What is Advanced Placement or AP? Advanced Placement is a program run by the College Board (the makers of the SAT) that allows you to take special high school courses that can earn you college credit and/or qualify you for more advanced classes when you begin college.
So what are AP courses? They are designed to give you the experience of an intro-level college class while you're still in high school. Plus, you can get college credit for the class if you pass the AP exam. But what exactly are AP exams? An AP exam is basically a test of all that you learn in an AP class. You will typically earn college credit if you pass the exam given at the end of the year in May. (AP tests are scored between 1 and 5, with anything above 3 considered passing; 3 and above is also called a qualifying score.)
The Early College and Dual Enrollment (DE) program allows high school students to take classes online, at one of our campuses or even at their own high school! Credits earned may count towards both your high school diploma and college degree, giving you a head start on your higher education journey.
Taking an AP course and passing the test is a sign that you're capable of handling college-level work, which will strengthen your college applications immensely. One of the single most important parts of your college application is what classes you choose to take in high school (in conjunction with how well you do in those classes)
Why Take AP or DE Classes? 3 Key Benefits
#1: They Can Boost Your College Applications
- Taking an AP class (or several!) is a great way to challenge yourself academically and show colleges that you're serious about your education. An AP class on your transcript signals stronger academic training, especially with high passing scores of 4 and 5 on the test.
- In particular, getting a 5 on an AP test shows that you are more advanced in a subject than 80%-90% of advanced students—which looks very impressive to colleges!
- Since AP courses are challenging and require you to study for a comprehensive exam, they teach you skills that will help you in college classes. According to the College Board, students who take AP exams get higher grades in college than those with similar grades who don't take AP exams.
- Many colleges say that they check to see whether you took the hardest courses available to you at your school. Taking AP classes is often the best way to show that you are challenging yourself academically at your high school.
- Getting a high passing score of 4 or 5 further demonstrates your academic potential to colleges. (By the way, if you're curious about a college's suggested high school course load, look up its admissions website by searching "[School Name] admissions requirements.")
#2: They Can Show Your Passion
- Taking AP exams is also a way to demonstrate real academic interest in a certain subject. For example, if you're an aspiring engineer, taking the AP Calculus and AP Physics courses and passing their respective exams will prove to college admissions committees that you're serious about engineering and have the skills necessary to pursue it.
- On the other hand, if you're interested in political science or pre-law tracks, taking AP US History, AP US Government, AP Statistics, and/or AP Economics would show strong preparation for those subjects.
- Or if you're hoping to be pre-med, taking AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and/or AP Calculus would indicate that you have the skills and background needed to handle tough pre-med classes as a college student.
#3: They Can Get You College Credit
- Some colleges give credit for AP classes. This makes it possible to graduate from college in a far shorter amount of time, ultimately saving you money!
- For example, Harvard lets you apply for Advanced Standing if you've completed the equivalent of a year of college courses with AP exams. The University of Michigan, too, grants new students course credit and higher class placements for AP exams.
- However, some colleges use scores to help place students in higher-level classes but don't allow these credits to fulfill graduation requirements, so you can't graduate any earlier. Similarly, other schools might let you earn college credit but have limits on which AP exams they'll accept.
