AP Credits

One of the most pressing and perplexing issues about entering college is AP classes, and how those credits apply to college. I really didn't find out all of the information about AP credits until the end of my senior year, when the university actually sent me the information that spelled out exactly what applied where. Before that, every time I asked was met with vague generalizations such as "Well, it varies depending on your university, and your major," which wasn't much help at all.

The truth, however, is exactly that. There isn't a single, definite answer, especially this early in the game, when you're not even sure which college you'll be attending or what major you'll be studying. If you have a general idea, however, most colleges have the information posted up, albeit vaguely. The specifics are usually divided up by college (college of engineering, letters & science, etc.), so with a general idea of what you might study and the colleges you'll likely be attending, you can get a good sense of how your AP credits will apply.

Luckily for you, I've compiled a partial list of some prominent universities (for high school students from the San Francisco Bay Area), which might help.

The UC (University of California) system has things all spelled out on their website.

• UC Berkeley
• UC Davis
• UC Irvine
• UCLA
• UC Merced
• UC Riverside
• UC San Diego
• UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Cruz
  

The CSU (California State University) has a bit more convoluted site. I haven't found a centralized source of information, quite yet - I'll try and see if I can get the information directly from most of the more local colleges, and if anybody finds this information somewhere, feel free to send it over.

[will be updated later]

Most private colleges also have their Advanced Placement credit policies posted on their websites. A quick web search under keywords: advanced placement credit [school name] should be able to find these fairly quickly. For example (a random and incomplete list of local colleges):

• Stanford University
• Santa Clara University
• University of San Francisco
• Mills College
• Saint Mary's College of California

If the information isn't readily available online, you can always call the undergraduate admissions office for the college you're intending to apply/attend, and ask them directly.