Do AP courses save money on college tuition for middle class?

[Anonymous]

Not interested in highly selective or private universities as they cost too much and are out of budget for our middle class family.

Does enrolling in high school AP courses save money on college tuition and do middle class families qualify?

Is this applicable for in-state Virginia colleges?

"One of the most significant advantages of AP courses is the potential for substantial cost savings. If you earn college credits through AP® exams, you reduce the number of college courses you need to take, which will lower your tuition expense. These savings can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. Avoiding an entire semester—or year—of college tuition and fees might mean that you don’t need to borrow as much in student loans. To put this into perspective, let's consider an average public 4-year university that charges in-state residents $305 per credit hour. If a student takes an AP exam, which will cost $98 (if not, within the first six covered by public school) and successfully earns the equivalent of a three-credit-hour class, they could effectively save over $800 compared to the equivalent course at the university."

https://www.sallie.com/resources/colleges/benefits-of-ap-classes

[Anonymous]

I mean, it helped me and my sister graduate earlier so yes. I graduated in 3.5 years and she graduated in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Only if you go to a university that accepts AP credit. Most state schools do.

[Anonymous]

Our school accepted AP credit (4 or higher) but it did not reduce the overall minimum credit requirement. it did allow you to skip the large lecture hall classes and start in the smaller seminar courses sooner. But to even get into most good state schools you need to have AP courses on your transcript to show you have taken the challenging track at your high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only if you go to a university that accepts AP credit. Most state schools do.

This. It is dependent on the particular college and what the AP classes are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, it helped me and my sister graduate earlier so yes. I graduated in 3.5 years and she graduated in 3 years.

What AP courses help with graduating early and saving on tuition cost? DC is contemplating taking AP calculus as well as AP statistics by the time they finish HS. do these APs qualify? has not decided on major yet, but likely something on STEM side or finance/econ tech.

[Anonymous]

Each college makes their own decisions whether they want to accept AP courses as credit for graduation or not.

The truth is, most selective institutions will NOT do that, so you're not saving money.

Taking APs in high school:

1. Improves odds of being accepted to selective institutions, since colleges have soft quotas for each high school, and students need to show they've challenged themselves with the hardest coursework available to them.

2. Allows students to skip some of the introductory courses that are usually required by colleges, which means students can take more interesting classes and get further ahead in their studies, without adding (and paying for) classes beyond the required number of courses for graduation. Again, this depends on the institution and major.

[Anonymous]

First, the AP credits help you get into the schools, including the well regarded state schools in VA.

Second, they also allow students to move into more advanced courses sooner and help ensure that the student graduates on time. Some students in state schools otherwise have difficulty getting registered for the courses they need and take longer than 4 years to graduate.

Our kids did not graduate early but were able to have some easier semesters and graduate on time. Some kids do graduate in fewer semesters as PP stated.

High school students --especially those from families without unlimited funds--need to understand that an undergraduate degree should be completed in no more than 4 years (not 5 or 6!).

[Anonymous]

It really depends on what subjects, the scores, and your institution's policy. Many of DS' friends came in with 20-30 AP credits. Some graduated a semester early. Many used that advantage to instead pick up a second major (or more) and graduate on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each college makes their own decisions whether they want to accept AP courses as credit for graduation or not.

The truth is, most selective institutions will NOT do that, so you're not saving money.

Taking APs in high school:

1. Improves odds of being accepted to selective institutions, since colleges have soft quotas for each high school, and students need to show they've challenged themselves with the hardest coursework available to them.

2. Allows students to skip some of the introductory courses that are usually required by colleges, which means students can take more interesting classes and get further ahead in their studies, without adding (and paying for) classes beyond the required number of courses for graduation. Again, this depends on the institution and major.

To clear up any confusion, when I say "selective", I mean any college with a pulse, that you'd like to pay money to in exchange for a diploma. These days, the colleges you thought were safeties before are now hard to get into.

[Anonymous]

My DC got a year of AP credit at Michigan although was not interested in graduating early. There were still benefits in terms of class registration and class placements.

A friends daughter graduated from William & Mary in 3 years with AP credits (they were OOS so the savings were material).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, the AP credits help you get into the schools, including the well regarded state schools in VA.

Second, they also allow students to move into more advanced courses sooner and help ensure that the student graduates on time. Some students in state schools otherwise have difficulty getting registered for the courses they need and take longer than 4 years to graduate.

Our kids did not graduate early but were able to have some easier semesters and graduate on time. Some kids do graduate in fewer semesters as PP stated.

High school students --especially those from families without unlimited funds--need to understand that an undergraduate degree should be completed in no more than 4 years (not 5 or 6!).

We're a middle-class family with a plan to set just enough to cover our own basic retirement needs - food, shelter, clothing, and medical needs. The high cost of even in-state college puts us in a constant dilemma of saving for our minimum retirement versus saving for kids education. We've been upfront with our kids: they need to do their part by making the most of the free public school opportunities available to them now, such as enrolling in AP and Dual Enrollment courses, to build a strong foundation and stay on track to graduate college in four years. We've made it clear we can't afford more than four years of college, and if they finish early, we can get back to funding our own essential retirement needs.

[Anonymous]

From what I’ve seen is the better bet is taking advantage of dual enrollment programs with the local community college where kids graduate with both the high school diploma and an associates degree. Then they enter college as a junior or at worst a second semester sophomore

[Anonymous]

My HS kid is doing DE (dual enrollment). It costs a bit more, but it's the same class without taking the AP exam and you're guaranteed college credit. Your student doesn't have to roll the dice on getting a 3, 4, or 5 for some college credit. We live downstate Virginia now and our HS offers DE option for all AP courses. We apply for the class through our local community college. I highly recommend DE.

[Anonymous]

For low to mid tier colleges and universities or programs in them, where the goal is to get a piece of paper and get out, absolutely a money saver.