<p>I can’t believe anyone would retake a class just to improve their grades.</p>
<p>Take the credit. AP credits helped me graduate early, and saved me a load of money.</p>
<p>Sorry, no time to read whole thread, but I feel strongly about this & just noticed it. Hope I don’t repeat. I think it totally depends on your high school and your college. 4-year colleges will likely offer a very different class from your AP, esp. in the liberal arts. If you hate the subject (i.e., you’re an engineer & have no more “use” for history) then by all means take the credit if you can and move on. If, however, you have the time & an interest (in history, for example) you might really want to take the lower level course first. It’s not a “repeat” at all usually, and it’s a good way to gauge the department & get used to how they would like you to write, how they do exams, & so on. Perhaps you could visit a class before you take it. Finally, in the larger classes you may also have a smaller discussion section of some kind, and you might really enjoy that and get a lot out of it. Though they do give college “credit”, I hope no one thinks AP classes are <em>always</em> the equivalent of college courses.</p>
<p>I didn’t read the entire thread either so, here comes my 2 cents! A good many schools today require you to get a 4 or even a 5 in order to place out of classes, and in some cases, even a 5 won’t get you off of the hook. It’s up to each school to say what they will and won’t accept and you won’t know that until you actually enroll. My D is sitting in a freshman writing class this semester, despite having gotten 5s on AP Lit and Comp and well as on all three of the History APs which require extensive essays. Go figure…</p>
<p>MM–My D got a 5 on AP English & all the history APs as well, but Columbia insists students take THEIR writing test in order to get out of Freshman Comp. The word on the street was “nobody” passes it. </p>
<p>My D passed it. 
:)</p>
<p>Hope my experience will help. I took 11 AP test during high school [Tons of Science AND history]. I am majoring in Political science and the opportunities presented to me are phenomenal. In my freshman year I have joined the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society, allowed to apply to internships [Usually students have to wait till their a Junior], take only 3 gen ed courses while taking AWESOME 
upper division courses. I’m set to finish my B.S. in two years with an extra two years and 4 summers for internships and resume padding. I have a real good chance of getting in the IVY’s!</p>
<p>So overall taking those AP test and accepting the credits was really worth it in my case. I basically skipped all my gen ed courses and was allowed to accelerate right into my major. This presented me opportunities that will allow me to stick out when applying for law school. Hoped that helped!</p>
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<p>Actually, it costs like 80 something bucks to take the AP exam for any one class. Not really much of a money saver, especially if you plan on taking GE courses/electives in community college.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think its a great idea to skip a lot of intro courses, or lower GE courses. Those are the classes that help to guide you in the right direction as far as a major goes. Unless you know exactly what you’re going for (and normally a highschooler does not), I don’t see the upside to it.</p>
<p>^^^^
Ah, but see … in Florida, or at the very least our county (not sure of whole state), students do not pay for AP exams. D took 11 and passed all. She’ll be an academic junior at the end of this semester (her second semester). She’ll take 4 years to graduate, but that’s actually pretty good for a chemical engineering major, and she won’t have to take any summer classes. (UF figures a ChemE degree off of 9 semesters, and a lot of 17 hour semesters, as well). She won’t have to press that hard, allowing for some electives in other subjects she wants/or needs (adores math and is doing pre-med requirements). So … it will save us money that can best be used for grad/ or med school. </p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>Well, when you know what you want at such a young age, then I say ‘go for it!’. Sounds like “D” is on a mission and she’s going to get there. </p>
<p>I just know that I don’t regret not taking a ton of AP courses. I found taking the ‘easier’ forms of these courses in highschool to be beneficial for my sanity as well as for my enjoyment of my teenage years. The extra time I spend in college as opposed to my AP-extraordinaire friend, doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Nor do I believe it’s ever put me at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>But I can see where it would be very beneficial for some; just wasn’t ever for me.</p>