I took my first Advanced Placement (AP) course, a class in U.S. history, during my sophomore year of high school.  Although my guidance counselor said the material would be challenging, she also said that if I worked hard and did well on the end-of-the-year exam, I could impress college admissions officers and parley my score into future college credit.

What my guidance counselor didn't tell me, however, was that maximizing the total tuition savings from such exams was easier said than done.  The problem, I later discovered, was that each college had a different AP credit policy.  While some accepted most AP tests, others accepted very few.  Some awarded generous amounts of college credit; others were quite stingy.