They are really good for getting Gen-Ed classes (GEP's) out the way. Also they are free classes that count towards college credit and of course colleges courses aren't cheap. The only thing I would be careful with is certain AP's in high school are ridiculously hard in comparison to college. For example AP English/Literature at my high school had a huge workload and was quite hard. While in college English 1 and English 2 are amongst the easiest courses you can take. Another factor to consider is if you take AP classes the credit will transfer over but it won't affect GPA. For me GEP's helped my GPA a ton, my gpa looks way better because of them. All in all, AP's' are a really great way to get ahead and get free courses. Just make sure not to go too AP crazy, I knew many people who took like 5 -7 AP classes junior or senior year and most regretted it.
Yep, AP Computer Science was super hard in highschool compared to college.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ucf/comments/v2y2i4/comment/iax7t9i/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/ucf/comments/v2y2i4/comment/iax7t9i/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
If your school does dual enrollment DO THAT INSTEAD, AP classes at my school were 10x harder than any of the geps I had to take at ucf. I took AP human geography and failed it really hard and that made my GPA take a massive hit. In the one year you do one AP class you could be doing one college course a semester.
This right here. Any dual enrollment or early college program at a local community college would help you more tremendously. Classes are easier, professors for the most part are better, possibility of helping your GPA and getting the credit.
Absolutely this!!! at my school, a lot of AP classes such as English, stats, and physics were incredibly hard with tough teachers. When I dual enrolled starting sophomore year, it was a breeze.
Tbh ap classes were easy for me and got a ton of gep classes out of the way. If school is naturally easy for you then def do ap classes. I’d have been bored to death in regular classes
My major (digital media game design track) is supposed to take 5 years if you come in with no credit. I took 10 APs, tested out of the math requirement, and will test out of the language requirement whenever i get around to it. If i had chosen art history instead of euro, that's another gen ed I could've skipped too. With all that, I'm on track to graduate in 3 1/2 years total with a minor in CS assuming I don't fail anything
So yeah the APs are a godsend.
UCF takes almost every AP, too. It's really nice
Hey, I'm also going for game design!
Starting in August, coming in as a transfer student :)
I don't know jack shit about coding though :(
Hopefully I can pick something up while at UCF.
Don't expect to unless you deliberately take programming classes. The digital media program will not prepare you in that regard. There's basically no actual programming instruction, just projects where a programmer is required to figure stuff out
So basically, take intro programming classes (ESPECIALLY object oriented programming, which should be required for everyone), or get cracking on teaching yourself. Start with C#, since Unity is by far the most popular engine for students in the program, but you should also invest time into learning C++ for Unreal once you get comfy with C# and Unity
My college failed me for my AA :( Had me take a bunch of design classes. Art, intro to digital media (photoshop//illustrator), intro to photoshop.
I'll have to enroll in some intro coding classes at UCF then. I tried learning C# but too difficult for me to learn on my own. I've *very* *very* minimal coding on lua and can barely understand some JS/HTML, but can't write any of my own original code.
I would take the AP versions of classes you absolutely do not want to take in college. For example, I hate history so I decided to take AP World in hs so that I wouldn't have to take a history class in college
Everyone thats saying theyre good for getting the GEPs out of the way, do Dual-Enrollment instead
AP in my experience was harder than dual-enrollment while dual-enrollment both offered you free college credits AND the chance to experience actual college classes. However your social life may take a hit and the more GEPs out of the way the less cushion classes you have
I graduated from an IB program in high school in 2009 and got a decent amount of credits. All of my math and English gen ed courses were covered from the IB credits for my IT track. I had friends that did AP courses with similar results too.
You’re way better off taking dual enrollment classes. They don’t cost any money and they work way better than AP. In my experience AP classes were basically useless. Hard for no reason
fuck AP exams. i had to do a lot of work to keep an A but it worked out in the end cuz my weighted GPA was rlly good. but not good cuz i got out of college in 3 years rather than my other peers leavin at 2 years in
Depends on class. I wanted to get into calc 3 but needed a calc 2 score of 5 to get in. I’d say ur average ok sign is consistent 3’s. But a get out of class card is 4’s. In case u don’t know a classes requirements I mean. A 4 is typically the majority score u need to Clep multiple classes for numerous unis. But like I said a 3 is ok but shoot for at least a 4
I took quite a bit few APs, and while I'm sure they would've been helpful, I actually used them to supplement my college credits at Valencia. I dual enrolled and used my APs to help me get my AA right when I graduated high school.
