Hello everyone, I have a few questions. If you’re a student athlete being recruited for a D1 scholarship, is it worth it to take AP classes since you’ll be playing for 4 years? Are AP classes worth a college credit if you’re playing a sport in college? I really want to focus on my sport but I also want to achieve high in school. I’m trying to manage my time better, but sometimes I already feel like its a lot, and I’m just taking AP human.
AP varies from school to school as to what they give for what class etc and it usually score dependent as well. Some classes even with a 5 will not count at a specific college. Some classes will count as free elective, some as actual replacement for a class so you don’t need to take it in college, some don’t provide exemption from college classes just the ability to start at a higher level etc. Basically if you take APs you won’t know until accepted to the college and they evaluate your scores though many websites will give you a good idea. However doing well in AP classes typically helps with college admission in general.
As to the recruited athlete part I can’t answer that. Others will be able to help a lot more with that part.
Taking and receiving credits for AP is separate from getting an athletic scholarship. Take AP classes because that’s the appropriate level for you academically. Whether you receive college credit for the APs or get advanced placement into the next level of science or math class is up to the college.
In a few sports there are full scholarships for D1 participants, but in others the scholarships are sliced and diced pretty thin, so it is very unlikely they’d cover all 4 years and you may want to have some AP credits in your pocket to graduate early, to take a lighter loan some semesters.
Coaches want smart student athletes. They like to see the student taking a hard load in high school and doing well as they know the student will handle college well. You can also combine merit aid with athletic aid so they like that too.
Better to say you PLAN to play for 4 years. Lots can happen —injuries, coaching changes, new recruits who displace you, etc. Don’t take anything for granted. Take the classes in high school that are the appropriate academic level.
Depending on the school and what AP credit they will give out, it can be a benefit to have a few APs in your pocket as an athlete. You can take one less class when you are in season and still stay on track to graduate on time, which can help with time management.
I agree with the comments above that going the athletic route is more of an add to your academics vs a substitute. You need to do as well as you can in both to set yourself up for success.
I second the concept that if you get AP credit you can perhaps take a lighter load during your season. Also, coaches don’t want to have to worry about their athletes staying academically eligible in college. If you demonstrate that you can handle AP classes in high school, it is one more indicator that you are getting prepared for the college workload.
AP credit can be used for purposes other than to graduate early.
- Advanced placement into more advanced courses.
- Subject credit to fulfill specific course or course category requirements for graduation.
- Credit units that may allow you to take lighter course loads during sport season but still graduate on time.
There’s nothing wrong with graduating early even if yours is a spring sport. You can continue to take classes towards a graduate degree and compete.
But I think there’s best benefit of the AP credit for the athlete is that it can help you reduce your workload occasionally.
My daughter did take a few AP courses because they were the right academic courses for her. She did not receive any college credits for them because she’s not very good at standardized tests.
However, she did play her sport 4 years in college, took 16-17 credits per semester, and graduated in 4 straight years. By her final semester, she had a few courses just to get credits (tennis and Spanish) so while not a ‘lighter’ semester, certainly an easier one (for her).
Anyway, take the classes you want to take and that are right for you, be it AP, IB, DE, college prep. If my daughter would have known then what she knows now, she would have taken DE English and World Civ because she would not have had to take them in college. She probably would have had to take the same number of credits since her major required 131. More tennis and Spanish? Probably.
How APs are treated varies by school, just like momtogirl2 described. My D1 athlete son, had his AP classes re-evaluated by his second school when he transferred. His two schools applied his AP courses differently depending on what the subjects were, what the test grades were and what his major was. The second school only counted his “elective” credits but not Chem or Calc because those course where part of his major. However, repeating those classes made it easier to get a better grade while balancing athletics, then if he never had taken that level class before.