One year's worth of AP credits affect rushing?
 

I know that at some schools, that there are different rules for Rush for Freshmen and for Sophmores. (For example, at some schools Freshmen aren't allowed to Rush until January) Is this always based on Time spent on campus (or as a college student for a transfer) or are there situations in terms of Rush where having a year's worth of credits from AP exams makes a difference?

Assuming I'm interpreting your question correctly: As far as I understand, on campuses with deferred recruitment for freshmen, this refers only to how long you've spent on campus. If you are a first-semester freshman, you are restricted from participating in recruitment. More challenging classes do not affect this in any way.

My school just recently switched to deferred recruitment, so the "time spent on campus" definitely has been a topic of conversation, especially if any girls had transferred/will transfer. As far as my university is concerned (and I believe most with which I am familiar, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong), a PNM needs at least 12 credit hours from an accredited college or university, after high school graduation. Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual-Enrollment courses/credits are not accepted. Transfer students with at least 12 credit hours from another accredited college or university are eligible (This is taken directly from my university's website). Makes sense in my mind, especially given the number of incoming students who have taken AP courses in high school.

A couple of my sisters had taken the EAP course over the summer (basically a course to help academically at risk college students acclimate) and they were able to pledge. That was kind of an end run though, and older and wiser me really doesn't recommend it.

I believe that every campus has their own rules. For example, at Penn State you must have earned at least 14 credits on campus with a minimum of 2.5 GPA. AP or IB credits earned in HS do not count toward your eligibility.

Every school I've seen with deferred recruitment requires that the credits either be earned at that campus or be earned from another campus as a transfer. The whole point is that first-semester freshmen aren't able to rush, so giving a bunch of them an easy way around it would defeat the purpose.

My school doesn't have deferred recruitment, nor are there different rules for freshmen vs. older students other than that freshmen must live in the dorms, not a fraternity or sorority house.

The school does stipulate that, unless you've transferred from a 2- or 4-year school, during your first semester you are a freshman no matter how many AP/IB credits you might have. At the beginning of your second semester, if you have enough credits for a full year (between AP/IB credits and what you earned in the fall), you can take sophomore standing. The only benefit to this is that you can declare a major. When I was in school, hardly anyone did so - at the time, freshmen were on pass/no record for the full year, meaning that if you got an A, B, or C, your transcript read "pass", and if you got a D or an F, there was no record you'd ever taken the class. So, if you didn't take sophomore standing and you bombed a class during your second semester, it wouldn't hurt your GPA. If you did take sophomore standing and then bombed a class and then wanted to rush that fall, you might find your GPA was too low.