skimomma Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Dd (11th grade) is currently taking AP Environmental Science. It is an accelerated class that will be complete at the end of this semester. Dd is getting a high A. She had always planned to take the exam. Some things have developed that are making us question that plan: 1. If dd goes to college, the college that dd is 90% likely to attend does give credit for a passing score on the exam but it can only be applied to General Education credits. The way they do GE, dd would not be able to apply this towards a GE requirement. She has other DE classes that already fulfill the GE requirements that this would apply to. So, it would essentially just be more credits, which helps with priority scheduling and such but will not apply to her degree requirements. There is, of course, always the chance dd will attend a different school. 2. Because the class will be done this week, dd will have to study throughout the spring in order to be prepared to take the exam. Dd is not a great test taker. There is a chance that dd will not get a passing score. 3. We have to travel two hours to the test site. 4. (The biggest factor) We have an opportunity to go on an "epic" road trip in the spring. The exam falls right in the middle of the time this trip would occur. Taking the exam means shortening the trip by about half the time. This is not the end of the world but given #1 and #2 above, I am starting to question if it is worth it. Weighing all of this with the slight chance that having taken the course without taking the exam will look bad at college application time, WWYD? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) We chose not to do the exam for APUG because of reasons 1 and 2. It just wasn't worth it to go to the hassle of the exam when she already more general studies humanities credits than any school on her list would take for a bio major. The class has been worth it, but not enough to spend the Spring semester studying for a test vs working on other stuff that is more interesting to her. FWIW, her class would have been "Advanced US Government and Politics" with AP exam, because while the instructor is covering the AP material, he is leaving it up to parents to decide if they want to prep for the free-response, rather than include a lot of time writing in that specific way in the class. Edited December 17, 2019 by dmmetler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I would skip the AP and enjoy your vacation. The reward is just not great enough for the time lost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I would not bother with the exam if it only gives General credit (and maybe not even that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I vote for Epic Road Trip. 🚙🚙🚙 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 Thanks for the feedback! I think we will end up skipping it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Epic road trip is winning the day here with disconcerting frequency. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Another vote for the trip. I always vote for trips. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I vote for a trip as well! (as I am currently enjoying mine 😋). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I'd probably skip the test. The only reason I might consider it is if your dd is planning to major in Environmental Science and this would give her a jump-start that would be helpful. My dd went to a college like the one you mentioned, so none of her AP credits shortened her stay at the college. However, her French AP test allowed her to skip all of the French grammar classes, and since French was one of her majors, that meant she could immediately jump into higher-level French options, which she really enjoyed. (Just using that as an example.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 11 hours ago, J-rap said: I'd probably skip the test. The only reason I might consider it is if your dd is planning to major in Environmental Science and this would give her a jump-start that would be helpful. My dd went to a college like the one you mentioned, so none of her AP credits shortened her stay at the college. However, her French AP test allowed her to skip all of the French grammar classes, and since French was one of her majors, that meant she could immediately jump into higher-level French options, which she really enjoyed. (Just using that as an example.) She is thinking of majoring in Environmental Science but the class still would only count as a GE in that degree program at this school. I'm not sure what happens at others. This same school also does not give credit for AP Latin....which I have not told dd yet. That is going to be a terrible conversation. Whatever the case, I think the trip wins for sure! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 23 minutes ago, skimomma said: She is thinking of majoring in Environmental Science but the class still would only count as a GE in that degree program at this school. I'm not sure what happens at others. This same school also does not give credit for AP Latin....which I have not told dd yet. That is going to be a terrible conversation. Whatever the case, I think the trip wins for sure! Well, I always put priority on trips and family time! Yeah, we found that AP didn't work so well in our kids' favor. Our ds took 6 AP exams and did well in all of them, but it didn't seem to be helpful at all when he went to college. Our dd (that I had mentioned) took 3, but only 1 was I think allowed to transfer, and even that one didn't take away required graduation credits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 12 hours ago, J-rap said: However, her French AP test allowed her to skip all of the French grammar classes, and since French was one of her majors, that meant she could immediately jump into higher-level French options, which she really enjoyed. (Just using that as an example.) I'd take the trip, too. On the topic of using APs to skip to higher level classes, sometimes there are other ways to skip like CLEP, a Departmental Exam, or a placement test. My DD was able to get to the exact same foreign language placement through the U's placement test as her suitemate did through her AP exam. CLEP would not have taken her as far at that U although it would have at another. She skipped taking the AP Calc AB exam because it would have been very difficult to find a place for her to take it, but also because she wanted to retake Calc I in college. Her U would not have taken CLEP for this class. It turned out to be the best decision for her. Some schools require kids to take a higher level class if they have a good AP exam score and that can force a kid into a difficult situation, so I always keep an open mind about options. Plus, I dislike the CB, so try not to give them more money than necessary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Nope. We only did AP's for critical classes that either gave them credit or showed academic potential their chosen areas. We had to go over an hour away to get an AP Latin exam, and it was a MAJOR undertaking to find a school that would take us. Worth it for that kid though because he was very motivated and ended up getting 12 humanities credits for it in college. Taking the local ones was no hassle at all and paid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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