It is wise to check the website of the college/university which your child plans to apply to, and it sounds as though you may have done that. You may want to print the admissions criteria each semester and compare for changes, as the criteria may change over time.
In general
- state universities may grant more credits and/or advanced standing,
- private colleges/universities may grant fewer credits and/or advanced standing,
- highly selective colleges/universities may not grant any credit or advanced standing although for admissions they may look favorably upon the student who has earned advanced credits as this student has demonstrated successful learning under a variety of circumstances and/or educational environments. That said, over the years several parents have cautioned that earning college credits may, in some cases, prevent a student from entering a college as a Freshman when it is their desire to enter as a Freshman. Rather they may be given Transfer Student status.
There is no credit for taking an
AP course per se. Rather, the score from having taken an
AP exam is typically translated into the number of credits which would be granted by a particular institution. A student may take an AP exam whether they took the corresponding AP course or studied another way such as homeschool.
College Board
CLEP exams (College Level Exam Program) provide another cost-effective means of gaining college credits and/or advanced standing.
Students not interested in exams are often advised to earn actual college credits: the grade earned and the credits earned in the course are not subject to a second step confirmation such as a standardized exam. Davidson
THINK Summer Institute is one way for students to earn college credits.
It is possible to maximize college credits earned by utilizing a combination of strategies.
