Can someone explain what "AP" is from the very beginning?

[CatholicMom]

Pretend I'm 10 years old. LOL 

 

I know it means "Advanced Placement" and refers to a more intense high school course, and that's about the extent of my grasp on it. What makes a course AP? More work? How much? Why are AP courses beneficial? Who says it qualifies as "AP"? Can any subject be turned into an AP course (e.g. AP art history? AP European Studies?). Are there prerequisites for AP courses (i.e. in order to take an AP course, do you have to take an initial course in said subject)?

 

I went to school in Pennsylvania and we didn't do AP anything as far as I recall!

 

TIA!

[Garga]

The con of AP courses vs duel enrollment, is that the AP course all boils down to one score on one test. Colleges look to see how the student did on the AP test and guage if the student did well in the course. If you have a student who isn't a good test taker...too bad!

 

The benefit is that not all colleges are created equal, so sometimes colleges aren't impressed with your DE credit. The colleges will be trying to compare apples to oranges when they look at your student's DE grades--was this a hard grade to earn or ridiculously easy, because the school was lame? But with an AP test, colleges know they are comparing apples to apples so if your student does well on the test, they know the student has done a certain level of work.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Garga

[regentrude]

Adding to pp:

students can take an AP test even if they never took an AP class. You can teach the material at home, have student self study with a book or online resources - what counts is the score on the exam. Many homeschoolers forgo the syllabus approval by the College Board and simply call the course "physics with AP exam".

 

Exams are given at local schools. A big hurdle some homeschoolers face is to find a school that lets them take the test. You have to arrange with the school directly and cannot simply sign up online with the college board like you can for the SAT.

[NorthwestMom]

Adding to pp:

students can take an AP test even if they never took an AP class. You can teach the material at home, have student self study with a book or online resources - what counts is the score on the exam. Many homeschoolers forgo the syllabus approval by the College Board and simply call the course "physics with AP exam".

 

Exams are given at local schools. A big hurdle some homeschoolers face is to find a school that lets them take the test. You have to arrange with the school directly and cannot simply sign up online with the college board like you can for the SAT.

 

This is true. My DS took and did well on AP Computer Science A, since he wanted to move straight to Comp Sci B. (he self-taught programming as a homeschooler before he went to high school ;) )There are tons of resources to practice for it. I strongly recommend at least one prep book or something, so you know the parameters of the material you are studying.

 

Also know that if your child is bilingual, there are AP tests for many languages, and that might be an option.

 

If you are trying to get a seat at a public school for an exam, see if your district has any kind of homeschool outreach program and call them. Our district's homeschool outreach program was really willing to include us in that sort of thing even though we were not in their program. For us, the homeschool outreach secretary /administrative assistant was the one who knew EVERYTHING about how to maneuver as a homeschooler in the system (not the "principal").

 

I think having good AP  scores gives credibility to a homeschooler's transcript, especially in math and science.

[regentrude]

I think having good AP  scores gives credibility to a homeschooler's transcript, especially in math and science.

 

Definitely true. Just wanted to point out to the OP that there are other ways of outside validation, like SAT subject tests, and dual enrollment. While AP are very popular, they are not the only way to demonstrate a high performance and may not be the best choice for an individual student, for a variety of reasons.

[Lori D.]

Previous posters did a super job of laying out what AP classes and tests are all about. You can also read more about them at the College Board AP website. I'll just throw in things to think about in trying to decide whether or not to do AP tests, and if so how many. The main reasons people tend to take the AP tests:

 

- makes the student competitive for admission to top tier/selective colleges

- confirms homeschool transcript grades

- shows advanced level of work

- can help add on to ACT/SAT scores to show the student is deserving of high merit aid & scholarships.

- can open doors to college freshmen to take advanced or honors college courses in the freshman year

- can shave off taking a few college courses in college (and thus save a bit of time and tuition costs), as high scores (4s and 5s) are awarded credit by many colleges

 

However, dual enrollment, SAT Subject tests, and CLEP tests can also accomplish these same goals, so you pretty much need to research *those* options, too, in order to weigh the pros and cons of each and how available each option is to you, or how reasonable/difficult each option will be to do, AND then check in to potential colleges your student may apply to and see which of the options lines up best for the colleges, while simultaneously accomplishing your goals. ;)

 

 

Really, whether "to AP or not to AP" (lol) pretty much comes down to what do YOU need/want, AND what do the colleges you're interested need/want.