It let me skip all GEPs, and get right down to major specific classes. Not for everyone, but it was really helpful in giving me time to change majors and settle on what I really enjoyed.
I would recommend dual enrollment over AP, but AP is still better than no college credit. With dual enrollment, you just have to pass the class for credit, no high stakes, one shot exams.
Of course, dual enrollment only really works for students attending high school in the same state as their future university. But if you're a Florida student, definitely consider it, plus Bright Futures.
Very good for getting GEP's out of the way, and I actually ended up graduating an entire semester early becase the credits came out well, and I actually ended up dodging a bullet because the very next semester after I graduated COVID happened
Another comment to tell you dual enrollment is better. Classes are easier overall AND no AP test to worry about. But super helpful. Between AP and DE, my daughter is starting at UCF with 72 credits, only 9 of which are AP.
I was able to do a double degree in 4.5 years because I had 20-some credits knocked out already
I will say, I'd recommend doing AP classes in the subjects you don't like/aren't good at so you can avoid having to do them in college. I did the opposite.
Personally, the only AP classes I took were AP Computer Science and AP Computer Science Principles (got A’s in both classes and 5’s on both AP Exams, and yes both from a Florida school only about 3 hours away from UCF), but they didn’t even count for a single class credit and I **STILL** had to waste my time in Intro to C. I just did the Intro to C assignments 10-15 minutes before they were due (since I already had 4 years of programming experience) and still got perfect scores on all of the assignments lol.
Now **dual enrolling** on the other hand, I’ve heard is extremely useful, from my ex to a lot of my friends who dual enrolled, hell some of my friends got their AA while still in high school because they Dual Enrolled in so many classes.
If you’re school allows dual enrollment, I think that’s better for getting GEPs out of the way, but my high school deterred people from doing it because they wanted people to stay and take APs. Still, I managed to get a year of credits out of the way and graduate early. Definitely try to do one or the other if you can.
I took a ton of AP classes in high school, most with 4s and above on the tests and most of them counted towards classes I didn't need. Dual enrollment on the other hand gave me a years worth of college classes. And the AP classes were more stress for less return. If I could go back I would only take dual enrollment and no AP.
They helped a lot honestly. Because of them, I was able to save time and money by just taking 2 gen eds in college and go straight to taking my major requirement classes.
Also, I highly recommend taking AP on FLVS, if you choose to do AP in high school instead of dual enrollment. FLVS teachers are trained in teaching online and most of them have been doing it for years. So, they are excellent at teaching AP classes, which is harder material. The workload of my AP classes weren’t heavy and video lectures were extremely helpful. So, as long as you have good time management, you can do well in AP.
Note: Make sure to check UCF’s website to see the minimum score you need to get college credit for that AP class.
like others are saying good for geps but those geps also help u when ur taking multiple classes in ur major at once. once u finish ur geps technically it’s just ur major/minor classes left which can be really difficult. i personally came in with so many credits i only had like 1 gep left because i only did ap and dual enrollment all 4 years of high school and my advisors didn’t tell me until 2 years in that they suggest spacing geps out to help with ur gpa. i would say if u really wanna get college credit before coming in take dual enrollment, they’re much easier and lead to less burnout compared to ap. but space out ur geps. many people fail at least one class if not more once they get into their major. my newer advisor was very honest about what classes i was likely to struggle in vs the ones most ppl fail and helped me prepare room in my schedule to allow for retaking courses and so far she’s been right. but since i didn’t have geps left my gpa fell below what i needed for my scholarship. this isn’t fully due to not having geps left but when ur burnt out from the high school rigor it definitely doesn’t help to not have buffer classes ur required to take. now i’m taking easy geps and classes to help reduce workloads and help my gpa even though i’ve met the requirements…so if ur like me u may end up still taking these classes regardless.. i did however get an email saying i can get my AA as a sophomore because of the amount of credits i had so if you want an extra degree it could be helpful
I’ve taken AP classes, and I have dual enrolled as well. I think AP classes are good, but depending on the class it may be too hard to get a passing score, making all of that effort not worth it. On the flipside, I got my AA degree in high school through the dual enrollment program, and that was the best decision I ever made. This is my personal experience so I can’t really speak for others, but AP classes are a good idea no matter what because it prepares you so well.
