I learned something new last week you won't hear from your high school counselor!
Background info: so once you get in college, you have your basics (traditionally 2 years) that you fulfill and some prerequisites (which often overlap as a basic course) for a major.
It used to be that if you had a specific gpa with the prerequisites finished, the major fields will let you in. Now you "apply" to get within a school/major/program within the university. Some applications require a test also to get into the school. Some schools will go back and look at your SAT/SAT subject/ACT scores, if the program is very competitive to get into.
NEW NEWS FOR ME! Not all of these schools/majors/programs will recognize AP/IB scores for their department. Students get a "leg up" if they actually took the courses at the university level, since they are harder and the professors know what is covered.
Also...(more news for me!)...she said some medical schools also do not count math and science AP/IB courses as a check for requirements to apply.
(She was home yesterday, advising her 16 yo brother on his college classes for next year. I overheard all of this, and stopped for explanations.) Again, I think the best way to figure high school is to take distance education courses (telecast to the high school from university) or to take it directly from the college your child intends to go to, or to take courses from a highly "articulated" college that works with that university.
Never take a college credit course without talking to the dean of the final university in the right department, as to what he will require and accept...and then...it might even change! Things seem to be bending to more competitiveness.