 

How does the college look at AP (and also consider dual enrollment, SAT Subject tests, or CLEP tests):

- Does the competitive / selective / top tier school expect to see APs to grant admission?

- Does the school look at dual enrollment or CLEP as equally valid for admission?

- What is the school's policy for granting credit for AP? What about for dual enrollment or CLEP tests?

- Would SAT Subject tests, CLEP tests, or dual enrollment work as well/better for the college?

 

What are your goals for APs:

- To be competitive for admission? If so, does the college expect APs, or prefer "interesting" students who did more than just rigorous academics?

- To confirm homeschool grades on the transcript? If so, which method works best for you and for the college: AP, SAT Subject, CLEP, dual enrollment -- or a mix?

- To knock out credits in advance of college to have more time during college for a tough degree program, a double major, special opportunities, etc.? If so, AP is well-suited for this -- but other options might work as well or better, so it's back to checking with each college...

- Or, do you need to knock out credits in advance of college to and save money by going fewer semesters? If so, would dual enrollment or CLEP be a more efficient way of doing this? And, as always, which, if any, of the options does the college accept?

 

If going with AP:

- Does your student "test well"?

- Or will a one-time only high stakes test at the end of the year not be a good option for showing *this* student's high level of work?

- How will you accomplish the prep work (the year-long class work) :

   join a local class?

   take an online class?

   DIY at home?

- Is a testing site available to you? (not all high schools offering tests can or will allow homeschoolers)

- Will you have to drive to another city for testing?

- And if so, what else do you need to plan to make that happen? (example: drive the day before and stay overnight so student is fresh and arrives on time)

- Does the testing site available to you offer the specific test you need/want? (not all schools offer all AP tests every year)

 

BEST of luck as you think through what APs are and how they might work/not work for each student. :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Lori D.

[daijobu]

I'll only add that you need to be careful about selecting which AP classes you'll want to take.  There is AP physics 1 and 2 and AP physics B and C.  There are 2 AP computer science courses which are currently being discussed here on another thread.  Some are more rigorous than others and some will not be awarded credit by a university, so be certain of what you are signing up for.  

[regentrude]

I'll only add that you need to be careful about selecting which AP classes you'll want to take.  There is AP physics 1 and 2 and AP physics B and C.  

 

I believe AP Physics B no longer exists. It has been replaced by 1+2.

[CatholicMom]

 

However, dual enrollment, SAT Subject tests, and CLEP tests can also accomplish these same goals, so you pretty much need to research *those* options, too, in order to weigh the pros and cons of each and how available each option is to you, or how reasonable/difficult each option will be to do, AND then check in to potential colleges your student may apply to and see which of the options lines up best for the colleges, while simultaneously accomplishing your goals. ;)

 

 

Oh, no problemo!  :svengo:  :svengo:  :svengo:  :lol:

 

I think I need to take a class on how to homeschool high school.  :crying:

 

It seems like so many stars have to align before you find the "right choice." However, I guess right now two of my goals with AP classes, given what I now know, would be to validate his homeschool transcript, and to count toward college credits to 1) make his life/major easier, but even moreso 2) help him get through college debt-free or close to it. Because we are steering our son toward not getting involved in debt as soon as he graduates high school, we will encourage him to go to college where he can actually afford... so no super competitive universities most likely.

 

Also, AP courses would almost certainly NOT be math or science of any sort. I would have to pull major teeth for that, and I have no doubt he will not be majoring in a STEM field anyway. So I was thinking AP in his areas of interest (creative/art/writing fields right now).

 

So a few more questions now that I know all this (which is VERY helpful, albeit overwhelming):

 

1) Are AP courses worth nothing if they don't take the test? So, for instance, if you are planning to teach or enroll in an AP course, you'd better be dang sure he will be able to take the test somewhere locally? (They can't be taken online?)

2) Can the local school deny your child entry to the test? Maybe this varies by state. (I'm in NY.)

3) What if your child, theoretically, takes the AP course and then bombs the test? 

4) What grade do you generally start AP courses in? My son will be in 9th next year. If they are college freshman-level courses, do most wait until 11th or 12th do APs? 

5) Are the AP tests super rigorous? Lengthy fill in the bubble tests? Are they standardized, or is it based on real score? Just curious.