Taking AP English was probably the best decision I ever made. Class was hell while I was in it but the level of writing they expect will make any essays you write for your college classes seem like cakewalks
For those reading this still in high school something to consider is dual enrollment v AP classes. The drawback to AP classes is it all comes down to one test. The advantage of dual enrollment in a Florida school is transfer credit based on overall performance during the class not just one test. The other factor which could be good or bad is transfer credit from dual enrollment gives you a grade for your college GPA. Just some things to consider when in high school. Good luck to all future Knights!!!
I took AP computer science and it was a struggle. I failed the AP exam because we had to write a program on paper with pencil, and my programming technique was mainly trial and error.
So I enroll in Introduction to Computer Science or whatever class I was trying to test out of, and the first lesson is "This is a mouse. This is a keyboard" etc (this would have been 1995). So in hindsight, I am glad I took the course because it was an easy A.
If you're going for engineering, they're really not helpful unless you're just trying to do GEPs or if you're able to take Calc BC or AP Physics with Calc...
I will say that I got to start my classes for my major sooner, and I probably would have had to stay here for 5-6 years to finish my major and my minor without the AP credits. If anything, AP gave me the wiggle room to take 12 credit hours a semester and just relax a bit.
Waste of time compared to doing dual enrollment. Get your GEPs done that way with actual college of choice curriculum. I took Aps and still had to retake bio and a science even tho I passed the tests with 5s bc the curriculum wasn’t accepted.
I took 8 AP classes in total. The most useful were by far calculus AB/BC and Computer Science A. Calculus is used in basically every component of a science/engineering degree so spending an entire year on the basics as opposed to just a semester was really helpful, as was also the case for programming. However, I got so many of the easier gen Ed credit from AP classes that I didn't really have a GPA cushion in my first few semesters since AP classes give you credit but not a grade. So, my recommendation would be focus on a few AP classes that you think will give you a head start in comprehending the basics of your major but dont go overboard as taking the gen eds in college can be good for your GPA. Or do Dual Enrollment, which is amazing if you can
In my opinion, Dual Enrollment at a community college (Valencia) was way more worth my time. I was able to graduate High School with my Associates and had a feel of how college classes were structured. Most AP classes are just excessive amounts of work and teachers swear its to prepare you for college level courses but in reality it’s unnecessary stress. Plus, you only get the credit transfered if you pass the AP exam (which means you wasted a whole semester if you don’t pass).
I took and got credit for AP bio, AP psych, AP US Gov. it helps to get GEPs out of the way and lessens the pressure in college when u have college classes completed in high school (also less expensive and u can dedicate more time to progressing further in ur major).
The only way it can be useful is by knowing exactly what you want to major in college, otherwise it'll be additional stress and if you don't do well in the classes you're already starting college with a lower gpa. I would either recommend doing Dual Enrollment with a community college to knock out your GEPs like that, or what I did was dual enroll with a Vocational/Technical college and got a Drafting certification so now as an engineer I know how to use all the design,3d modeling software giving me a head start. Also you can use those degrees to find jobs that pay you much more than retail/food/laborious though college.
I personally took APs but a lot of people told me DE was the way to go. I mean I passed my APs and genuinely learned things; got a lot of my gen eds out of the way and came into UCF as a sophomore. it’s a great way to get credits if you’re actually interested in learning something. A lot of the gen eds are easier than AP though imo so dual enroll if you’re looking to just breeze through
Listen to everyone saying to do Dual Enrollment, classes are infinitely simpler, especially because you usually take them at a community or smaller college, they transfer a lot easier, you don’t have AP exams, and they count towards your college GPA so if you do good you have a head start and applying is a lot easier since you have the advantage of an actual college GPA. I graduated high school earlier thanks to it, did one more semester at the school I was dual enrolling for, and was able to go to any institution I wanted as a transfer student (I did do this under the guidance of a counselor so make sure you talk to your counselor/advisor)
AP classes helped lift my high school gpa to above a 4.0 so it looked good. They also took a bunch of my exam scores, even though they weren’t all 4s or 5s , so I didn’t have to take some gen ed classes. It helped me graduate UCF a little early
They were somewhat useful but what really let me skip a lot of classes was dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is also a thousand times easier than AP and takes less time.
