College discussion thread

benkuhn

It's that time of year when high school seniors are thinking about colleges, and by extension, everyone who knows any high school seniors is thinking about colleges as well. So let's let Less Wrong join in!

Do you have:

questions about choosing, preparing for, or attending colleges?
sage advice about choosing, preparing for, or attending colleges?
announcements of which college you'll be attending or visiting and when (for instance, so that you can meet local LWers)?
other things not worth their own post such that 'people who clicked on the "College discussion thread"' is an appropriate audience?

Please post them below!

Do you have:

questions about choosing, preparing for, or attending colleges?
sage advice about choosing, preparing for, or attending colleges?
announcements of which college you'll be attending or visiting and when (for instance, so that you can meet local LWers)?
other things not worth their own post such that 'people who clicked on the "College discussion thread"' is an appropriate audience?

Please post them below!

If you're in the US (I don't know about other countries) you can take Advanced Placement (AP) tests while in High School and then have those count for credit at many colleges. Most colleges will publish a list of which AP tests, with which scores, are accepted and the number of units/credit hours they are worth and the degree requirements they satisfy.

These tests are, in general, not very hard for above-average high school students. If you have taken a regular (non-AP) course, it should be possible to pick up the AP test study book, review for a couple weeks, and then pass the test.

As a personal anecdote, when I was in high school, I took biology my freshman year. My junior year, I picked up the AP study book and put in 2 weeks of work on it, then took the AP test, scoring a 5 (perfect score). This was worth 8 units (2 university courses, out of 180 units required to graduate) and satisfied some other requirements.

I was so happy with this discovery, that I did the same thing for many more classes the next year and entered college with 56 units (out of 180) complete, allowing me to graduate in 3 years and save almost $30,000 dollars.

Taking AP's on your own is totally doable. My school didn't offer any and I took six. In my experience, as nydwracu said, AP Psych is easy. So is Environmental Science and English Lit (if you do well on the english sections of the SAT). World History is interesting, and easy if you like memorization. I've heard Human Geography is easy too. The AP exams of languages that are commonly spoken as first languages in the US (Spanish, Chinese) tend to be harder than the ones that aren't (Latin, German) because native speakers drive the average up (it's not ... (read more)

0[anonymous]12y

Along a similar vein, if you are in high school, look for AP italicsclassesitalics. Not only will these (assuming good teachers) be more interesting and probably allow you to earn a few credits through either the classes themselves or the AP tests, they will also help you transition from the "high school" mode of thinking to the "college" mode of thinking. If you can manage to dual enroll for actual college courses, that is even better. We often underestimate the mode switching that goes on in the mind of a student transitioning from high school to college. Better to immerse yourself in college thoughts, methods, and challenges now than when you are studying full time. I took three dual enrollment classes in high school, which translated to five university courses when I transferred. I also spent the summer taking a dual enrollment course sponsored by my school, which gave me an additional course, so don't be afraid to ask about opportunities outside of normal school hours. If you think you can handle it, go for it!

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College discussion thread

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College discussion thread

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