 

I honestly have no idea how my son would do on a test like that.  It totally depends on the subject, for one. I'm not sure how many NON-math or science AP classes are out there. My son has done OK (50 - 65 percentile on the CAT) but that's all I have to go on. I also don't think he took the CAT as seriously as (I'd hope) he'd take an AP exam because he'd be older and he would have been preparing for it all year. Hard to tell, though. 

[CatholicMom]

Btw, I have no idea what a CLEP test is, nor did I know that there was such a thing as an SAT subject test. More to look into.  :svengo:

[daijobu]

 

1) Are AP courses worth nothing if they don't take the test? So, for instance, if you are planning to teach or enroll in an AP course, you'd better be dang sure he will be able to take the test somewhere locally? (They can't be taken online?)

2) Can the local school deny your child entry to the test? Maybe this varies by state. (I'm in NY.)

3) What if your child, theoretically, takes the AP course and then bombs the test? 

4) What grade do you generally start AP courses in? My son will be in 9th next year. If they are college freshman-level courses, do most wait until 11th or 12th do APs? 

5) Are the AP tests super rigorous? Lengthy fill in the bubble tests? Are they standardized, or is it based on real score? Just curious.

 

 

 

 

1.)  They aren't worth nothing, but if you aren't planning to take the test, you can select a course of study that best matches your student's interests, rather than adhering to the college board curriculum.  AP tests can't be taken online.

 

2.)  Yes.  See some previous threads with several of bemoaning trying to find a site to take the exams.

 

3.)  I believe you can elect to not show the exam scores to your schools.  I think you can even have it wiped from your record.  So the risk is low, really.

 

4.)  Kids in regular school often can't take their APs until junior year, because they are often required to take regular science courses as prerequisites.  However, while those prereq's certainly make those classes easier, they aren't always necessary.  My dd started with AP CS in 8th grade since it has a reputation for being a relatively easy AP.  Then she took AP chem as a freshman, and is now taking AP bio and AP stats since AP stats also has a reputation for being easy.  

 

I prefer to spread out the APs over several years, rather than cram them all into jr and sr year.

 

5.) APs are longer and more difficult than SAT subject tests, which are only an hour, all MC, and offered several times a year.  APs are only once a year, and have short answer questions in addition to MCs.  I'm not sure about the details of scoring except that it's 1-5 with a 4 or 5 being very good scores.  3 is marginal, but can still qualify for credit at some schools.   

[Julie of KY]

 

1) Are AP courses worth nothing if they don't take the test? So, for instance, if you are planning to teach or enroll in an AP course, you'd better be dang sure he will be able to take the test somewhere locally? (They can't be taken online?)

2) Can the local school deny your child entry to the test? Maybe this varies by state. (I'm in NY.)

3) What if your child, theoretically, takes the AP course and then bombs the test? 

4) What grade do you generally start AP courses in? My son will be in 9th next year. If they are college freshman-level courses, do most wait until 11th or 12th do APs? 

5) Are the AP tests super rigorous? Lengthy fill in the bubble tests? Are they standardized, or is it based on real score? Just curious.

 

 

 

1) Most AP courses are very good courses and therefore worth something simply for the learning from a good teacher. They look good on a transcript, but I'd also expect to see an AP score if you take an AP class.

 

2) AP courses have to be taken in person, usually at a local (or not so local) high school. In my area, we have a school that is willing to administer tests to homeschoolers so I am fortunate. Some have a hard time finding a testing center. If you work at calling schools, most can find one that is driveable to. (You can look up schools that give the AP exam for a start).

 

3) You do not have to report the score.

 

4) I had one son start as a JR and one as a Soph. In our local schools, AP's are often pushed at 9th/10th, but they tend to have poor scores. It doesn't do you any good to have a poor score. Look for a class that your student is qualified and interested in. Beware that many take a chunk of time to do.

 

5) AP tests are rigorous, but very doable. Most are 2-3 hours; about half multiple choice and half free-response. You can look up old AP exams and at least find all the free response questions from past years. There are many good prep books with full-length sample tests. If a student is prepared (and I think it is pretty easy to know if you are prepared based on the test prep books) then the student should be able to make a high enough score to at least look good on a transcript if not get college credit (most all the schools we looked at gave credit).

[Lori D.]