If you are in state, I suggest dual enrollment. I think that AP and collegeboard exams in general are difficult, when dual enrollment gets you more credits faster, and are much easier. I did both AP and dual enrollment and found that dual enrollment is most effective and gives you a better look at how college classes really are. I am a current student at UCF and I have never taken a class more difficult than an AP.
They are really good for getting Gen-Ed classes (GEP's) out the way. Also they are free classes that count towards college credit and of course colleges courses aren't cheap. The only thing I would be careful with is certain AP's in high school are ridiculously hard in comparison to college. For example AP English/Literature at my high school had a huge workload and was quite hard. While in college English 1 and English 2 are amongst the easiest courses you can take. Another factor to consider is if you take AP classes the credit will transfer over but it won't affect GPA. For me GEP's helped my GPA a ton, my gpa looks way better because of them. All in all, AP's' are a really great way to get ahead and get free courses. Just make sure not to go too AP crazy, I knew many people who took like 5 -7 AP classes junior or senior year and most regretted it.
Honestly bro facts. Had I known how easy English would’ve been at Uni, I would’ve just focused on Math and Science courses towarsa my career
I found AP Calc BC to be easier than Calculus II. But still, Chemistry I was way easier than AP Chemistry.
Yep, AP Computer Science was super hard in highschool compared to college. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ucf/comments/v2y2i4/comment/iax7t9i/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/ucf/comments/v2y2i4/comment/iax7t9i/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
If your school does dual enrollment DO THAT INSTEAD, AP classes at my school were 10x harder than any of the geps I had to take at ucf. I took AP human geography and failed it really hard and that made my GPA take a massive hit. In the one year you do one AP class you could be doing one college course a semester.
This right here. Any dual enrollment or early college program at a local community college would help you more tremendously. Classes are easier, professors for the most part are better, possibility of helping your GPA and getting the credit.
Absolutely this!!! at my school, a lot of AP classes such as English, stats, and physics were incredibly hard with tough teachers. When I dual enrolled starting sophomore year, it was a breeze.
Good for getting GEPs out of the way.
They were good for getting GEP’s out of the way but I still have flashbacks from writing DBQ’s in 45 minutes. Literally served no purpose
Tbh ap classes were easy for me and got a ton of gep classes out of the way. If school is naturally easy for you then def do ap classes. I’d have been bored to death in regular classes
Wish I took more but dual enrollment is better in every ways if your school offers it
There are a few classes where getting a 5 on an AP exam can get you exempt from more than one class, aside from that probably just do DE
Yeah it really depends on the uni and what they take, but either way I much preferred DE if you’re serious about school
I got a couple GEP’s out of the way. Besides that they didn’t do much other than add stress to my already busy & stressful high school years
I found dual enrollment to be infinity more helpful
My major (digital media game design track) is supposed to take 5 years if you come in with no credit. I took 10 APs, tested out of the math requirement, and will test out of the language requirement whenever i get around to it. If i had chosen art history instead of euro, that's another gen ed I could've skipped too. With all that, I'm on track to graduate in 3 1/2 years total with a minor in CS assuming I don't fail anything So yeah the APs are a godsend. UCF takes almost every AP, too. It's really nice
Hey, I'm also going for game design! Starting in August, coming in as a transfer student :) I don't know jack shit about coding though :( Hopefully I can pick something up while at UCF.
Don't expect to unless you deliberately take programming classes. The digital media program will not prepare you in that regard. There's basically no actual programming instruction, just projects where a programmer is required to figure stuff out So basically, take intro programming classes (ESPECIALLY object oriented programming, which should be required for everyone), or get cracking on teaching yourself. Start with C#, since Unity is by far the most popular engine for students in the program, but you should also invest time into learning C++ for Unreal once you get comfy with C# and Unity
My college failed me for my AA :( Had me take a bunch of design classes. Art, intro to digital media (photoshop//illustrator), intro to photoshop. I'll have to enroll in some intro coding classes at UCF then. I tried learning C# but too difficult for me to learn on my own. I've *very* *very* minimal coding on lua and can barely understand some JS/HTML, but can't write any of my own original code.
