D did both DE and AP–sometimes for the same classes, all taught at her high school in conjunction with our local CC. All of our in-state universities must accept our in-state CC credits. Sometimes kids choose DE and don’t take the AP exam. Some kids will pay for both DE credits and AP exams for the same class so they can choose which to use later. Check carefully what your kid’s likely college offers for AP scores or accepts for transfer/DE credits. Kids who go to their in-state public schools can benefit most from DE. D got more than a year’s worth of credits through DE and AP. (Her older sibs, who went out of state and had no DE, only got about a semester out of their AP credits). I’ve heard of some kids who had 2+ years of credits. The biggest benefit for all of my kids was that they were able to “pre-take” those basic English, History, and foreign language requirements.