Oh, no problemo!  :svengo:  :svengo:  :svengo:  :lol:

I think I need to take a class on how to homeschool high school.  :crying:

 

lol. Yes, homeschooling high school certainly has a lot of information to absorb, because you now are not only your student's teacher/mentor, but you also have to be the school administrator/registrar, college advisor, and career counselor. Welcome to the wearing of many hats!  :biggrinjester:

 

 

It seems like so many stars have to align before you find the "right choice."

 

Well, no, it's really not THAT bad. It just feels very onerous, esp. if you've been a very "follow your own path" homeschooler up to this point. ;)

 

 

...I guess right now two of my goals with AP classes, given what I now know, would be to validate his homeschool transcript, and to count toward college credits to 1) make his life/major easier, but even moreso 2) help him get through college debt-free or close to it...

 

1. validate his homeschool transcript

 

ACT/SAT test

That's actually pretty easy -- you can do that through a simple ACT or SAT Reasoning test. (Both are similar and both are equally accepted by colleges, so from here on out I'll just say ACT/SAT, as they are pretty interchangeable.)

 

An ACT/SAT score is ALSO what most colleges what to see for college admission, AND an ACT/SAT score is also what most colleges use for the awarding of scholarships. So taking the ACT/SAT will do triple-duty for you -- "validate" transcript grades  If you need scholarship money, then that would be the test to pour your time/effort/practice in to and score high. And, the nice thing is that you can take these tests multiple times to bring up the scores. Some colleges (not all) even do what is called "super scoring". What is that? Let's say your student takes the SAT test 3 times, and has different scores each time for the Math, Critical Reading, and Writing portions; the college looks at all 3 tests for the Math section, the Critical Reading section, and the Writing section, and takes the highest score for each, even if the highest score for each section comes from each of the 3 different tests. They put those 3 highest scores together to create a "super score".

 

SAT Subject (aka SAT II)

But, if you want further "validation", you might consider the SAT Subject tests (also known as the SAT II tests). These are shorter tests given on the same days and at the same locations as the SAT test above, but these tests only test information at a high school level on a specific subject: Math, English, Science, Foreign Language etc. The reason you might want to consider adding a few of these is that not only do they "verify" homeschool transcript grades, but about 30 universities (mostly East Coast schools) require 2 SAT Subject test scores as part of their college admission requirements. Here's the list from 2015 of colleges that require SAT Subject tests for admission.

 

AP test scores, dual enrollment, and CLEP tests can also "validate" homeschool transcripts. Also, outside activities, personal achievements, internships, etc. that are in the academic areas will "validate" your homeschool grades.

 

For more about the different tests and what they are used for see post #5 of this past thread: "What is an AP class?"

 

2. count towards college credit -- there are only 3 things that do that:

 

1. AP test scores -- IF the college has a policy of awarding credit for high AP scores, AND for which AP tests

 

2. dual enrollment -- IF the classes are accepted by the college; you need to check each college's transfer policies to see if they will accept credits from the school that offered the dual enrollment, AND if they accept that SPECIFIC course as counting towards the degree program requirements; otherwise the credits are just counted as "electives", which do nothing towards reducing amount of time/money needed to earn the degree

 

3. CLEP -- which is basically test-for-credit; you self-study, and when ready, schedule a testing time/date at a college that offers the CLEP tests, pay the $100-$125 fee (depends on what the college test center charges), take the test, and if you score over a minimum score, you are awarded the college credit by the college you apply to IF they accept CLEP tests, and IF they accept those specific CLEP tests towards the degree program requirements; otherwise the credits earned by CLEP are just counted as "electives"

 

 

 

...Because we are steering our son toward not getting involved in debt as soon as he graduates high school, we will encourage him to go to college where he can actually afford... so no super competitive universities most likely...

 

Fortunately, you have the next 4 years ahead of you to start your research on colleges, financial aid, scholarships, and alternative funding ideas. Some places to start:

 

- if living at home to save costs while attending college is a possibility, since you are in NY, you absolutely need to get the NY homeschool high school thing figured out early on to be able to jump all your hoops -- the SUNY and CUNY systems are incredibly frustrating and difficult for homeschool graduates to get past their admission requirements without taking the GED or NY equivalency TASC test -- and taking those tests can potentially limit you later on in other career paths

 

- "Preparing for college, what scholarships/grants to apply for" = past thread on basic scholarship search info

- "College/$ vent" = past thread on the realities of college costs, but also some ideas of how some people funded college

- "s/o Cautionary Tale: high costs of college -- a brainstorm $$ ideas thread!" = past thread with ideas on alternative funding for college

 

 

1) Are AP courses worth nothing if they don't take the test? So, for instance, if you are planning to teach or enroll in an AP course, you'd better be dang sure he will be able to take the test somewhere locally? (They can't be taken online?)

