Thank you Ankfoo for answering that for me. He needs to go back and re-read what was asked and then re-read my posts. Who the hell said anything about ap credits replacing required Premed?
A few of my AP classes were harder than ANY class at UT, no exaggeration. I think those AP courses have helped me become a good test taker, and, subsequently, succeed in law school.
I finished High School AP calculus my junior year. The AP credits allowed me to pass through the first semester of college calculus. Unfortunately, what this left me with was a senior year to forget everything, and then enter college by starting with second semester calculus at 8am MWF. This was not a good idea.
My English teacher in HS was the benchmark for AP classes in my HS and district. He formerly taught at CC and at Tech. One of the other advantages, if taught correctly, they help prepare you for college, you might not even pass the test, but you get a better idea of what college classes are like.
I currently am teaching Workd History AP to high school juniors. Most of what has been posted above is great information. Besides the obvious answer that you have the opportunity to earn college credit for sometimes pennies on the dollar depending on what institution the student decides to attend, there are other advantages as well. The GPA bump is crucial. Both my wife and I were accepted into UT without cracking the top ten percent of our high school classes, but that is becoming more and more difficult to do. In many high schools it is impossible to finish in the top ten percent without taking AP courses. A previous poster mentioned not having to be in regular classes. In my high school this is also a crucial point, as I have seen many students drown in regular ed classes and many students improve ten fold just because of the atmosphere of the classroom. Finally, a well designed/taught AP course will prepare a student for the rigors of college, which should not be understated. Speaking to the question as to if the quality if the courses are up to par or not: First of all it really doesn't matter for the college credit aspect. A monkey could teach the course if you wanted: you do not get credit unless you pass the exam adminstered by the College Board. However, there have been complaints by college admissions offices that there is no way to tell if an AP course that shows up on a transcript is worth a damn or not. Because of this, the College Board has started (as of last year) an audit process that makes sure a course is truly collge level if it is to appear on a transcript as AP. Some high schools have actually lost the ability to use the AP label on their courses for failing to comply with the audit standards. All in all, I say if the student is qualified to be in the course there is no real reason not to be in it. Even if they do not take the exam at the end of the year ( which I do not recommend) there are several other advantages to taking the courses.
