so tell me: AP class w/o the test?

[OhioMomof3]

I've seen posts that mention students taking AP classes, knowing that at the end of the year they won't take the test.  I am thinking that would be a red flag for college admissions officers.  Am I wrong about this?  If your child takes an AP class without taking the test, do you record the class as AP on the transcript (and, obviously, not show an AP score), or do you record the class as Honors?  Please educate me!

[Ann.without.an.e]

I've seen posts that mention students taking AP classes, knowing that at the end of the year they won't take the test.  I am thinking that would be a red flag for college admissions officers.  Am I wrong about this?  If your child takes an AP class without taking the test, do you record the class as AP on the transcript (and, obviously, not show an AP score), or do you record the class as Honors?  Please educate me!

 

 

 

I think that scenario is more likely to take place in PS.  Most PS students here take the class for GPA boosting purposes with no plan to take the exam.  As homeschool parents, we need the exam to prove what we did, imho.  That being said, we are having to do this with one of dd's classes this year.  We had a testing location for AP Art history.  The counselor said she would test dd even if no other students were taking the exam.  That counselor left after Christmas and the new counselor will only give it if other students are taking it and no other students are taking it so neither can dd.  I am hopeful that attaching a note about the situation along with dd's other AP exam grades being sufficient will allow them to view the course as a true AP course :/

[FaithManor]

We ended up in the boat of ds completing an AP and then losing our testing facility. Since homeschoolers can't use the AP designation without going through certification jumps with the college board and it was too late for me to go back and do that (I was going to call it honors, and then of course he would have the AP exam score to report so colleges would know he did AP work). I just listed it as Honors and we were out of luck. If you did not go through the approval process before she began her coursework, you cannot use the AP designation. The college board is strict about this, and colleges know that. So don't try it. Since she has other AP exam scores, she has proven her abilities in other areas so I would just move on unless you think the college board can come up with a proctoring solution..

[Ann.without.an.e]

I've seen posts that mention students taking AP classes, knowing that at the end of the year they won't take the test.  I am thinking that would be a red flag for college admissions officers.  Am I wrong about this?  If your child takes an AP class without taking the test, do you record the class as AP on the transcript (and, obviously, not show an AP score), or do you record the class as Honors?  Please educate me!

 

 

I guess I didn't completely answer your question....our plan for the AP class where there is no testing location is to list it as AP (since it is an approved course) and add a note of explanation about the lack of testing facility.

[OhioMomof3]

Thanks, Charleigh and FaithManor.

 

From what you've said, it seems to me that admissions officers are used to seeing AP courses without scores. 

 

Neither of my older children took AP classes; they chose DE.  I'm just thinking about my options for dd.  She will probably take the DE route as well.  However, I was thinking she would take a couple of AP classes before DE, and I was wondering whether taking these classes without testing afterward was a problem.  Thanks for your insight.

[Mom22ns]

We had a very difficult time finding a testing facility. Many homeschoolers are unable to find a place to take AP exams. I had one college admissions person ask if ds had done any CLEPs stating she assumed he couldn't get AP credits since there would be no opportunity to test. I also agree that many ps students don't test. I think it would be best to explain skipping the exam somewhere on the transcript, but I don't think it is a big deal.

 

Ds took APs this year even though we didn't think he would be able to test. I wanted him to have an experience with an excellent English teacher. He could have taken his English (comp and lit) at the CC but he would have learned nothing. AP was the best and most rigorous class available. Even without the test, it would have been easy to explain that.

[ValRN]

We use AP courses for rigor only.  I don't ever plan for my DC to take exams at the end of an AP course; however, they do have a say in the matter.

 

We also send a very detailed curriculum vitae (that has course descriptions, texts, grading and course requirements, etc.) and a homeschool profile (mission statement, philosophy of education...which explains that AP courses are taken for rigor) to admissions offices when applying. 

 

With that being said, please understand that I've only graduated and sent 1 kid to college. My 2nd is in 11th and my 3rd and youngest, is in 8th.  The DC that I have graduated was accepted and offered merit scholarships at every college to which he applied, so I can safely assume that skipping AP exams did not hurt him. 

 

HTH

 edit - Let me add that none of the colleges to which DS applied were highly selective. The most selective admits about 47% of applicants. So, it may be different with highly selective schools.

I've seen posts that mention students taking AP classes, knowing that at the end of the year they won't take the test.  I am thinking that would be a red flag for college admissions officers.  Am I wrong about this?  If your child takes an AP class without taking the test, do you record the class as AP on the transcript (and, obviously, not show an AP score), or do you record the class as Honors?  Please educate me!

 

If the AP class is taken the senior year of high school, test results are probably too late for college entrance purposes.

[MarkT]

Bottom line - Don't call a class AP if you don't take the AP exam.  Honors <coursename> at that point so no 'red flag'.  No downside.

[Wildcat]

Bottom line - Don't call a class AP if you don't take the AP exam.  Honors <coursename> at that point so no 'red flag'.  No downside.

 

I respectfully disagree. Like most things high school/college related, one needs to check with the school, but I don't see the harm in putting AP on the transcript without having a test score (as long as it was a valid/approved AP course).

 

My ds chose not to take the AP test for one of his classes for various reasons and no one batted an eye at it. He took the class due to interest and rigor and not for AP credit (it wouldn't have applied to his major anyway, plus his ACT/SAT scores already gave him the full amount of credit the colleges he applied to would give). Plus, the date and time of the exam interfered with his dual-enrolled course finals AND, as others mentioned, we don't have access to a testing site so it would have meant a 2-hour drive with an overnight stay~~ all for a test that would have given him no 'benefit'. No one in the schools to which he applied even asked him about it. These were all good state schools, two of which are often mentioned here on these boards. If someone had asked him why there was no score to go with the test, he would have explained it to them, but no one ever asked.

