We all know that our university is one of the many victims of the current economic recession. We have heard about the budget cuts and the dangerous decrease in endowment. We have been offered a few different solutions to get out of our financial pickle; some have had promise (such as the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee), and some have not (the Rose Art Museum). But a startling revelation I experienced this past semester gave me a new idea for how the University could make some more money and even gain some academic prestige in the process.I, along with many other Brandeisians, was privileged enough to take Advanced Placement courses in high school. I took the courses mainly for my college résumé; all of the selective schools like to see a rigorous high school schedule. When I finally got my scores, I eagerly looked on the Brandeis Web site to see how much credit I could receive. I was a senior in high school at the time and didn't know much about the academic system at Brandeis. When I saw that my AP tests netted me four "semester course credits," I assumed that this meant that I was to receive four credits, or the equivalent of one class. I was satisfied.

Well, lo and behold, I was quite wrong. It turns out that a "semester course credit" is the equivalent of one class at Brandeis, and instead of eventually receiving four credits, I would actually get an entire semester of credit.

But after giving this jackpot some consideration, and having compared the AP credit policy at Brandeis to other prestigious schools, I have had second thoughts.

Why has Brandeis decided to give me so much credit for what are really just a few tests I took in high school? Why do I receive credit for both AP Language and AP Literature (two tests that are very similar), when most other high-ranked institutions refuse to do so?

Moreover, AP exams are curved-quite generously-so to get a score of "4" on most exams (the score that Brandeis requires, for most exams, to receive a "semester course credit") one only has to get around 60 percent of the material correct. That's right, you can walk into your AP exam, get a generally failing score of 60, and still be exempt from an entire college course.

And there may be an even larger problem looming. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education describes a growing trend of high school graduates displaying less-than- impressive math skills. According to the article, part of the reason for this phenomenon may be that AP courses are simply not the same difficulty level as college courses. And students who enter college with a score that places them out of Calculus I may either never take a math course again or crash and burn when they reach Calculus II.

Perhaps there were solid reasons for accepting lower scores. After all, the students who excelled and may normally have decided to attend an Ivy League school-where they would not have received as much credit-would instead be lured in by Brandeis with the promise of graduation in three and a half years.

But given the current economic situation, Brandeis would do well for itself if the registrar decided to raise its standards of AP credit acceptance for three reasons:

1. Students like me, who have gained a significant amount of credit from scores of "4," would not be able to graduate a semester early and would then have to pay more money in tuition.

2. By adopting a stricter policy, Brandeis would join the prestigious ranks of Ivy League schools and elite liberal arts colleges that do not place such a high value on AP scores. For example, Harvard University only accepts scores of "5."

The truth is that many students in high school just take these exams to bolster their résumés. According to a recent New York Times article, the AP program is rapidly gaining participants, but it is also losing its prestige.

3. Students would no longer place out of courses that in reality would be very beneficial for them to take. Students would have to learn course material on a more in-depth, challenging, college level, as opposed to the more basic high school level.

The truth is that we are here to take college courses and to take our studies to the next level. As much as an AP course in high school can mimic a college curriculum, it cannot replicate a college education.

Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating for Brandeis to stop accepting all AP credit. I still think that the policy has merit. And, if Brandeis wants to view a score of "4" as an impressive accomplishment that is worth notice, then it would be fair to evaluate this score as part of the admissions process. But excessive use of this score for college credit only loses us money and prestige.