My son is a sophomore in high school and is taking AP classes. If he takes the AP test and receives a score that allows him to test out can he still take the class in college or will that not be allowed?

He plans to be a mechanical engineer so things like history he feels like are okay to test out of but he wanted to know if he test out of something like Physics could he choose to take the course in college. He thought that regardless of the AP test he may want to take the class if it is relevant to his major so that he is completely prepared for the next class at the college level.

At his New Student Conference, the College of Engineering will give him guidance on whether or not to accept AP credit for things like calculus and physics based off of his score and historical data. For example, if you don't make a 5 on the Calculus BC exam, you shouldn't accept credit. This is just guidance though. The student has to make the decision that is best for them. Typically, it is recommended that you take calculus and physics at A&M. Especially if he is interested in mechanical. They are one of the more competitive majors to get into in engineering, so your son's freshman GPA will be very important.

My daughter is in her 4th and last year of CHEN. She accepted AP credit for 12 AP classes, including physics 218, Math 151, and Math 152. She started with Math 253 (Calc 3) and got the highest grade in the class. Everyone warned her against going straight into Calc 3. If you already know the material, don't waste the time and money.

The Real Dude said:

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My daughter is in her 4th and last year of CHEN. She accepted AP credit for 12 AP classes, including physics 218, Math 151, and Math 152. She started with Math 253 (Calc 3) and got the highest grade in the class. Everyone warned her against going straight into Calc 3. If you already know the material, don't waste the time and money.

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I agree with this. I got 4/5 on AP calc 1 and 2. I retook calc 2 in college thinking calc 3 in college would be super hard, and turned out calc 2 and 3 weren't that hard at all, I didn't need to take calc 2.

I thought freshman year of college would be harder. My senior year of high school was harder than my first year of college.

I also tested out of English 1 and 2, and didn't take any college English. I'd suggest test out of everything you can. Freshman courses are easy.

As a college professor who has become well-informed on this issue, high schools are trending away from AP courses (even though AP teachers want to keep them to achieve higher pay). Why? It's simple. Dual credit offered by community colleges it's less expensive, and there is no AP exam (which I have graded) to study for or stress over. Take your AP credit and run ... quickly ... and advise your student not to retake those classes. Dual credit is the future way to go.

This is an interesting topic that I know a lot about.

I taught AP English Language in a 6-A urban high school for 22 years. I was a reader and a table leader and a College Board consultant for nearly 20 years.

My experience--and Google confirms it--is that the number of students who take AP exams has grown quite a bit in the last ten years. It is true that a quick glance tells me that in the last couple of years the three most popular exams--English Language, English Literature, and US History--have leveled off. Maybe that's because of Dual Credit.

(I have read studies that show that, despite what College Board has claimed for over a decade, taking AP exams does not translate into better performance in college for minority students.)

It is true that a number of schools I am familiar with have a confusing array of possible ways to get college credit in high school. Some schools offer separate AP and Dual Credit courses; others offer courses that are both AP and Dual Credit. Some schools offer credit through the IB program. Some schools set themselves up as "early college" high schools, in which students take a combination of classes on the high school campus and classes on the community college campus.

I agree that it is easier to get Dual Credit than to get AP credit or IB credit.

There may well be high school districts that pay AP teachers more, but I have never met a teacher, either in Texas or nationwide, who was paid more for teaching AP. Just my personal experience.

On the other hand, the district I worked for paid a stipend each semester to teachers of Dual Credit courses. The stipend came from the fact that Dual Credit is awarded through a participating community college, and the community college paid the school district some fee (determined by the college and the district) for teaching the classes. The school district kept a chunk of the money and passed on the rest to the teachers.

I accepted 52 hours AP credit. Didn't feel harmed in the slightest. I was a BIMS major. Advisor tried to warn me off of taking OChem freshmen year. Seemed dumb to me to take chem 101 when I had tested out. Did just fine as a fresh. I say that to say, each student is different. Don't be afraid to take a leap.

It completely depends on the kid but let's be honest, for every kid like my nephew there are 10 like my niece. They both took a bunch of AP credits...one had no problem the other flunked out.