 

I believe it is better to have the AP class on the transcript whether or not there is a test to go with it. For scholarships, each of the state schools to which my kids applied all looked at the number of AP classes and not one asked about scores.

[purpleroses]

It is a red flag to take the class but not the test, but some PS students just want the brownie points anyway. College admissions might wonder why you didn't tae the exam.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It is a red flag to take the class but not the test, but some PS students just want the brownie points anyway. College admissions might wonder why you didn't tae the exam.

A student might take an AP because

It is the only college prep level offered. Schools in some areas offer AP or regular only.

It is the most challenging level available to them.

It is better for their gpa to take an AP, even if they get a lower grade, because of gpa weighting. Conversely taking a regular level course may cause the gpa to drop, even if the grade is an A.

They want the deepest prep possible, but know they cannot or will not take credit for courses in their major (ex AP Bio).

It is the next college prep course, but they know they have already earned the college credit (ex some colleges give the same credit for AP English Language and AP English Lit so seniors who had passing scores on the English Lang test have no reason to take the Eng Lit exam).

 

I wouldn't call any of these reasons going for brownie points.

 

Having said all that if I knew that my kid wasn't taking the AP exam I would consider options that were delinked from the AP syllabi, especially for history and Eng Lang. (Because those courses have rubbed me the wrong way more than others.)

 

Having chosen to hew to the AP syllabus as homeschoolers, we have gone to great effort to also find ways to take the exams. There have been many no's along the way but so far we've found seats for what we needed.

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest took 2 AP classes and didn't take the exams.   She was in a public school where 98% of graduates go to 4 year colleges, and it was not that unusual for kids to not take the exams for a variety of reasons.  Unavailable on the date in question, didn't think they would pass and didn't want to spend the money, just didn't want to.

 

None of the colleges she applied to seemed to find it unusual or odd.

[Mom22ns]

Bottom line - Don't call a class AP if you don't take the AP exam.  Honors <coursename> at that point so no 'red flag'.  No downside.

 

The downside is that the college doesn't know your student has been working at AP level. I wouldn't mislabel an AP class.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Bottom line - Don't call a class AP if you don't take the AP exam.  Honors <coursename> at that point so no 'red flag'.  No downside.

 

I disagree.

 

If you have taken a course with an approved AP syllabus then you have taken an AP course.  There is no rule that says you must report AP scores to a school prior to applying to that school.  Or even that you must send them after admission.

 

Admissions departments use the AP designation in a variety of ways.  It is not solely about the exam.

 

If you have taken the AP course from an outside provider and they are providing a transcript then you have outside validation.

 

I am in a position where at least one of my kids will have AP courses in senior year for which they may not have access to the exam, I'm still going to put AP on their transcript.  College admissions will be over and done before the AP test is taken or the scores come out.  At that point it is about credit not admissions.

 

The AP label is a known indicator of the type of work being done.  Honors is a far more nebulous name and very subjective.  I have yet to label any of my kids' courses that I have designed as honors.  They probably have a few that would be that in many locations but with the exception of two where we are following an outside provider's "honors" syllabus I'm not willing to use that label.  [i'll see how I feel after we do a few college visits this summer and if they persuade me to change my mind.]

[OhioMomof3]

Thanks for the great discussion about this--it helped!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

We ended up in the boat of ds completing an AP and then losing our testing facility. Since homeschoolers can't use the AP designation without going through certification jumps with the college board and it was too late for me to go back and do that (I was going to call it honors, and then of course he would have the AP exam score to report so colleges would know he did AP work). I just listed it as Honors and we were out of luck. If you did not go through the approval process before she began her coursework, you cannot use the AP designation. The college board is strict about this, and colleges know that. So don't try it. Since she has other AP exam scores, she has proven her abilities in other areas so I would just move on unless you think the college board can come up with a proctoring solution..

 

Actually, I think it isn't that you have approval before they begin studying but rather that you have approval for the year you are giving the course (recording it on the transcript).

 

College Board has a deadline in January for submitting syllabi for approval for the current school year.  Courses that complete the process and are approved can be designated AP for that school year.

[TCB]

Hope this isn't too off topic- but how do you find somewhere to take the test? Does the college board have a list of test sites?

 

 

ETA - I think I may have answered my own question - I just called the local high school and they said they could order exams for us and proctor them.

[Luckymama]

Hope this isn't too off topic- but how do you find somewhere to take the test? Does the college board have a list of test sites?

The AP course ledger lists schools w approved syllabi. That can mean they just rolled over a prior year's syllabus but are not giving that exam this particular year. But it's a starting point :)

 

https://apcourseaudit.epiconline.org/ledger/search.php

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hope this isn't too off topic- but how do you find somewhere to take the test? Does the college board have a list of test sites?

 

 

ETA - I think I may have answered my own question - I just called the local high school and they said they could order exams for us and proctor them.

Are you trying to test this year? Many schools are wrapping up their exam ordering or have already ordered the 2015 tests. So if you need one for this May make sure you nail it down.

Also specifically ask about exams for courses they don't offer. I've also run into schools that don't permit outside students for modern language exams because of some concern regarding the required equipment.

[TCB]

Are you trying to test this year? Many schools are wrapping up their exam ordering or have already ordered the 2015 tests. So if you need one for this May make sure you nail it down.

Also specifically ask about exams for courses they don't offer. I've also run into schools that don't permit outside students for modern language exams because of some concern regarding the required equipment.

 

No, not for this year. They said they could order an exam for a class they don't offer, but I'm going to confirm this. Good to know about the modern language exam issue. The person I spoke to sounded very happy to help. Hope it pans out that way.