<p>I’m a student of a low income household that will most likely end up going to a big public U. I am extremely lucky to have a school that offers CC credits that transfer, and a limited number of AP classes. I’ve spent the last 2-3 days plugging numbers, and by taking 5 AP exams (so we’ll say $500 in exams, which will be hard to pay for) and a few CC classes, I will enter my local university with 30 credits. That will save me nearly $14,000. Without AP classes I’d have to pay for 4 years at the University, and be in a considerable amount of debt.
I am also a student that accelerated a grade and many years in various subjects (I’ll have like 6-7 years of science when I graduate, 5 years of math, etc). I am what would be called a student that needs to be challenged. In my school, the AP courses are 10x harder than going to the CC or the university itself, and they save loads of money in the long run. While I completely agree that it seems like some courses simply teach to the test, that test means a lot to some of us.</p>