Since there are 39 AP opportunities, how many tests could you take that would actually save you time on your college degree?
Understanding the AP credit landscape is a complex task. It’s important to note that while some top-tier universities may not accept AP credits, those that do often require high scores of 4 or 5 for credit. Each university has its own unique policies on what credits they accept and for which classes, adding to the complexity of the situation.
Public institutions are generally more welcoming of AP credits, and since I live in Illinois and graduated from UIUC, I will use them as our example.
Another crucial factor to consider is the degree you’re aiming for. This will influence the AP credits you should prioritize. Once we’ve figured out what credits we can get, we can then focus on the degree requirements.
Each university should have a page like this that describes its AP policies. Understanding these policies is crucial as even if you are given credit for a course, it might only be treated as an elective credit. Also, universities may limit the number of AP credits you can have. From what I can tell, UIUC has no such limit.
UIUC AP Credits
| AP Exam | Score | Course Credited | Credit Hours |
| African American Studies | 3-5 | AFRO 100 | 3 |
| AP Research | 3-5 | LAS 1– | 3 |
| AP Seminar | 3-5 | LAS 1– | 3 |
| Art History | 3-5 | ART 1– | 3 |
| Art: 2-D Art and Design | 3-5 | ART 105 | 3 |
| Art: 3-D Art and Design | 3-5 | ART 104 | 3 |
| Art: Drawing | 3-5 | ART 102 | 3 |
| Biology | 3-4 | IB 100 | 3 |
| Biology | 5 | IB 150 / MCB 150 | 4 |
| Calculus AB (Non-Engineering) | 3 | MATH 234 | 4 |
| Calculus AB (Non-Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus AB (Engineering) | 3 | MATH 234 | 4 |
| Calculus AB (Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus BC (Non-Engineering) | 3 | MATH 234 | 4 |
| Calculus BC (Non-Engineering) | 3 (SS 4-5) | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus BC (Non-Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus BC (Non-Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 231 | 3 |
| Calculus BC (Engineering) | 3 | MATH 234 | 4 |
| Calculus BC (Engineering) | 3 (SS 4-5) | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus BC (Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 220 | 5 |
| Calculus BC (Engineering) | 4-5 | MATH 231 | 3 |
| Chemistry | 3 | CHEM 102 | 3 |
| Chemistry | 4-5 | CHEM 102 | 3 |
| Chemistry | 4-5 | CHEM 104 | 3 |
| Chinese | 3 | CHIN 2– | 5 |
| Chinese | 4 | CHIN 203 | 5 |
| Chinese | 4 | CHIN 204 | 5 |
| Chinese | 5 | CHIN 203 | 5 |
| Chinese | 5 | CHIN 204 | 5 |
| Chinese | 5 | CHIN 305 | 5 |
| Chinese | 5 | CHIN 306 | 5 |
| Computer Science A | 3 | CS 105 | 3 |
| Computer Science A | 4-5 | CS 101 | 3 |
| Computer Science Principles | 3-4 | CS 102 | 4 |
| Computer Science Principles | 5 | CS 105 | 3 |
| Macroeconomics | 3-4 | ECON 1– | 3 |
| Macroeconomics | 5 | ECON 103 | 3 |
| Microeconomics | 3-4 | ECON 1– | 3 |
| Microeconomics | 5 | ECON 102 | 3 |
| English Language & Composition | 3 | RHET 1– | 3 |
| English Language & Composition | 4-5 | RHET 105 | 4 |
| English Literature & Composition | 3 | RHET 1– | 3 |
| English Literature & Composition | 4-5 | RHET 105 | 4 |
| English Literature & Composition | 4-5 (EL 4-5) | ENGL 1– | 3 |
| Environmental Science | 3 | NRES 1– | 3 |
| Environmental Science | 4-5 | NRES 100 | 3 |
| French | 3 | FR 103 | 4 |
| French | 4 | FR 103 | 4 |
| French | 4 | FR 104 | 4 |
| French | 4 | FR 205 | 2 |
| French | 5 | FR 103 | 4 |
| French | 5 | FR 104 | 4 |
| French | 5 | FR 205 | 2 |
| French | 5 | FR 207 | 3 |
| German | 3 | GER 103 | 4 |
| German | 3 | GER 104 | 4 |
| German | 4-5 | GER 103 | 4 |
| German | 4-5 | GER 103 | 4 |
| German | 4-5 | GER 211 | 3 |
| Government & Politics: Comparative | 3-4 | PS 1– | 3 |
| Government & Politics: Comparative | 5 | PS 240 | 3 |
| Government & Politics: US | 3-4 | PS 1– | 3 |
| Government & Politics: US | 5 | PS 101 | 3 |
| European History | 3-4 | HIST 1– | 3 |
| European History | 5 | HIST 142 | 3 |
| US History | 3-5 | HIST 1– | 3 |
| World History | 3-4 | HIS 1– | 3 |
| World History | 5 | HIST 100 | 3 |
| Human Geography | 3 | GGIS 1– | 3 |
| Human Geography | 4-5 | GGIS 104 | 4 |
| Italian | 3 | ITAL 102 | 4 |
| Italian | 4 | ITAL 103 | 4 |
| Italian | 5 | ITAL 103 | 4 |
| Italian | 5 | ITAL 104 | 4 |
| Japanese | 3 | JAPN 2– | 5 |
| Japanese | 4 | JAPN 203 | 5 |
| Japanese | 4 | JAPN 204 | 5 |
| Japanese | 5 | JAPN 203 | 5 |
| Japanese | 5 | JAPN 204 | 5 |
| Japanese | 5 | JAPN 305 | 5 |
| Japanese | 5 | JAPN 306 | 5 |
| Latin | 3 | LAT 201 | 4 |
