@TheGreyKing Yes re: SUNY Binghamton…my DD had an IB Diploma and was able to graduate a year and a half early (with a couple of summer courses). She then used that time/money to get a masters degree.
You can’t compare schools based on rankings. Every school has their own unique specialty they’re known for, while offering a broad choice of majors. It’s like comparing apples to Snickers bars and calling one “better.” “Top 20” colleges aren’t any different. What you need to do is find a school that you like based on your strengths and interests. For instance, if you like hospitality management, UNLV is on top, because it’s Las Vegas! That takes a lot more time and research. When students are hung up on rankings, they almost always end up with a long list of rejections or acceptances to a list of schools they can’t afford.
@CupCakeMuffins , re: your comment that “no good college” will give AP credit for 3s on AP tests, I wanted to point out that all UCs, including Cal and UCLA, give credit for 3s.
@pickledginger State schools, even good ones are way more generous than elite privates.
However, generosity with credits may not necessarily mean generosity with subject credit and advanced placement.
As an AP teacher, I side with schools that don’t give credit. A 5 on an AP is no substitute for college-level knowledge of the subject, and it’s borderline laughable that the College Board claims it is.
Wouldn’t that depend on the class?
Colleges generally do not require those with a 5 on calculus BC to retake regular (rather than proof-heavy) calculus 1. They also generally do not require those with a 5 on a foreign language exam to retake the beginner course in that language.
Not to speak for @marvin100, but I think we can agree that not all AP classes (and exams) are created equal just by comparing classes that are year length at the college level (eg the Calc AB/BC sequence, the 2 physics C exams) versus those that are a semester in length (AP Stats, APUSG).
But I certainly agree, and this is where subjectiveness comes into play, that there are some classes that have no business being AP. And I’m looking at you AP Human Geography. I also wonder how the CB sales representatives kept a straight face when they sold the AP Capstone concept to schools. But then shame on the schools that adopted it. And I have nothing against capstone courses, but they are not college classes, which ostensibly is what AP is supposed to at least try to mimic.
That’s a great point, @ucbalumnus , and my take is that I got a 5 on AP Calculus but was in no way ready for proper college calculus. I memorized the formulae almost solely for the duration of the exam and forgot them within minutes of turning it in. I crammed the test and got my 5, but any school that would thereby give me credit or bump me up to more advanced math would be in for a surprise.
Foreign language is another one. I got a 5 on Spanish, but haha (jaja!) I don’t know Spanish. I had a student a few years ago who crammed and got a 5 on Spanish as well, then at Bowdoin he was told he couldn’t register for intro Spanish. But he didn’t know Spanish and was absolutely not qualified for a 200-level Spanish class. He actually had to change foreign languages!
I’m sure plenty of people who do well on APs are ready for bigger and better things, but the problem is that they don’t have to be that good at a subject to get a 5 on its AP.
Seems like you have a special talent of cramming well enough to earn 5 scores and then instantly forgetting the material…
Haha maybe…if so I’ve known hundreds of students with similar talents.
I just think the AP tests are super crammable. The IB program is better, in that regard, imo.
I’m not sure if many colleges give credit for AP HG or AP Capstone. Neither is considered a college level course.
Fewer colleges give credit for them than AP Calc BC, true. But my point was not that colleges will pay attention to the man behind the curtain, but that high schools don’t and that the CB is audacious enough to believe that they are the wizard. 
I thought AP Capstone and Seminar were additions so that the AP program could mimic the IB Diploma eventually.
To me, the classes that deserve to get credits in college anywhere and to advance to any next level are the 2 English APs, Lang and Lit. Getting 5s on both is incredibly hard especially since you can’t cram for those tests. Those were the two that my kid jumped for joy in getting a 5 since he never ever again has to take a pure writing class on topics he has no interest in :))
For Calc BC the way the test is graded (I think) you can be very strong on AB and middling on C and still get a 5. At least that was my kid’s experience.
Not all colleges give subject credit or advanced placement for AP English scores.
Some colleges do offer writing courses on varied topics besides the traditional literary analysis, so that students not into literary analysis can choose other topics to write about to fulfill their colleges’ writing course requirements.
There was no credit offered for AP lit at my daughter’s college…only AP language.
Imo, the best use of AP or IB credits is to avoid requirements that aren’t of interest rather than to jump ahead (with a potentially weak foundation. ) If your school has a science requirement and you know you want to pursue a political science (or similar ) major, how nice to not have to take a science class because of your 5 on AP Chem.
A student considering taking advanced placement that the college allows for AP scores can try the college’s old final exams for the course(s) that can be skipped. That can give the student a better idea of whether s/he is really ready to take the more advanced course, needs to review a few things before taking the more advanced course, or should retake the entry-level course.
As with all APs, the college sets the credit. Note, however, that even if a college gives credit for the AP exam, the credit may not waive the college’s writing requirement.
True, but the CB should be leaders, not followers. Having a Capstone Diploma requiring a capstone course is one thing; selling it as a way to get college credit is something else.