Taking the AP classes but not the test.

[Anonymous]

DS took AP Psychology and AP World History this year, his sophomore year, and doesn't want to take the AP tests. He did the same thing last year with AP Geography. He says they are too expensive and colleges won't care or give him credit for the classes anyway. He does plan to take the AP tests for all his classes junior and senior year.

Is he right that it doesn't matter? He's getting A's in the classes.

[Anonymous]

College will definitely not give credit without the test. SOme only give credit for 5s. If it were my kid I'd pay for him to taken the test. If he gets a 4 or 5 that could be a credit for an elective which is 3 college credits and for example at ins that's $900 for resident and $3k for non resident going part time.
http://bursar.umd.edu/t_ug1213.php

[Anonymous]

I meant at UMD. 15 years ago I took a lot of APs and got 4 and 5 on exams. I could skip calc 101, Chem 101, English 101 etc. granted for my major it made sense to take some of the technical courses again. But I took a much more interesting English course than 101 which was required and a pain according to a lot of classmates.

[Anonymous]

Your son is correct, OP. No good college is going to give him credit for a Geography or Psychology class he took as a freshman or sophomore in high school. He took the most rigorous classes available and that is what stands out. The AP tests are close to $100 each and for nothing. He will get his final grade from the class and that is what matters.

Now when he takes English Comp or Calc AB - those AP tests he must take and he must do well.

[Anonymous]

If calc ab is his last hs math he should retake in college. AP is not actually the same as college and you want a good math foundation.

[Anonymous]

I did this in high school.just didn't want the stress. Didn't hurt me in the least.

[Anonymous]

Lots of elite schools give credit for world history and psychology.

[Anonymous]

Most colleges will give credit for a 5, some for a 4, and a few for a 3. Having credit for introductory level courses leaves more time for classes of specific interest to the student. If a family can afford the tests, I really see very few cons to taking them, and a few possible pros. It shouldn't be much extra work or stress since your son is already taking the class designed to teach the material that will be tested, so he wouldn't necessarily have to do any more studying if he decides to take the test than he otherwise would have in order to get a good grade in the class. If he takes the test and doesn't do as well as he would have liked, he doesn't have to report the score.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fine to skip the test if the school allows it.

[Anonymous]

At my son's school, no test no quality point.

If your son has done well, you should wonder why he is so opposed to this.

I think it will look very strange to have 10 APs and no tests.

[Anonymous]

My DC took the tests for both of those AP classes in 10th and 11th grade. She had Bs in the classes, didn't really study for the exams, and ended up earning 6 credits that took care of some of her university's core curriculum requirements. The Psych test was not difficult at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my son's school, no test no quality point.

If your son has done well, you should wonder why he is so opposed to this.

I think it will look very strange to have 10 APs and no tests.

Just or three APs - all the rest, four next year and five senior year he will take the tests/

[Anonymous]

The only argument I'd make is that he could take one of the tests this year, just so he'd have practice sitting for an AP exam before he takes the ones he feels are important. I respect your son's opinion and would let him choose after making that point.

[Anonymous]

AP credit and placement varies significantly by school. Look up some schools your child is likely to attend and see which AP exams the will give credit for, and their minimum cutoff grades. https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

[Anonymous]

He needs to take the tests. That is the "real" grade in the class as far as colleges are concerned. Lots of schools offer APs and class grading standards vary from school to school and sometimes from teacher to teacher. Most (all?) selective schools will want to see the AP score.

If money is at all an issue the testing fee can be waived.

Now - as to college credit - that differs from school to school. A top Ivy, for example, basically has a freshman class full of kids who took multiple APs and IBs. They are used primarily for placements. At say good large publics - they will typically give credits but the student may still have to take particular classes. So, a 5 on the AP Chem exam may be good for 3 science credits but the kid still has to take a college lab science class for gen ed.

What we found with our oldest who went to big state school is that the APs (5) mostly meant that he did not have to take general electives to fill out credit requirements. He still has to take college level lit, science and math classes so in the end his 14 credits that he walked in with probably was a net savings of maybe 6 credits. From an educational perspective there is value to taking those kind of general elective courses. But at $400 or more per credit hour there is a real economic value to being able to use those credit hours.

With our daughter at a small private the APs were more for placement purposes. No credits were given but their fee plan was one of those where the cost was the same in the range of 12 to 18 credits.