“There is no “game” to be played here. The kid/parent has already sent in the enrollment deposit by the time AP exams roll around.”
It is very much a game of strategy based on outcomes. This has nothing to do with deposits and all about straight cash. If you don’t believe AP credits are real currency, you are dead wrong. Many colleges give AP credit that allow students to complete degree work in seven semesters or even less. At universities which charge $22K to $25K for tuition (plus other costs), this is either straight cash savings or decreased student loans.
That gets you to outcomes and deciding how much effort to put into each exam to get a 4 or a 5 that will count as credit for your college. If you have five APs and realistically little hope for a 4 or a 5 on two of them, you would either not take them or not study for those two and put efforts into the other three.
This is nothing less than the last high stakes strategy game that these kids are subjected to in HS. The $500 deposits are penny change compared to the value of four or five AP credits whose value is $25K or more.
Must be nice not to have to worry about money though @skieurope