Agreed, I was thinking in a narrow context. I almost went back and changed that, because I realized I couldn't claim it works like that everywhere. Universities, particularly universities which are not funded by the state granting the AP credit, are generally free to treat them as they choose, and pick a range of treatments.

None the less, it is not in any sense aristocratic beyond various jealous minds. The LA Times agrees that AP credits are useful for predicting success, which is exactly the kind of criterion one should be using to select students.