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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Absolutely a great money saver for hardworking students middle class families that cant afford the top-tier pricey universities meant for wealthy families.

[Anonymous]

Yes, and also look into Clep tests. My kids graduated a year early with ap tests. I graduated early with clep and ap. Saves a bundle.

[Anonymous]

Another middle class family here, followed the AAP curriculum, and completed a number of AP courses like AP Lang, AP calculus, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Stats, etc.., and DEs, saved a year tuition fee at in-state.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes, it takes over 4 years to graduate, simply because there are limited slots in required classes, and you don't have enrollment priority.

Having a lot of AP credits gives you sophomore or junior status earlier than the other kids starting college at the same time, which means you'll have scheduling priority over the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Most state schools with give you 3-5 credit hours for AP courses only if you take the exam and get a 4 or 5 score. I don’t think the cost savings is significant unless you are able to take a bunch of AP courses and ace all the exams. You might start with a few credits going into university and might be able to avoid some entry level classes at best.

[Anonymous]

AP courses part of AAP in high school? what grade can student enroll in them and do they require eligibility courses to be completed in earlier grades, like in middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most state schools with give you 3-5 credit hours for AP courses only if you take the exam and get a 4 or 5 score. I don’t think the cost savings is significant unless you are able to take a bunch of AP courses and ace all the exams. You might start with a few credits going into university and might be able to avoid some entry level classes at best.

no need to ace. Scores of 5, 4, or even 3 give credits. having a bunch of them can help with early graduation and thus saving on tuition cost. depends on college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most state schools with give you 3-5 credit hours for AP courses only if you take the exam and get a 4 or 5 score. I don’t think the cost savings is significant unless you are able to take a bunch of AP courses and ace all the exams. You might start with a few credits going into university and might be able to avoid some entry level classes at best.

Here's the UVA policy:
https://records.ureg.virginia.edu/content.php?catoid=61&navoid=5298#Advanced_Placement_Program

Based on this, my kid would start with 40 credits and would be given sophomore status. They could easily graduate in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
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

Both my children qualified as sophomores at their schools. One was an out of state public and one was a private also out of state. Both school had a limit to the number of AP credits they would allow toward graduation - basically enough to make them sophomores. One graduated a year early and one graduated in four years with an engineering degree and was able to nearly double major in economics ( if he had planned better he would have).

[Anonymous]

Dual enrollment is a much better course of action. VA code requires the courses for the first year be offered for free and accepted at all state universities. Students earn a grade throughout the year to give them credit rather than on a singular test on a single day.

[Anonymous]

Two recent college grads who went through FCPS here. MC by DCUM standards (we aggressively saved for college bc DH and I had to pay for our own college educations and didn't want that for our kids, but I digress.) Both used AP/DE as a way to double major.
One used the higher placement/skipped classes to complete a MS within 4 years, the other had enough hours that he didn't need to go to grad school for his intended career (CPA). One went to a HA private and one state school, both schools took different credits so you really need to research that as it is very school/major dependent.