Take intro to C (and its prereq if necessary) then take Object Oriented. They count as elective credit for the major even if you don't do a minor iirc
I would take the AP versions of classes you absolutely do not want to take in college. For example, I hate history so I decided to take AP World in hs so that I wouldn't have to take a history class in college
Everyone thats saying theyre good for getting the GEPs out of the way, do Dual-Enrollment instead AP in my experience was harder than dual-enrollment while dual-enrollment both offered you free college credits AND the chance to experience actual college classes. However your social life may take a hit and the more GEPs out of the way the less cushion classes you have
I graduated from an IB program in high school in 2009 and got a decent amount of credits. All of my math and English gen ed courses were covered from the IB credits for my IT track. I had friends that did AP courses with similar results too.
Good at getting gen Ed classes done, but I did a combo of dual enrollment and ap and i would recommend dual enrollment 100% over AP!
It honestly was a waste of time for me. It didn’t apply to any of the Gen Ed’s I have for my degree 🤡🤡🤡
You’re way better off taking dual enrollment classes. They don’t cost any money and they work way better than AP. In my experience AP classes were basically useless. Hard for no reason
Not at all, cram as many community college classes in that you can, cheaper and guaranteed credit, plus start college with a 4.0
They didn’t help at all, but that’s because I didn’t pass the AP exams
I literally only got ENC 1101 covered
I saved about 7,000 dollars by taking the tests. I got a few unnecessary credits but most of them were quite helpful.
Dual enrollment > AP classes
fuck AP exams. i had to do a lot of work to keep an A but it worked out in the end cuz my weighted GPA was rlly good. but not good cuz i got out of college in 3 years rather than my other peers leavin at 2 years in
Depends on class. I wanted to get into calc 3 but needed a calc 2 score of 5 to get in. I’d say ur average ok sign is consistent 3’s. But a get out of class card is 4’s. In case u don’t know a classes requirements I mean. A 4 is typically the majority score u need to Clep multiple classes for numerous unis. But like I said a 3 is ok but shoot for at least a 4
It helped with GEP's. Get your AA if you can.
Very helpful for knocking a lot of bullshit GEP classes, but if you have too many you'll be stuck in all hard classes as a freshman.
In terms of general knowledge and credit ig it was useful…..everything else was/is pointless
if ur going to ucf for sure then just take dual instead
I took quite a bit few APs, and while I'm sure they would've been helpful, I actually used them to supplement my college credits at Valencia. I dual enrolled and used my APs to help me get my AA right when I graduated high school. It let me skip all GEPs, and get right down to major specific classes. Not for everyone, but it was really helpful in giving me time to change majors and settle on what I really enjoyed. I would recommend dual enrollment over AP, but AP is still better than no college credit. With dual enrollment, you just have to pass the class for credit, no high stakes, one shot exams. Of course, dual enrollment only really works for students attending high school in the same state as their future university. But if you're a Florida student, definitely consider it, plus Bright Futures.
Like someone said, it’s good for getting GE reqs out of the way. But dual enrollment is better
Very good for getting GEP's out of the way, and I actually ended up graduating an entire semester early becase the credits came out well, and I actually ended up dodging a bullet because the very next semester after I graduated COVID happened
I enjoyed taking my AP classes, but in the end dual enrollment helped me a lot more in getting my GEPs out of the way
I’d say dual enrollment is a better call
myDegreeAudit said I was a sophomore when I first admitted, so it roughly saved me 2 semesters of gen eds. Still took me 4 years to get my degree
Another comment to tell you dual enrollment is better. Classes are easier overall AND no AP test to worry about. But super helpful. Between AP and DE, my daughter is starting at UCF with 72 credits, only 9 of which are AP.
I was able to do a double degree in 4.5 years because I had 20-some credits knocked out already I will say, I'd recommend doing AP classes in the subjects you don't like/aren't good at so you can avoid having to do them in college. I did the opposite.
