Should I bother with taking AP exams?

J

jlmz215

Class of 2026
Joined
Feb 4, 2022
Messages
25
Cadet candidate class of 26 here. I’m taking 5 APs, but since I wont be able to validate them, should I even bother taking the exams? I’m gonna take Calc for sure, definitely not Micro Econ. But what about Gov, chem and English?
 
It really is a personal choice. What are you goals? Could you strategically take some and not others? How well do you have to score to validate at your next level? Are they classes you want to validate? What are your validation goals (some prefer to take the class vs validate to have a solid understanding at the individual colllege level. Especially if it’s one that’s built upon later)?

How much do you want to study during your last few weeks of senior year high school?

All things to consider. And there isn’t a right or wrong answer.
 
Just throwing this out because I’m not sure it fits, but because I had a science related bachelors I didn’t have a lot of basic business courses during undergrad. That hurt when I went to get my MBA. Had to take some base level course work before the actual MBA classes.

So, would some of those AP scores possibly count towards that? If it’s even a maybe, I’d take them. Like the Micro class specifically.
 
Provided you can afford the cost, there's no downside to taking them -- you'll open opportunities for yourself with the ones you do well on.

Btw: I don't make the afford them comment flippantly. My mom was so broke when I was a kid we couldn't afford the cost of AP exams.
 
Our DS didn't have AP options but was happy to validate 3 courses. That made room for a tough major and a minor he wanted to pursue. That and volunteer summer courses to relieve the pressure.
I say don't leave any possible positive result on the table if it is possible. I would be strategic, if you know you aren't strong in a particular course, I personally wouldn't test in that one.
Congrats on being part of the Class of 2026.
 
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