2) Can the local school deny your child entry to the test? Maybe this varies by state. (I'm in NY.)

3) What if your child, theoretically, takes the AP course and then bombs the test? 

4) What grade do you generally start AP courses in? My son will be in 9th next year. If they are college freshman-level courses, do most wait until 11th or 12th do APs? 

5) Are the AP tests super rigorous? Lengthy fill in the bubble tests? Are they standardized, or is it based on real score? Just curious.

 

Just adding on to daijobu's and Julie of KY's very helpful answers above to your questions:

 

1. It's always worthwhile to have your student working at their level rather than coasting. ;)

Following an AP syllabus is just one way of doing that. Note: you can NOT call the course "AP English" on the transcript unless the student took a course that was approved with the AP designation, OR you submitted your syllabus to College Board and had it approved. Also, there is the small possibility that colleges may wonder why there's the AP class but no AP score, and they might conclude that the student scored poorly and had the scores scrubbed. Just a small monkey wrench to have to consider. ;)

 

2. Yes.

But not necessarily out of trying to snub homeschoolers. For example, because testing locations (high schools) have to follow very strict rules about how the testing location is set up and how the test proctors have been trained, many schools just don't have the physical room or man-power to add outsiders to their location. They are stretched to the max to meet the needs of the students of their own school. So, no, it really varies from school location to location, rather than by state to state.

 

3. You can contact AP and have the score permanently deleted through the score cancellation process.

 

4. Depends on your student.

I've seen people on these boards have students start in 8th or 9th grade. It just depends on when your student is ready for which test. Grades 10 and 11 seem to be the most frequent year for testing if wanting the scores to help with college admissions, because all AP tests are only given in the month of May, and AP scores taken in May of 12th grade won't be seen for colleges to help for admission or scholarships, because students apply for and are accepted by colleges usually between October and February of the 12th grade year. However, those 12th grade AP test scores CAN still help with possible college credit.

 

It also depends on the test. Some of the tests are much easier (but carry less "weight" for college admissions). From what I've seen of comments on these Boards:

- "soft" AP tests: History (all 3); Art History; Psychology; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Government

- "hard" AP tests: Calculus (both); English (both); Physics

 

5. See AP test overviews and samples.

Also, here is 3andme's very helpful compilation of information gleaned from the College Confidential forums, posted in the WTM thread "Most/least difficult AP tests?", which answers both your questions #4 and #5:

 

I've read through a number of the threads on College Confidential discussing this issue and there doesn't seem to be a great consensus. A few things I've learned though that may help winnow down the specific exams:

 

•AP score distributions can be misleading

They represent a broad spectrum of students and preparation. Here's a table of score distributions for 2015.  A few of the most common first APs offered in High School are AP Env. Science, AP Human Geog & AP World History. If you go by the score distributions, they would appear to be hard but many freshman/sophomores take these exams and they are often perceived as a good starter AP for a weaker student so this impacts the pass ratios. On the other hand, Physics C and Calculus tend to have a high pass ratio probably because of self selection and school prerequisites - only students with good prep tend to sign up for these courses. Anyway, I would focus on the content and your student's strengths and weaknesses in addition to the score distributions.

 

•Writing Skills & Type of FRQs

The History and English lang/lit frq's require a more structured essay demonstrating more sophisticated writing skills with the formulation and support of a thesis. On the other hand, many of the other exams, such as the Gov and Econ exams, require only short sentence responses or calculations. 

 

•Revision date

Many of the exams have been revised in the last several years or will be revised soon. The results of the revised formats can be unpredictable. You can check here to see planned revisions. Especially if you are self-studying, I would stick with exams that have not been recently revised. It's much easier to find support materials and previous exams for review.. 