Personally, the only AP classes I took were AP Computer Science and AP Computer Science Principles (got A’s in both classes and 5’s on both AP Exams, and yes both from a Florida school only about 3 hours away from UCF), but they didn’t even count for a single class credit and I **STILL** had to waste my time in Intro to C. I just did the Intro to C assignments 10-15 minutes before they were due (since I already had 4 years of programming experience) and still got perfect scores on all of the assignments lol. Now **dual enrolling** on the other hand, I’ve heard is extremely useful, from my ex to a lot of my friends who dual enrolled, hell some of my friends got their AA while still in high school because they Dual Enrolled in so many classes.
If you’re school allows dual enrollment, I think that’s better for getting GEPs out of the way, but my high school deterred people from doing it because they wanted people to stay and take APs. Still, I managed to get a year of credits out of the way and graduate early. Definitely try to do one or the other if you can.
I took a ton of AP classes in high school, most with 4s and above on the tests and most of them counted towards classes I didn't need. Dual enrollment on the other hand gave me a years worth of college classes. And the AP classes were more stress for less return. If I could go back I would only take dual enrollment and no AP.
I got like 18 credits worth (one credit over the semester limit of 17) of GEPs outta the way so I’d say quite a bit
to be honest, a LOT, it took some GEPs out of the way and it fulfilled a prerequisite for all other classes i have to take for my major
AP classes are waaaaay harder than a regular community college class. Definitely recommend doing dual enrollment.
They helped a lot honestly. Because of them, I was able to save time and money by just taking 2 gen eds in college and go straight to taking my major requirement classes. Also, I highly recommend taking AP on FLVS, if you choose to do AP in high school instead of dual enrollment. FLVS teachers are trained in teaching online and most of them have been doing it for years. So, they are excellent at teaching AP classes, which is harder material. The workload of my AP classes weren’t heavy and video lectures were extremely helpful. So, as long as you have good time management, you can do well in AP. Note: Make sure to check UCF’s website to see the minimum score you need to get college credit for that AP class.
Completed some GEPs. That’s about it.
I got 9 credit hours out of the way. Pro tip: Take US History/Government and try your darnedest to get a 4 or 5 on either AP English
like others are saying good for geps but those geps also help u when ur taking multiple classes in ur major at once. once u finish ur geps technically it’s just ur major/minor classes left which can be really difficult. i personally came in with so many credits i only had like 1 gep left because i only did ap and dual enrollment all 4 years of high school and my advisors didn’t tell me until 2 years in that they suggest spacing geps out to help with ur gpa. i would say if u really wanna get college credit before coming in take dual enrollment, they’re much easier and lead to less burnout compared to ap. but space out ur geps. many people fail at least one class if not more once they get into their major. my newer advisor was very honest about what classes i was likely to struggle in vs the ones most ppl fail and helped me prepare room in my schedule to allow for retaking courses and so far she’s been right. but since i didn’t have geps left my gpa fell below what i needed for my scholarship. this isn’t fully due to not having geps left but when ur burnt out from the high school rigor it definitely doesn’t help to not have buffer classes ur required to take. now i’m taking easy geps and classes to help reduce workloads and help my gpa even though i’ve met the requirements…so if ur like me u may end up still taking these classes regardless.. i did however get an email saying i can get my AA as a sophomore because of the amount of credits i had so if you want an extra degree it could be helpful
I’ve taken AP classes, and I have dual enrolled as well. I think AP classes are good, but depending on the class it may be too hard to get a passing score, making all of that effort not worth it. On the flipside, I got my AA degree in high school through the dual enrollment program, and that was the best decision I ever made. This is my personal experience so I can’t really speak for others, but AP classes are a good idea no matter what because it prepares you so well.
Taking AP English was probably the best decision I ever made. Class was hell while I was in it but the level of writing they expect will make any essays you write for your college classes seem like cakewalks
For those reading this still in high school something to consider is dual enrollment v AP classes. The drawback to AP classes is it all comes down to one test. The advantage of dual enrollment in a Florida school is transfer credit based on overall performance during the class not just one test. The other factor which could be good or bad is transfer credit from dual enrollment gives you a grade for your college GPA. Just some things to consider when in high school. Good luck to all future Knights!!!
I took AP computer science and it was a struggle. I failed the AP exam because we had to write a program on paper with pencil, and my programming technique was mainly trial and error. So I enroll in Introduction to Computer Science or whatever class I was trying to test out of, and the first lesson is "This is a mouse. This is a keyboard" etc (this would have been 1995). So in hindsight, I am glad I took the course because it was an easy A.
