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That is not what I meant, I meant only some schools are accepting AP credits and that number is decreasing, or at least the score that they will accept. Not that the are only accepting some of the credits. Maybe your daughter didn't get 5s. But as I said, they are accepting more and more DE credits which are college credit.
My oldest is a HS senior this school year - we've been to a handful of college to tour/interview this summer.
I was surprised to learn that the trend seems to be exactly as you described. Not one of the colleges (we've only been to private colleges so far) we visited gives AP credit for classes such as Chem, Bio, Calc, etc. because they have found that many students can't always handle the material in the higher level class they took, and it wasn't fair for the student.
DE -Dual Enrollment or Concurrent Enrollment, allows students to earn college credit while still in high school. Students enroll in college courses that may be delivered either face to face, on-line or through videoconferencing at the high school or on the college campus. These courses provide the same rigor and expect the same level of performance as any college course.
Thank you. Yes, I can see those earning college credit. We do have some around here; just hadn't heard it called DE before.
My oldest is a HS senior this school year - we've been to a handful of college to tour/interview this summer.
I was surprised to learn that the trend seems to be exactly as you described. Not one of the colleges (we've only been to private colleges so far) we visited gives AP credit for classes such as Chem, Bio, Calc, etc. because they have found that many students can't always handle the material in the higher level class they took, and it wasn't fair for the student.
AP has become the lowest common denominator over the last decade or so. Colleges have taken note and aren't giving the credit they used to when a smaller pool of students took them.
Yep. At my youngest son's college they said they would accept up to just three AP classes to count towards class standing and there were several that flat out didn't accept at all. And he didn't go to some well known private. Carrying the same weight as the AP's were his DE classes and the one from the local branch of PSU, that he attended in person. Again, none of them transferred in to replace classes, just gave him higher class status.
I think the best bang for the buck is when a student is planning to go to an in state public U and they take DE classes from the local CC, or just from the local college. However, most students don't know for sure what they are going to major in, let alone where they are going to college. They may think they are going to some exclusive school and then get accepted at another place. Also, the teachers make a huge difference in how well they learn the material. If the DE teacher is a lousy one and the AP teacher is a good one, then take the AP class.
So, speaking only from my experiences, I think we did it right with our youngest. He took the classes that helped him figure out what he liked, took the hardest classes that he could do well in and didn't count on any of them to shorten his college stay.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in rushing our kids through High School and College that we forget the end goal. IMO, the end goal is for our kids to figure out their strengths and what brings them a sense of satisfaction and (optimistically) joy. Finding a career that satisfies all that isn't something that just happens, at least for most of us.
Life is short and the period that we need to work to earn a living shouldn't be a purgatory that we have to go through to get to retirement.
My oldest is a HS senior this school year - we've been to a handful of college to tour/interview this summer.
I was surprised to learn that the trend seems to be exactly as you described. Not one of the colleges (we've only been to private colleges so far) we visited gives AP credit for classes such as Chem, Bio, Calc, etc. because they have found that many students can't always handle the material in the higher level class they took, and it wasn't fair for the student.
And. . . many colleges want the student to spend 4 years there, on your dime. AP courses follow a specific syllabus and are capped off with a test, so the "unfair to the student" doesn't really hold water with me.
That said, unless you know in high school that you're going to go to med school or do a PhD, just what is the rush to get done with college and into the work world?
And. . . many colleges want the student to spend 4 years there, on your dime. AP courses follow a specific syllabus and are capped off with a test, so the "unfair to the student" doesn't really hold water with me.
No, what the OP posted was correct.
Yes AP follows a specific standard curriculum meant to mirror an average first year college class in that subject. Yes, they all can take the same test at the end. Yes a 5 indicates high level mastery of the material.
BUT... the key phrase is "average first year" for that subject. AVERAGE. Some colleges cover more in their first year in certain subjects than the AP standard and go deeper in their exploration of the concepts. So when the kids who APed out of the class go to the next class up, they find themselves underprepared.
THAT is why more colleges are not letting kids test out of some of the entry level classes.
Yes AP follows a specific standard curriculum meant to mirror an average first year college class in that subject. Yes, they all can take the same test at the end. Yes a 5 indicates high level mastery of the material.
BUT... the key phrase is "average first year" for that subject. AVERAGE. Some colleges cover more in their first year in certain subjects than the AP standard and go deeper in their exploration of the concepts. So when the kids who APed out of the class go to the next class up, they find themselves underprepared.
THAT is why more colleges are not letting kids test out of some of the entry level classes.
I think it's a combination of factors and frankly, if a college is doing it because it wants your money for all four years, that's not something they are gong to be saying. My son's college was not an exclusive school in general (some of their majors were very competitive, but not the school itself) and they didn't take most AP classes, even just to count towards a higher year status. I think they very much wanted our money for all four years, that's also why many colleges cap the amount of classes a student could take per semester.
I knew that schools were cutting score ranges back but I am surprised by how many don't accept any credits. One of my students who just graduated and is going to Columbia got 6 credits for AP physics (which seems like a lot) and between his AP lit, AP Calc (another 6 credits) and the two DE classes he had 23 credits. The Calc meant he could start at a higher math, he still had to take the introductory writing course, but the AP credit met the other 3 of the writing requirements, and the two DE classes and the physics counted as science electives (which as a physics major he had quite a few elective science credits he needed to fill). You'd think the Ivies would be the strictest about the use of AP credits but apparently not. Weird.
I think it's a combination of factors and frankly, if a college is doing it because it wants your money for all four years, that's not something they are gong to be saying. My son's college was not an exclusive school in general (some of their majors were very competitive, but not the school itself) and they didn't take most AP classes, even just to count towards a higher year status. I think they very much wanted our money for all four years, that's also why many colleges cap the amount of classes a student could take per semester.
Agree. Ironically, in Colorado, all the public colleges, including the top 3 research schools, Colorado School of Mines, The University of Colorado and Colorado State University are required to accept certain courses from the CCs. Said courses vary a lot in quality, and have no frame of reference of what the person learned other than their grade, unlike the AP courses which do have the test. Granted, they do not have to accept these courses as counting towards one's major, they may just satisfy electives.
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