 

•Breadth of content

While all APs are supposed to be college equivalents, some are generally covered in 1 semester course while others would be more comparable to 2 semesters. For example, Human Geography or Government are usually solid 1 semester courses while US & World History cover a much broader scope which in some cases might be closer to 2 semesters. 

 

•Memorization

Traditionally, the History courses including Art History, and Biology had a reputation for requiring heavy duty memorization.. I believe they have recently been revised to diminish the memorization in favor of conceptual understanding. Some students excel at these type of exams but others find this to be an obstacle.

 

 

Hope that helps, and doesn't overwhelm. ;) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Lori D.

[fourisenough]

If your purpose in taking APs is to earn college credit, you need to be strategic. My DD earned 28 AP credits and will be able to graduate with a BSN in 6 or 7 (depending on the timing of clinicals) semesters with no summer classes. She earned credit for the following general education requirements or pre-reqs for her program, thus these were the most relevant and helpful APs FOR HER: psychology, English lit, statistics, world history, and biology.

 

She earned credit for, but really can't use the credits for: US Government or Microeconomics. Wish we could get our money back for those two test fees! Actually, as others have said above, there is value in taking AP classes beyond the potential for earning credit; those were very challenging courses, thus she learned how to learn at a college level (taken during 10th grade and each completed in 1 semester, not a full year, so the pace was equivalent to a college course).

 

I disagree with some of the generalizations listed above re: the relative difficulty of each course. I think it depends heavily on your student's strengths and personal tastes.

[8filltheheart]

As you explore these topics, make sure you understand them within the context of your family, your children's goals, types of colleges being applied to, and your state laws. (Some states have stringent homeschool laws or specific college admissions' processes. Understanding your state system should be a top priority. CA and NY come to mind right away.)

 

My older kids have all taken different paths. They are not "gunning for elites." We can't afford elites. (Understanding financial aid should also be a primary consideration, bc FA might impact where your student applies and where you student applies might impact your course selection.) My kids also have very different personalities and academic abilities. Trying to get them all to conform to some pre-fab plan of this course by this yr and this one by that is just completely unrealistic.

 

My oldest Dd, for example, was not going to take a long list of APs. Why? She has severe test anxiety for one. She is the kid we had to pull over to the side of the road as she threw up on the way to the ACT. Putting all of the focus on an end of the yr exam would have been stressful and counterproductive stress bc it was stress she didn't need. She ultimately chose to pursue an Allied Health program and became a COTA. DE at the local CC and university was a good fit for her goals.

 

Our oldest and youngest sons both DEed at local universities. Our oldest is a chemE and took his chem and cal courses there. Our youngest ds took AoPS cal and PAH AP chem and then took the AP exams in both. Then he proceeded to DE in 3 upper level math courses and 5 physics courses at the university.. while he could have taken both AP physics C courses at home and proceeded to take the exams, he wanted to be in a physics lab. (He is a physics major, so this was pure intellectual desire on his part.)

 

My current 12th grader opted for neither APs or DEs prior to DEing in a stats class this semester. Her only other outsourced courses are Russian (throughout high school) and French (for the past yr and a 1/2. She is fluent in French, so she self-studied to a high level.) She took the cal CLEP a yr ago, will be taking the micro Econ CLEP this week, and will be taking 2 American history CLEPs as well as the American govt, macro, and bio CLEPs at the end of the semester. Some of the schools she is applying to accept all of the CLEP credits, some accept most, some accept none. She made the decision to not pursue APs and DE. It was her choice and it has been a good option for her.

 

Pursue APs if that is what your student wants and makes sense for your student's goals. Don't pursue APs bc you think your homeschool transcript is worthless without AP validation. There are plenty of ways to validate your transcript wo APs or DE. For many schools, a single SAT or ACT score is all the validation your transcript requires. It all depends on where they plan on attending college. The big picture encompasses a lot of different scenarios.

Edited January 15, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[daijobu]

 

 

4. Depends on your student.

I've seen people on these boards have students start in 8th or 9th grade. (Note: colleges often do not accept or acknowledge AP scores taken in 8th grade.) It just depends on when your student is ready for which test. Grades 10 and 11 seem to be the most frequent year for testing if wanting the scores to help with college admissions, because all AP tests are only given in the month of May, and AP scores taken in May of 12th grade won't be seen for colleges to help for admission or scholarships, because students apply for and are accepted by colleges usually between October and February of the 12th grade year. However, those 12th grade AP test scores CAN still help with possible college credit.