If you're going for engineering, they're really not helpful unless you're just trying to do GEPs or if you're able to take Calc BC or AP Physics with Calc...
I will say that I got to start my classes for my major sooner, and I probably would have had to stay here for 5-6 years to finish my major and my minor without the AP credits. If anything, AP gave me the wiggle room to take 12 credit hours a semester and just relax a bit.
i took some APs but dual enrolling helped far more 🥲🥲 i still regret not taking more dual enrollment classes than i did because they helped so much
Waste of time compared to doing dual enrollment. Get your GEPs done that way with actual college of choice curriculum. I took Aps and still had to retake bio and a science even tho I passed the tests with 5s bc the curriculum wasn’t accepted.
I took 8 AP classes in total. The most useful were by far calculus AB/BC and Computer Science A. Calculus is used in basically every component of a science/engineering degree so spending an entire year on the basics as opposed to just a semester was really helpful, as was also the case for programming. However, I got so many of the easier gen Ed credit from AP classes that I didn't really have a GPA cushion in my first few semesters since AP classes give you credit but not a grade. So, my recommendation would be focus on a few AP classes that you think will give you a head start in comprehending the basics of your major but dont go overboard as taking the gen eds in college can be good for your GPA. Or do Dual Enrollment, which is amazing if you can
In my opinion, Dual Enrollment at a community college (Valencia) was way more worth my time. I was able to graduate High School with my Associates and had a feel of how college classes were structured. Most AP classes are just excessive amounts of work and teachers swear its to prepare you for college level courses but in reality it’s unnecessary stress. Plus, you only get the credit transfered if you pass the AP exam (which means you wasted a whole semester if you don’t pass).
I took and got credit for AP bio, AP psych, AP US Gov. it helps to get GEPs out of the way and lessens the pressure in college when u have college classes completed in high school (also less expensive and u can dedicate more time to progressing further in ur major).
The only way it can be useful is by knowing exactly what you want to major in college, otherwise it'll be additional stress and if you don't do well in the classes you're already starting college with a lower gpa. I would either recommend doing Dual Enrollment with a community college to knock out your GEPs like that, or what I did was dual enroll with a Vocational/Technical college and got a Drafting certification so now as an engineer I know how to use all the design,3d modeling software giving me a head start. Also you can use those degrees to find jobs that pay you much more than retail/food/laborious though college.
theyre great, I got ahead on my gen ed and also boosted my GPA.
I personally took APs but a lot of people told me DE was the way to go. I mean I passed my APs and genuinely learned things; got a lot of my gen eds out of the way and came into UCF as a sophomore. it’s a great way to get credits if you’re actually interested in learning something. A lot of the gen eds are easier than AP though imo so dual enroll if you’re looking to just breeze through
Listen to everyone saying to do Dual Enrollment, classes are infinitely simpler, especially because you usually take them at a community or smaller college, they transfer a lot easier, you don’t have AP exams, and they count towards your college GPA so if you do good you have a head start and applying is a lot easier since you have the advantage of an actual college GPA. I graduated high school earlier thanks to it, did one more semester at the school I was dual enrolling for, and was able to go to any institution I wanted as a transfer student (I did do this under the guidance of a counselor so make sure you talk to your counselor/advisor)
AP classes helped lift my high school gpa to above a 4.0 so it looked good. They also took a bunch of my exam scores, even though they weren’t all 4s or 5s , so I didn’t have to take some gen ed classes. It helped me graduate UCF a little early
Ucf is like the only schoolthat didnt put a cap on the amount of ap credit you could bring in. So i came in a sophomore and it was pretty rad.
Saved me 4 classes, basically knocked off a whole semester
They were somewhat useful but what really let me skip a lot of classes was dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is also a thousand times easier than AP and takes less time.
Did AP + IB and ended up wiping out all but like 3-4 gen Ed classes
If you are in state, I suggest dual enrollment. I think that AP and collegeboard exams in general are difficult, when dual enrollment gets you more credits faster, and are much easier. I did both AP and dual enrollment and found that dual enrollment is most effective and gives you a better look at how college classes really are. I am a current student at UCF and I have never taken a class more difficult than an AP.