Recently, the Associated Press reported that Dartmouth College will no longer be accepting any AP credits. The new policy, which will begin with the class of 2018, has sparked quite a few discussions among the AP-driven population of Bob Jones.
Some students have expressed worry about Dartmouth’s decision and whether it may prompt other colleges to review their own AP credit policies. Many members of the faculty, however, are not surprised.
“I don’t expect Ivy League schools to take AP credit,” said Mrs. Krell, one of the Bob’s AP English teachers. “The material in a high school AP English course simply cannot compare to that of a course at schools like Dartmouth and Harvard.”
That seems to be the general consensus of Dartmouth’s own staff. And while credits are no longer accepted, Dartmouth has said that the completion of AP courses is still taken into some consideration.
“The main reason I recommend AP courses is because they prepare students for the rigor of college work,” said Mrs. Roberts, Bob Jones’s resident College and Career Counselor. “Getting AP credit at a college is just a bonus.”
For those that do want to enter Ivy League level universities, Mrs. Roberts offers a bit of encouragement. “I will say that past Bob Jones students that were enrolled in AP classes have gone on to rigorous colleges. Now, these colleges didn’t give credit for AP, but these students still performed at the top. They were still well prepared.”