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Our son ran into a nasty surprise not too many people are likely to know about or anticipate.
He has somewhere around 20 AP credits for college from classes he took in high school.
He got a "full ride" scholarship to a University. The "Full ride" actually covered tuition, fees, books, and a tiny fraction of living expenses. He works and took out some loans to cover the balance, plus we help him out as much as we can.
This year he is a sophomore. However they started charging him upperclassman rates per credit hour because his AP credits up him into his jr year, sort of only not really. The upperclassman charges are substantially higher. Because he took the AP classes he will have to pay these higher rates for an extra year.
Sadly, his 20 or so AP credits do nothing to shorten the time he has to spend in college. This is because either the classes are not required classes for his major, or in a few instances, the classes are so important to his major that he does not dare bypass taking them as college courses. The AP class may give you credit, but it does not teach as much as taking the same class in college (Music theory is one, I am not sure about others). He also said that in order to take the math courses he qualifies for, he really needs to re-take the math class he took in high school as an AP class. He simply will not remember enough form that class to jump into the higher level math because it will have been three years since he took the AP math course.
So when he is only in his 3rd semester of the 9 that he will be required to attend college, he is being charged as if he were in his 5th
In short, he would have been better off not taking the AP classes, or at least not taking the test to get college credit for them. All it did was cost him more money without any real benefit.
Something to think about.
Is this a private college, that is not "required" to accept AP credit (or any transfer credits, really) as the state schools are? I believe I may have answered my own question, in that I have NEVER seen a state school charge "upperclassmen" rates for SHC. Now, I've seen undergraduate vs. graduate hours cost different amounts ...
The thing about AP credits is that they're good in moderation. Throughout high school I've known people who take too many AP classes (like 12-16 classes over four years) only to find out that their college doesn't even accept that many credits.
Basically the best bet (for a reasonably smart straight A kid) is to take 4-8 AP classes throughout high school, which in my opinion isn't too few but not too much either. That way there's no stress overload, the credits will more likely be accepted in full, and the students are focusing on the more important things that suit their interests.
Of course that leaves the question of how to compete with the kids that take 16 AP classes. And my answer is: either focus on extracurriculars that the student enjoys, or don't even worry about competing with those overachieving kids because Ivies are overrated, overpriced, and stressful anyways (enjoying one's youth and getting sleep are more important at this stage in life).
Isn't it interesting how politicians want to go after "big oil" , "big pharma" and "big tobacco" etc. but never seem to be interested in "big higher education"?
The old "bait and switch" scheme was around even in the dark ages when I was in undergrad. Nothing changes. Also, I have heard about U-M Ann Arbor and their admission policies and I might comment but then be labelled as racist.
The thing about AP credits is that they're good in moderation. Throughout high school I've known people who take too many AP classes (like 12-16 classes over four years) only to find out that their college doesn't even accept that many credits.
Basically the best bet is to take 4-8 AP classes throughout high school, which in my opinion isn't too few but not too much either. That way there's no stress overload, the credits will more likely be accepted in full, and the students are focusing on the more important things that suit their interests.
Of course that leaves the question of how to compete with the kids that take 16 AP classes. And my answer is: either focus on extracurriculars that the student enjoys, or don't even worry about competing with those overachieving kids because Ivies are overrated, overpriced, and stressful anyways (enjoying one's youth and getting sleep are more important at this stage in life).
With AP classes, they enjoy a weighted GPA with a 6.0 counting for every A, unless something has changed.
Well they are beneficial in that students are often applying to schools where 1/3 of the class will have AP credits, 1/3 will have IB credits, and 1/3 will have neither because they were in a school where it was not offered. If a student goes to a school where AP/IB are offered and doesn’t take either, they’ll probably have a lower weighted GPA and won’t be able to have access to the same schools and scholarship options.
I know when I went to school, many classes had placement tests. You could pass out of some classes like Freshman writing courses, but for others, you had to take placement tests and then you would either get into the honors version or have to take a higher level course and pass with a C or above in order to get credit for the lower-level coursework. FWIW, when I was in school, we had to take the AP tests if we signed up for the class. They wouldn’t accept people into the class who weren’t going to take the tests. That is how it is in some districts.
Colleges, at least some of them, "unweight" a student's GPA. They sometimes drop some courses, too, like PE, when calculating their own GPA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddm2k
Is this a private college, that is not "required" to accept AP credit (or any transfer credits, really) as the state schools are? I believe I may have answered my own question, in that I have NEVER seen a state school charge "upperclassmen" rates for SHC. Now, I've seen undergraduate vs. graduate hours cost different amounts ...
I never heard of state schools being required to accept AP. There may be a policy that they do so. Private schools also have policies about what AP courses they accept.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot
An A in AP and honors classes counts for 5.0, not 6.0, at our local high school.
It's different everywhere. That's why the schools "re-weight".
My son went to a small private college out of state. They would only take like three classes worth of APcredits and none for English AP's. Fortunately it was stated clearly so he didn't bother to take the AP tests his senior year. The credits did not replace freshman classes but they gave him sophomore standing starting freshman year that allowed him to have a a higher chance to get into the classes he wanted and a higher lottery number for on-campus housing. Since this was my third child, I was very aware of the chance that AP's might not count for classes but they sure help as a metric for how rigorous his schedule was. He took AP classes, dual enrollment classes and one class at the local college on campus. It was a good combo, he got in the majority of colleges he applied to and was offered quite a bit in merit aid.
My son went to a small private college out of state. They would only take like three classes worth of APcredits and none for English AP's. Fortunately it was stated clearly so he didn't bother to take the AP tests his senior year. The credits did not replace freshman classes but they gave him sophomore standing starting freshman year that allowed him to have a a higher chance to get into the classes he wanted and a higher lottery number for on-campus housing. Since this was my third child, I was very aware of the chance that AP's might not count for classes but they sure help as a metric for how rigorous his schedule was. It's all a game, right?
Well if "all a game" means that a school (especially one with rather selective entrance requirements) has a vested interest in denying AP credits, rather than honoring them. It's more money for them, and they're not essentially discounting their degree, 3 SHC at a time for each class (more for labs) they decide to honor and not require the student to re-take at their institution.
NC (not sure about any other state) has some special provisions in their state university system for transfer students:
Quote:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR NC COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER STUDENTS
When planning to transfer to a UNC System campus, keep in mind:
- Some community college students finish an associate degree (AA, AS or AFA) or take eligible community college courses before transferring to a UNC System campus. A completed associate degree is NOT required to transfer, but is highly recommended.
- Students who earn an associate degree are granted 60-61 credit hours and the status of "junior" if accepted into a UNC System campus.
- Completion of an associate degree does not guarantee admission to a UNC System campus. See your chosen campus for specific requirements.
- Many campuses have "pathways" to help make transferring easier. For example, UNC-CH offers a list of community college classes a student could take that may satisfy prerequisites for common majors. These "pathways" are called CAA Baccalaureate Degree Plans (BDPs). See your chosen campus for more information.
^^That says nothing about AP courses. What is your point?
Putting 2+2 together, if they won't accept AP courses, maybe they can issue SOME form of transfer credit if the student FIRST attends a college that WILL honor the AP courses.
If the desired school has a program that allows A.A.S. or A.A-holding students to start as juniors, said student can take their AP credits, go to community college first, fast-track to a 2-year degree, then enroll in the college of choice as a transfer student, starting as a junior.
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