has already taken the US history SAT-II and will be taking one of the math subject tests. She may take the chemistry SAT-II test. She has already taken the AP Physics B test. She is also doing dual credit classes. One of schools she is looking at will transfer all of her cc courses, one will take no more than 18 hours of transfer credit, another won't take any transfer credits at all.

[snowbeltmom]

In my district, you cannot take classes as a dual credit student until you have completed 10th grade.

 

This is the policy at our local community college as well - the student has to be a high school junior in order to be able to take cc classes.

[Mama Lynx]

My oldest has taken two SAT II exams so far. They were painless, and many colleges like those as validation of homeschool work. I imagine that he'll take a couple more.

 

We are only going to do AP if he particularly wants to. Right now he is interested in doing AP US history. I am certain that his younger brother will want AP science.

[creekland]

In my district, you cannot take classes as a dual credit student until you have completed 10th grade.

 

This is the way our cc works too - no exceptions even for very high stats.

 

High school students also can't take any remedial classes. They must test into all college level courses (even if they have no plans to take certain subjects).

 

Cc requirements certainly are different pending where one lives.

[snowbeltmom]

Make sure you ask. In the official handbook for dual credit it says it is only for juniors. It says you can't do it as a freshman or soph. However, as I said there are lots of homeschoolers who do that. You just have to get special permission. So call and specifically ask.. My children had done some of the Duke testing in 7th and then they maxed out on the entrance test they required so it was no problem. So make sure you ask. Don't just rely on published information.

 

:iagree: But make sure that you fully investigate the ramifications.

 

There are some homeschoolers in my area who enroll in the cc as a high school freshman. However, if you decide to go this route for your child, please make sure the cc discloses all of the possible consequences (which depending on the cc, there may or may not be any.)

 

A friend of mine wanted to enroll her homeschooled high school freshman in the college algebra class at our local cc. He passed the cc testing requirements, and the director of admissions told my friend that her son could enroll in the cc as long as she stated that he was a high school junior on the cc paperwork. My friend figured that it didn't matter that the cc considered her son a junior; she considered him a high school freshman and viewed the cc paperwork as just another hoop to jump through.

 

When my friend went to enroll her son in calc the following year at the same cc (he was now a high school sophomore), the director of admissions told her that her son would only be eligible to take 2 semesters of calc (calc is a 3 semester sequence at this cc) since in the eyes of the cc, her son was now a high school senior.

 

The only way that my friend's son would have been able to continue at cc would have been if my friend had graduated her son from high school at the end of his sophomore year - something she did not want to do.

[creekland]

Make sure you ask. In the official handbook for dual credit it says it is only for juniors. It says you can't do it as a freshman or soph. However, as I said there are lots of homeschoolers who do that. You just have to get special permission. So call and specifically ask.. My children had done some of the Duke testing in 7th and then they maxed out on the entrance test they required so it was no problem. So make sure you ask. Don't just rely on published information.

 

I asked. Ours does not make exceptions even though my guy already had an ACT score in the top 3% at the time - with top 1% for math.

 

Ours doesn't have many homeschoolers anyway, though there are a few.