You might have heard that you’ll need to bolster your college application with a few AP scores to increase your chances with the schools of your choice, and in case you got too caught up on the specifics that you lost sight of the big picture showing what and why the APs are, we are here to help!
The Advanced Placement (AP) Program is designed by College Board (CB) to allow academically successful and driven high school students a chance to try their hands at courses at the levels of university introductory courses. There are currently 38 APs certified by CB (full list: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/course-index-page) ranging from Art History to Chemistry.
AP exams take place, globally wherever schools offer them, every year in May, and if they’ve scored 3 or higher out of 5, students have the chance to send their scores to colleges of their choice for college credit and/or advanced placement. Depending on their specific requirements (you can find whether and how the universities and colleges you might wish to apply accept AP scores on CB’s website here: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies), colleges might offer college course credit or letting students skip introductory courses relevant to the APs they have aced and take advanced courses straight away, potentially allowing them to graduate college earlier.
Early graduation isn’t the only benefit of sending colleges applications with AP accomplishments; the ability and dedication to succeed in university-level course material when still in high school shows colleges that students come already equipped and motivated to tackle college-level courses. AP courses present students with opportunities for more advanced learning, and AP exams provide them with a benchmark they can use to prove to their desired schools that they are strong candidates.
Even though students aren’t required to take the courses for the AP exams they might wish to take, it is highly recommended by CB to do so. AP courses are offered globally in participating schools that have met the criteria set by CB for the use of AP titles (for a full list of schools and the courses they offer: https://apcourseaudit.inflexion.org/ledger/). If your school does not offer universal courses or programs (such as IB, A levels, or even the APs), you may be able to take AP exams at schools that do. In order to do that, students must contact the AP Coordinators of the schools at which they wish to take the exam.
AP courses are taken as any other high school course, and every May students are able to take the AP exam for the AP courses they are taking or are required to submit a digital portfolio (for all three AP Art and Design courses, AP Seminar, AP Research, and AP Computer Science Principles.) At schools, APs are taught by those high schools’ teachers, who are not required to follow rigid AP curricula but rather must attempt to make sure students complete their courses having learned more fundamental concepts and knowledge relating to the material.
Even though they are quite hard work, AP courses and exams are priceless opportunities for students for higher learning and demonstrating their academic achievements to colleges in their applications!