<p>wisedad, your son can only use APs to meet distributional requirements if he chooses to accelerate. And a semester abroad does not necessitate accelerating, because he can receive Yale credit for the term abroad. I got a 5 on AP Calc BC, but still had to take 2 QR classes, I got 5s on multiple science exams, but still had to take two natural sciences, etc. </p>
<p>Even on foreign languages, it’s not that the AP exam gives you distributional credit, it’s that being placed into L5 in a language means that you only need take one class to meet the language requirement. The AP exam is simply one way to demonstrate your readiness for L5 - it is presumed that someone who did very well on the AP exam would be able to place into L5 by taking the placement exam. Basically, APs get you very little if you don’t choose to accelerate (and I recommend against accelerating - I wouldn’t want to cut down my time at Yale by any amount).</p>
<p>its.been.real - Because I’m a history major, there aren’t really any classes for me to skip on account of AP credits. But I did take a 200-level biology class without taking the intro level classes, and I thought my Bio AP prepared me fine. Remember, you can also use shopping period to help determine if a class is at the right level for you.</p>