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Another reason for AP


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As "regulars" to this board may remember, my only regret with homeschooling high school for my oldest two is not having done more AP tests (even though both did well getting into the colleges they wanted).

 

I'm now kicking myself that I opted not to have middle son take the AP Bio test last year. He could have. He was ready, and likely would have gotten a 5, but we opted to save the $87 because he wasn't planning on accepting credits from it anyway due to being pre-med and some med schools don't want to see AP credit for a pre-req class.

 

Now that middle son is signing up for his classes at U of Rochester, he's come across an intro Bio class that he would love to take (an Honors version of their basic Bio that delves more into research). The problem? A non-negotiable pre-req for the class is a 5 on the AP test. It's non-negotiable because the class size is limited and they have more than enough students with a 5 to fill all the seats.

 

Middle son isn't super devastated, but I'm really wishing we could turn back the clock to choose to spend the $87 so he could take the class he would prefer.

 

So, the best I could do is forewarn anyone else on here who might be in a similar boat in the future... Sometimes saving money isn't the best in the long run even if you don't see a foreseeable need for it.

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I want to second Creekland's advice to take AP's seriously, even if there is no apparent benefit to taking the exam.

 

Way back when, I transferred from a top LAC to a top engineering school. I had some AP scores that were not accepted by my LAC my freshman year but were accepted by the engineering school I transferred to. If I had only taken the AP exams my senior year that had an apparent use to me during my freshman year, I would not have taken two AP exams, and I would have had to take two more classes at my engineering school. Those apparently useless AP scores allowed me to still graduate in four years despite my transfer!

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My son's tale: AP Bio fulfilled a prereq at the community college for microbiology taken as a dual enrollment student. This fall, as a college junior, he is taking an invertebrate paleontology class that has either a certain geology class or intro biology as the prereq. Good old AP Bio comes to the rescue again!

 

It is true that many see AP solely in terms of college credit. Using AP to fill prerequisites is another possibility.

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It is true that many see AP solely in terms of college credit. Using AP to fill prerequisites is another possibility.

 

Hello Jane,

 

My cousin's daughter was able to use AP as a prerequisite and being able to do that helped resolve a potential scheduling headache.

 

Martha

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Thank you for the information! Creekland, thanks for sharing. Whether it's AP, CC, or SAT/ACT you always provide feedback from your personal experience. The benefits of AP are huge, and the cost, well, expensive yes but the rewards are many!

CL, I always read your posts. 

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Thank you for the information! Creekland, thanks for sharing. Whether it's AP, CC, or SAT/ACT you always provide feedback from your personal experience. The benefits of AP are huge, and the cost, well, expensive yes but the rewards are many!

CL, I always read your posts. 

 

Yeah, this one really took me by surprise because I'd never even heard of something like it alluded to beforehand. I wasn't worried about transfers or pre-reqs for other classes because I knew Bio 101 would be a freshman fall semester class my guy would have to take both for pre-med and his major (neuroscience). After fall semester he'd have credit for it. AP wouldn't have mattered one iota other than for acceptance, but I thought he'd make it in without that test and he did (with merit aid).

 

It just never occurred to me that they would offer a Bio 101 Honors that required a 5 on the AP as a pre-req... That may be truly uncommon, but it certainly is a possibility as we've found out.

 

My guy has the knowledge (we did all the AP work for our Bio as I didn't want him behind there where the vast majority would have taken AP Bio). We just opted to skip the test seeing no need for it since he'd be doing Bio there... He's not the only one with the problem either (as per Rochester's Facebook page). Students from schools (like mine) who don't offer AP, but offer cc or other alternatives are also out of luck.

 

He's ok with it... he's not super bummed... but I know he'd have preferred the research variety given the choice.

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This was in the info sent to my rising senior this spring when he inquired about the Bausch & Lomb award program.

Here a 4 or 5 is accepted.

 

http://www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/UPBM/Courses/upbmprereq

 

We have found the amount of info from some colleges involving special programs, early assurance programs, etc can get confusing.

Edited by nynyny
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This was in the info sent to my rising senior this spring when he inquired about the Bausch & Lomb award program.

Here a 4 or 5 is accepted.

 

http://www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/UPBM/Courses/upbmprereq

 

We have found the amount of info from some colleges involving special programs, early assurance programs, etc can get confusing.

 

I'm not sure what they have on their website for "general" info (other than the link you sent). We're working directly from the "sign up for classes" site which lists the pre-req of a 5 required (with qus answered via the class of 2016 Facebook page). ;) It could be that they allowed a 4 or 5 in the past and have narrowed it to a 5 recently.

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I was talking about this with dh this morning. He pointed out that taking credits from AP also allowed him to be considered a sophomore for standing by second semester freshman year. That gave him a leg up with registering for classes, since he got a little more priority.

 

Though given the number of students with AP scores, you may need a handful just to keep up with the front runners who are in your class.

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I was talking about this with dh this morning. He pointed out that taking credits from AP also allowed him to be considered a sophomore for standing by second semester freshman year. That gave him a leg up with registering for classes, since he got a little more priority.

 

Yep, we found simliar "side benefits" with my older ds. Having advanced standing helped move him up "in line" when it came to choosing his dorm in year two, and it helped him buy a parking pass for a closer lot--since parking pass sales open up first for seniors, then juniors . . . ;)

Edited by Brigid in NC
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