Anonymous wrote:Is this new, though? To some extent, this has always been true and that the big factors are:

*money

*the standards of the particular college

I graduated from an Ivy in the early 90s and at least one of my roommates and I had more than enough APs to get Advanced Standing. I know that the state flagship would have given me credit for over 10 classes. However, when it came down to the particulars at my enrolled college, they would only count one per subject area (for example, I had 2 each in 3 different languages and, while they obviously respected them for placement purposes, for graduating early credit they only took 3 of the 6 APs (or maybe even fewer since these 6 were in foreign languages). I think I also had 2 History and 2 English, and so on. The point is, it wasn't just about the numbers. My roommate did qualify but used her Advanced Standing to get into Upper Class courses that were not technically open to first-years, but had no intention of graduating early (the finances were not a big deal to her). And another close friend, took a year off, what would have been his junior year, did some incredible projects and travel on the cheap, and graduated with his class.

In sum, in my experience, students with large numbers of APs have often not graduated early.

But I am curious if you are seeing an increase in this trend?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP classes are not equivalent of college classes. However, you get credits in college. That is good. It save $$$. DD uses the AP credits for non major credits. Most major classes - needs to take in college. DD is not rushing but finished BS in 2.5 years and 2 semester in Master - so like 3 years - heading to pHD in her 4th year of college at 21. DD is not rushing. It just turns out that way.

I can do better. My DS skipped ahead for 2 years in elementary school and graduated university in 3 years with double major at 18. Oh and he graduated with perfect 4.0 gpa and a great job in finance/AI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP classes are not equivalent of college classes. However, you get credits in college. That is good. It save $$$. DD uses the AP credits for non major credits. Most major classes - needs to take in college. DD is not rushing but finished BS in 2.5 years and 2 semester in Master - so like 3 years - heading to pHD in her 4th year of college at 21. DD is not rushing. It just turns out that way.

I can do better. My DS skipped ahead for 2 years in elementary school and graduated university in 3 years with double major at 18. Oh and he graduated with perfect 4.0 gpa and a great job in finance/AI.

Anonymous wrote:I think many people think AP classes aren’t the equivalent of college classes.

Anonymous wrote:It's about money - always has been always will be

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.

100% this.

Tufts for engineering:
5 on Calc BC gives credit Calc 1 & 2 (AP Calc BC)
5 on AP chem gives credit for Chem 101 and 102

Bio gets one course credit,
etc.
While you need a 5 on most, if you earn that, you can get a ton of credits. And once again I wouldn't call Tufts a "not very good" or "lackluster" school

Tufts is not elite by any means. No top20 private allows large amounts of AP credit used to graduate a year early. AP credit (or placement tests) to start in a higher level, sure, and count a few here or there as credits toward the degree but not more than that. Starting in a higher level can secure a sophomore internship due to course difficulty of typical juniors, leading to an extra summer of meaningful experience for the resume, as most sophomores do not get into competitive internships. It is much more common coming from elites.

Anonymous wrote:AP classes are not equivalent of college classes. However, you get credits in college. That is good. It save $$$. DD uses the AP credits for non major credits. Most major classes - needs to take in college. DD is not rushing but finished BS in 2.5 years and 2 semester in Master - so like 3 years - heading to pHD in her 4th year of college at 21. DD is not rushing. It just turns out that way.

Anonymous wrote:But why take college level material from people without PhD’s? Why finish college / start adult life at 20 instead of 21? What is the rush to end your youth and get on the treadmill that will dictate your next 50 years?

Anonymous wrote:My mom got remarried my freshman year and I lost all my financial aid. Stepdad did not contribute anything and my mom was a preschool teacher.

I overloaded ever semester + summers and graduated in 2.75 years. I wish I had more time but private T50s are $$$$ with no finaid. I went straight into a 6 year PhD program so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.

100% this.

Tufts for engineering:
5 on Calc BC gives credit Calc 1 & 2 (AP Calc BC)
5 on AP chem gives credit for Chem 101 and 102

Bio gets one course credit,
etc.
While you need a 5 on most, if you earn that, you can get a ton of credits. And once again I wouldn't call Tufts a "not very good" or "lackluster" school

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.

100% this.