AP test and the USAFA

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TryingMyBestHere

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I am currently in 4 AP classes for my high school, but the AP tests cost $100 each. I am not sure that I should spend the $400 to do them, because I don't know if they really help me get into the Academy. And also I am short on money, and my family doesn't care to pay for it. My school does offer free lunch that helps with AP test costs, but my family does not qualify for free lunch.
 
I’m not sure if they matter for the academy, but they would for your plan B. Depending on your major, you could save a lot of money by receiving college credit. My DS didn’t make it in the academy, but he had enough AP credits to test out of his 1st year.
 
TryingMyBestHere said:
I am currently in 4 AP classes for my high school, but the AP tests cost $100 each. I am not sure that I should spend the $400 to do them, because I don't know if they really help me get into the Academy. And also I am short on money, and my family doesn't care to pay for it. My school does offer free lunch that helps with AP test costs, but my family does not qualify for free lunch.
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There is no easy answer. You should closely look at the AP/IB Credit table in the USAFA Curriculum Handbook and see if any of your AP courses and expected scores will be helpful in validating particular courses. Also check your plan B school's expected majors curriculum and particular AP course validation rules. If you think you will score 4/5 on the tests, then emphatically, yes, most likely you should take the test.

One thing to note that my DS2027 encountered...he was WAY too busy in April/May and opted to cancel one of his AP tests (English Lit) because for USAFA it was redundant with an AP test (English Lang) he had already taken the year before. YOU HAVE TO PAY $40 TO CANCEL THE TEST TOO.
 
It won’t hurt you for the Academy to not take the exam. My son didn’t take any of the tests, just the classes. He ended up validating calc 1 because of how he did of USAFAs math placement test.
 
Another vote in favor of taking the AP exam - with the caveat that you do WELL on said exams.

Make a study of which AP exams validate at SAs and at your civilian colleges - keep in mind SAs might require a 5, or if not validate, they will place you in a higher level class (ie, bypassing the lower level class, essentially either allowing you to double major or take a ligher load). Super in favor of taking (and again, doing WELL) on the exams. My civilian DD's transcript shows 40 credits via AP validation.

Speak one-on-one with your GC. See if there are waivers. You never know until you ask. Both my DD's got blanket free AP exams, and free PSAT/SAT/ACT exam, waiver on score sends, and AP subject test waivers, and if you were in-the-know, you'd wait for a special code for local private school free application 2 x $90). This also gives you a chance to let your GC know you are applying for SAs.

Overcome adversity - can you do a job like lawnmowing specifically for the exam fees? That would make a good talking point.

You are a junior correct? If you are taking 4 AP classes now, then i'll assume you might take 4 or more your senior year. There could be significant other value - remember if at a civilian college, this could be at least 1 semester's worth of courses and full tuition/room/board at a state college would be around $15,000/semester that you are saving, not even counting the extrapolated pretax amount required.

And one more thing - short of a good national award on your Common App's 5 awards? Put down which AP exam award you get! The highest now is AP with distinction (National AP Scholar, RIP!). But still, a national award!
 
If you do well on the AP tests, you may get college credit. My daughter got enough IB/AP credits to get a whole year of credits, thus saving us $$$$ money. Also AP credits are good so if you need a "lighter" semester or you want to do study abroad you have more flexibility.
Talk to your guidance counselor about possible financial help/waivers.
 
Only take the one's you're certain you can do well on. In the 4-5 range. It would be worth the money to take one or two of them, but don't take all of them. Validation at USAFA isn't just you took the AP exam, but you have to excel at it too. If you don't think you'll get a 4-5 on any, save your money and time.
 
Do your research and find out which AP can be used for validation (USAFA and wherever you plan to apply). You don't have to take exam for all, just the those that have potential for validation. For example, AP Lang and AP Lit may validate the same college course, so no need to take both if you already pass one of them. Check what passing score you need for validation, each college are different.
 
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I found this on the AP Credit Policy Search for USAFA. Does anyone know if this is an exhaustive list? If so, does this mean that AP U.S. Gov & Politics cannot be validated?
 

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I’m pretty sure my son got to take a much shortened version of this history class (12 lessons) because he got a 5 on the AP test. (He did for one of the history classes anyway, but I think it was this one.)
 
Has anyone ever been validated for AP Gov & Politics? I'm know it's not on the table, but Calculus isn't on the table either but Calculus can be validated.
 
bubble said:
Has anyone ever been validated for AP Gov & Politics? I'm know it's not on the table, but Calculus isn't on the table either but Calculus can be validated.
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Math validation is addressed below the table in Note 3.

I'd say it's safe to assume that a high AP Gov & Politics test score does not validate anything.
 
Keep in mind that the national average for AP tests was 2.92 for 2022. In other words, you have to do well above average to get course credit. I would expect the same at other top ranked universities.
 
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