 

 

 

Whoa, seriously?  

[Lori D.]

Lori D., on 14 Jan 2017 - 10:54 PM, said: (Note: colleges often do not accept or acknowledge AP scores taken in 8th grade.) 

 

Whoa, seriously?  

 

Oops! Correcting myself:

 

- I was thinking of SAT/ACT scores -- colleges don't tend to accept test scores taken before 9th grade as valid for college admission purposes; some colleges want SAT/ACT scores that are only 2-3 years old (so, taken no earlier than 10th or 11th grade)

 

- and I was thinking of AP courses and the NCAA -- the NCAA Clearinghouse policies are to not accept AP courses taken prior to 9th grade as fulfilling the NCAA required core courses for Division I eligibility

 

- also: AP tests older than 4 years may be archived (most frequently if the student takes a break between high school and college), and there is a $25 fee for AP to retrieve the score; colleges will still grant credit, according to their policies about AP tests

 

- and this may be of interest: College Board AP's policies re: taking APs before 9th grade

Edited January 15, 2017 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with 8FillTheHeart about researching financial aid and college costs, and knowing each student.

 

If you are *not* looking at top tier/selective schools, AND your student is not planning on a degree program that really requires attending the college all 4 years (many Engineering, Medical, and Architectural degrees are scheduled in such a way as to require attending all 4 years), AND you think that credit-by-exam is a good route for *this* student to knock out college credits early... then CLEP tests *might* better fit your need than AP tests:

 

- Both tests are similar in price, and both grant college credit (according to specific college policies).

- AP is offered once a year; CLEP is available at any time, by appointment with your local college test center.

- AP follows a year-long course of study; CLEP are self-study, and many people are ready to test after 6 weeks of study.

- It is easier to rack up a larger number of CLEP tests during high school than AP tests.

 

However:

- Although CLEP *is* widely accepted (over 2900 colleges), AP is *more* widely accepted.

- And, ALL colleges limit the number of credits that can be earned by exam (AP, CLEP), and number of transfer credits (from dual enrollment or if starting at one college and then transferring to another).

 

You will need to look at each college's specific policies for the maximum # of credits allowed for credit-by-exam, and you'll want to take careful note of which specific CLEP exams are accepted towards a Bachelor degree, because that varies widely from one college to the next. Also, you'll want to look at which AP tests give you the most "bang for the buck" at the colleges, and what scores your student needs to make on the AP tests to give you that maximum amount of credit, and decide if it is realistic for *this* student to make those scores.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Lori D.

[Garga]

Btw, I have no idea what a CLEP test is, nor did I know that there was such a thing as an SAT subject test. More to look into.  :svengo:

 

 

Yeah...about a year and a half ago I'd never heard of the ACT test.  Everyone talked about it and I'm like....wha..?  I started realizing there was a ton of stuff I didn't know about.  It was chilling.  I didn't even know that I didn't know so much stuff.  I had to get up to speed, fast.

 

The summer between 8th and 9th, I started reading everything I could as it was posted on the high school forum and the college forum.  I hung out here a lot, and still do.

 

I signed up to the homeschool to college yahoo group (hs2col).  Anytime someone posts on there, I get an email.  I can barely keep up with them, but I do my best and have learned a ton from reading them.  (It seems like everyone who posts on there all has Einsteins as kids, so it's intimidating, but I still learn from them.)

 

I also started a OneNote notebook of all the highschool/college information I was gathering, sorted into topics.  Anytime something that I thought I might need to know in the future came up, I'd cut and paste the email (or the WTM link) into the notebook.

 

I also started a calendar of when to do things.  Which month to start figuring out how to sign up for which tests, etc.

 

It sounds like a lot, but if you do it little by little, it's not too bad.  Set up a way to gather and sort information and start creating a timeline, filling in as you go.  By September, you'll have a ton of stuff.

 

I'm going to put the link to this thread in my OneNote.  

 

OneNote is a Microsoft feature like Excel or Word that comes automatically on some computers--check to see if you have it.  It's pretty self-explanatory for how to use the basics.  It's very, very good at helping you sort information.  It's like having a bunch of binders and each binder has dividers that you can label and put info into.  Word documents would also work if you created a new one for each topic.  

Edited January 16, 2017 by Garga