This really is something that needs to be checked on a school-by-school basis. For example, at CU Boulder (definitely non highly selective) 4s and 5s are deemed the equivalent of particular courses there so you can get the credit for those and place higher, but 3s will mostly just count as a gen ed credit, other than in languages. (I hope I’ve explained this correctly. )
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Ha! My D felt the same. The 5s (Lang and Comp Sci) and 4 (APUSH), were not nearly as exiting as that 3 in Physics 1. Mine did not have a bad teacher per se (the teacher has a PhD in Physics and teaches at a local University which is how D got dual credit), but D was hanging on by a thread all year lol. This was genuinely the first class she ever felt remotely “lost” during….
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The College Board site has an excellent table that allows you to filter the AP test and what colleges not only accept that test for credit, but what score will get what course. I looked at AP Seminar- because that’s what D26 took and AP Lang, because that’s what she’s taking next year. Not many colleges give much for AP Seminar, but the ones that diid seemed to take a 3. (I was only looking at schools with a higher acceptance rate). AP Lang was better and many gave credit for freshman writing classes with a 3.
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It is a nice tool, but in many cases it only tells you the score required for any type of credit, which may be empty elective credits. I’m sure you are aware because you’ve used the tool, just mentioning this distinction because not everyone may be aware 
So for example if you look up UCB on the CB tool, you’ll see that APs with score of 3 give credit (this is UC wide policy). But if you go to UCB’s web site, only a 4 or 5 on AP Lang will actually count for a freshman writing class. This info isn’t shown in the CB tool.
I would also double check with the college web sites because the data can change from year to year and I’m not sure how much the CB site updates.
Edited to add: This is the CB tool in case people haven’t seen it.
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You wouldn’t believe what I found!! My college application to UVA back in the 90s! 
S26 read my essays (so cringey to me ), my awards/EC lists and now has a better understanding of the purpose of the college essay and supplements. My mom saved it for me and yes, I did get into UVA. 
Also, back in the 90s, COA for in-state to UVA was…$10K plus change. Sigh ..
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But not Boulder! You need a 4 or 5 for that. Interesting. (Boulder will take a 4 or 5 on seminar, not a 3, but only for gen ed, not credit for a writing class.) My point really was that you do need to check for whichever school you choose. I guess some people will choose schools partly based on where they can get the most AP credit.
It can be a legit reason to pick one school over another, especially in a high requirement major (such as an engineering major) which may have very few “free” slots in its 4 year course plan. If you get course credit to skip many lower level requirements, you may have substantially more freedom during your 4 years to take other courses that interest you.
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Sure. I also know of some people who have done it to save money - completing college in 3 years rather than 4.
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If you click on the college in the CB tool, it does tell you what courses they give credit for. There is also a link to the college’s AP page so you can see the current info. And you can download the results into a csv list.
This is Albright College in PA
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Not for all colleges. That was my point… look up UCB to see my example.
And the link the tool gives in this case is to the UC system as a whole.
It gives you a decent amount of info for UCB though- enough to get you started.
I think for anything related to college academics/admissions, you would need to go directly to the school’s website and even then, you probably need to call admissions for a definitive answer. But for me anyway, the CB table was a good place to begin.
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We’re in violent agreement about that!
But I’m scratching my head about the screenshot above. I am not sure what college that screenshot is from, but it isn’t UC Berkeley. This is the top of the result for UC Berkeley.
I’m definitely in the camp of “maybe this will help my kid graduate early from college so I don’t have to spend as much.” But odds are high-ish that D26 will double major, so she’d probably graduate 1 semester early instead of 2, based on the colleges she’s going to apply to.
The whole decision to submit scores made me overthink so much. D26 has a more thoughtful approach.
D26’s take is that she will report all scores 4 and above and her ACT score because she is proud of her scores and believes they represent her well. She worked hard to get her ACT score in the 50%ile for most schools, and did her best on her AP exams. If her best isn’t good enough, then it’s not the right school for her.
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I thought this takeaway was important – that not reporting a 4 in an attempt to get into a really selective school might be a good strategy, but then getting credit afterward if they give any. Makes sense.
I watched a lot of Sara Harberson’s content when my D22 was going through this process, although I never joined Application Nation. Much of it was helpful for selective schools. But I gotta admit, her speaking style drives me crazy, lol.
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Yup, she honestly takes a long time to say something! And my husband can’t handle how much make up she wears, lol.
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She’s just trying waaay too hard to be cute.
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A little delayed sorry!
Safety (auto acceptance based on GPA/ACT -will be within budget) - 1
Likely (High chance of admission - maybe with enough funds??) - 5
Solid Targets -(NPC calculators say within budget, target range for admissions approximately 50% chance?) - 3 or 4
Harder targets/easier reaches (NPC looks good -but looking at 20-30% chance?) - 2
True Reaches -(Admission chances in teens -NOT ivies)- 3
Chances are of course approximate! I am hoping with this assortment we get at least a few that are acceptances with adequate financial support.
Applying EA everywhere it is offered and hoping that produces at least some good results
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FYI, some schools run essay workshops that are open to everyone, even those who have no interest in applying to the school running the program.
Came across Macalester’s today, which is July 16. More info here:
ETA: Davidson summer app workshops:
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Bwahahahaha!!
That’s because it’s from University of Colorado Boulder!! lol!!! Wrong school initials!!!
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