AP Exams - worthwhile?
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Anonymous
| My HS senior is taking a handful of AP classes. Is there any point in taking the AP exams as a senior? She intends to go to a LAC with an open curriculum so there won't be any gen ed requirements. Part of me says to take it, what the harm? But another part says why bother? Any advice from recent new college student experiences? |
Anonymous
If you are saying you won’t get any placement or credit benefit, then there is no benefit. I guess your kid could want to transfer to a school where you do get credits…but not sure I would think like that. |
Anonymous
| Even though there may be no general ed requirements, why not take the exam and possibly get credit? |
Anonymous
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At schools with an open curriculum AP scores usually count as a completed course. My DS goes to a LAC with an open curriculum. He views his AP scores as insurance. If he needs to take 3 courses instead of 4 in a semester for some reason he has the AP credit available. If he needs to withdraw from a course because of illness for example.
You should really look up the policies at the schools she is applying to. |
Anonymous
| Unless you are close to the margin financially, I would sign up now and make the final call after May 1 when you know which school you’ve committed to. |
Anonymous
| AP scores can be helpful with course placement, meaning a student can skip entry-level pre-requisites. |
Anonymous
| My college freshman is using his AP credits for advanced placement and the ability to lighten his load. |
Anonymous
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Satisfaction of verifying that the class wasn't a grade-inflated sham.
Confidence going into next-level course in college. Transfer credit. Avoid placement tests during college orientation week. Resume for internships and scholarships. But if it's not already paid for, giving mone to the corrupt Colege Board is gross. |
Anonymous
| AP exams are now free in MCPS |
Anonymous
This. My college sophomore took 4 classes each semester last year (5 is the normal load at her school), because she got three extra credit from into foreign language (5 days a week), a science lab, and a fine arts. This year, she is at 5 classes. After one week of classes, she is panicking about the increase workload. It’s probably fewer contact hours and not actually a greater workload, but she’s super organized, had a routine, and the 5th class has thrown her. And we can say, give it until the very end of add drop and if you still feel underwater, you can drop a class. I doubt she will. She tends to get anxious about things but finds a way to stick with it. But, if necessary, she could do 4 classes all six semesters she has left and still have enough credits to graduate, with a cushion. Just knowing that has pushed her out of panic mode and into problem solving and time management mode. My kids are at a VA state school and a SLAC. Both schools accepted at least a semester of credit. One kid had a couple APs count as pre-recs for higher classes (and retook into econ anyway because they weren’t confident, despite the AP score and they planned to me on in Econ). The other had them count for nothing special, but did get credit. But in most colleges, once a kid meets general college requirements and the classes for a major, they still need additional credits to graduate. Which is why kids minor or do a second major. It that or take random classes that appeal APs can chip away at those general credits. And if your kid needs to take a lighter load, goes overseas and can’t bring all the credit back, ends up in a class where they are over their head content wise, etc., the cushion is nice. |
Anonymous
| I will add that both my kids entered their colleges as sophomores because they had so many AP credits. The advantage of that, is that you get to register before others in the same grade. This is huge at colleges where kids are regularly on the waitlist for required courses |
Anonymous
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If it is one of the 8 colleges that don’t accept APs for credit or placement (Amherst and Williams in this category), then why bother.
If it’s not one of those 8, then check to school to see which APs they award credit. Why not have those credits. |
Anonymous
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If there is no cost to you, or if you can afford it, I would encourage her kid to take the exam.
High schools are typically measured against' performance on AP Exams. The college board keeps metrics on high schools, and the number of students that take each test versus the number of students that pass. Schools with better scores get incentives. teachers at my sons private school help read/score AP tests and one actually co-wrote questions for the official CB study guide. Also exam scores and pass rate help the school gauge how well they are teaching and preparing students for the test, and how effective they are at determining which students are able to take certain AP classes. Some high schools could receive recognitions from state boards based on their AP programs. This is also used in US News and Great Schools and more legitimate rankings. |
Anonymous
Totally agree with all this. It was a tough senior year, my DC had 3 days in a row with 2 exams each day. He transferred 45 credits, which will be potentially money saving. I say potentially since there are different ways to use the credits- graduate early, double major, or work towards graduate degree. We are in FCPS so the first 6 tests were paid for. Cost us $500 for the next 5 tests, which, I now know was a really good investment |
Anonymous
I just dropped my son off at college. He took two APs as a senior and his college gave him credit for the 4s he scored on both. Worth it to me! He will be happy he doesn’t have to suffer through English 101. I remember sitting through it years ago and wondering why I had to take it. |