| Latin | 3 | LAT 202 | 4 |
| Latin | 4-5 | LAT 201 | 4 |
| Latin | 4-5 | LAT 202 | 4 |
| Latin | 4-5 | LAT 1– | 3 |
| Music Theory | 3 | MUS 1– | 2 |
| Music Theory | 4 | MUS 1– | 2 |
| Music Theory | 4(SS 4) | MUS 102 | 2 |
| Music Theory | 4(SS 5) | MUS 102 | 2 |
| Music Theory | 4(SS 5) | MUS 107 | 2 |
| Music Theory | 5 | MUS 102 | 2 |
| Music Theory | 5(SS 5) | MUS 102 | 2 |
| Music Theory | 5(SS 5) | MUS 107 | 2 |
| Physics 1 | 3 | PHYS 1– | 3 |
| Physics 1 | 4 | PHYS 1– | 4 |
| Physics 1 | 5 | PHYS 101 | 5 |
| Physics 2 | 3 | PHYS 1– | 3 |
| Physics 2 | 4 | PHYS 1– | 4 |
| Physics 2 | 5 | PHYS 102 | 5 |
| Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 3 | PHYS 2– | 3 |
| Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 4 | PHYS 2– | 4 |
| Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 5 | PHYS 212 | 4 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 3 | PHYS 2– | 3 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | PHYS 2– | 4 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | PHYS 211 | 4 |
| Precalculus | 3-5 | MATH 1– | 3 |
| Psychology | 3-4 | PSYC 1– | 3 |
| Psychology | 5 | PSYC 100 | 4 |
| Spanish | 3 | SPAN 141 | 4 |
| Spanish | 4-5 | SPAN 141 | 4 |
| Spanish | 4-5 | SPAN 200 | 3 |
| Spanish | 4-5 | SPAN 204 | 3 |
| Spanish Literature | 3 | SPAN 141 | 4 |
| Spanish Literature | 4-5 | SPAN 141 | 4 |
| Spanish Literature | 4-5 | SPAN 200 | 3 |
| Spanish Literature | 4-5 | SPAN 204 | 3 |
| Statistics | 3 | STAT 1– | 3 |
| Statistics | 4-5 | STAT 100 | 3 |
If you speak Chinese or Japanese and can score a 5 on the AP exam, you can earn 20 credit hours. A sixth of the required 120 hours. Other languages are less generous, but you can earn 8-11 via German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish.
Calculus BC is a gem; it adds another 8 credit hours and will fulfill Math requirements for most majors. English Literature & Composition can earn you 7 credits; only four are actual courses, and the other three are elective hours. Music Theory is the only other AP exam that will reward you with more than five credit hours. The rest of the exams earn you 3-5 credit hours.
Choosing a Major
This part of the game isn’t as flexible as others. When going to college, you should choose the major you want and are interested in. But are there ones that are more beneficial if you have AP credits? Avoid majors that require a large number of 300/400 level classes with prerequisites. Picking a major that has multiple AP exams is a good starting point.
What about Economics?
Economics Possible Transcript
Taking a look at UIUC’s Economics Course Requirements, we see ECON 102 and ECON 103 are required. These can be acquired by achieving 5s on the two AP exams. You also need MATH 220 and MATH 231, which can be obtained by achieving a 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC exam.
Here is an example of an Economics schedule. If we try to replicate with our AP exams we have the following:
19 hours of supporting coursework:
- Human Geography: GGIS 104 (4)
- World History: HIS 100 (3)
- European History: HIS 142 (3)
- Government & Politics: US: PS 101 (3)
- Government & Politics: Comparative: PS 240 (3)
- Statistics: STAT 100 (3)
35 hours of general electives:
- Physics 1: PHYS 101 (5)
- Physics 2: PHYS 102 (5)
- Physics C: Mechanics: PHYS 211 (4)
- Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism: PHYS 212 (4)
- Psychology: PSYC 100 (4)
- Biology: IB 150 (4)
- Chemistry: Chem 102 (3) & Chem 104 (3)
- Environmental Science: NRES 100 (3)
38 hours of free electives:
- Art: Drawing: ART 102 (3)
- Art: 3-D Art and Design: ART 104 (3)
- Art: 2-D Art and Design: ART 105 (3)
- African American Studies: AFRO 100 (3)
- AP Research: LAS 1– (3)
- Computer Science A: CS 101 (3)
- Computer Science Principles: CS 105 (3)
- English Language & Composition: ENGL 1– (3)
- Music Theory: MUS 102 (2) & MUS 107 (2)
- Spanish: SPAN 141 (4) & SPAN 200 (3) & SPAN 204 (3)
4 hours of required Composition I:
- English Language & Composition: RHET 105 (4)
This would leave you only 25 hours of Economics classes needed at UIUC:
- ECON 198: Economics at Illinois (1)
- ECON 202: Economic Statistics I (3)
- ECON 203: Economic Statistics II (3)
- ECON 302: Inter Microeconomic Theory (3)
- ECON 303: Inter Macroeconomic Theory (3)
- 4 Advanced ECON 300- or 400-level courses (12)
You Can Do It!
Semester 1 (13): ECON 198 (1), ECON 202 (3), ECON 203 (3), ECON 302 (3), ECON 303 (3)
Semester 2 (12): ECON 300/400s (12)
Congratulations! You just graduated college in one year!
Of course, you took 24 AP exams to do so… But, not a bad way to spend $2352.
