If you’re familiar with the U.S. education system, you’ve probably heard about the dreaded AP exams that come around every spring and the notorious College Board that administers them.
Depending on your AP exam score, AP courses can count as college credit. But is taking AP classes really worth it, and how do you decide which AP classes are worth taking?
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about AP credits, from what they are, to what they do, and to how much they could potentially save you in college.
What are AP Credits?
AP, or Advanced Placement, is a program that was created by the College Board to allow high school students to take introductory, college-level courses in high school and earn course credit for these exams in college.
The AP Program is nationally accepted and recognized in high schools and colleges across the United States.
The range of Advanced Placement courses that are offered differs from school to school, but the most popular Advanced Placement subjects are AP Language and Composition, AP United States History, AP Literature and Composition, AP World History, and AP Psychology. Students learn the course material year-long and are offered the option to take the AP exams in May.
If a student takes the AP exam and scores sufficiently on it, the score could allow them to skip the equivalent course in college and earn college credit before even taking a course at the institution they are attending.
If a student does not take the AP exam but still does well in the class, the course can boost the student’s overall high school GPA, making them a more competitive college applicant.
The Advanced Placement program should not be confused with the IB, or International Baccalaureate, program that was created in Switzerland and is offered by secondary education schools globally. While IB is similar in theory to AP, the content, curriculum, and rigor of these two programs differ greatly.
Do AP Credits Really Save You Money in College?
The College Board encourages students to take multiple AP courses in high school to earn AP, or college-level credit, and save “hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.” The reasoning behind this is that if you do well on an AP Exam, the score can substitute as credit for the equivalent course offered, meaning you don’t have to take the course in college.
Each AP test costs $92, and the average number of AP courses taken among high school students is eight. That’s $736 sans tax, which is pricey. Multiple college courses and your college tuition, however, are pricier.
So here’s the big question: Does taking multiple AP courses in high school give you the bang for your buck?
Let’s find out.
Common Misconceptions
Many high school students infer that if they take an AP course and its adjoining exam in the spring, they will automatically receive college credit.
This is not true.
The College Board’s AP exams are graded on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being a fail and 5 being “extremely well-qualified.”
A student must receive an AP exam score of 3 or higher to pass the AP exam, and colleges usually only take high-achieving scores (4s or 5s) as credit. Just taking the AP exam won’t do anything when it comes to receiving college credit.
The Real Answer? It Depends on a Variety of Factors.
The policy for using Advanced Placement credit differs from college to college, which means that the matter of saving money with AP credit differs from college to college as well. Public universities are usually more lenient with accepting AP credit while selective private universities are more inflexible with accepting AP credit.
Most colleges only accept AP scores of 4 or 5 to count as college credit, but earning a 4 or a 5 on an AP exam doesn’t mean that the credit will count as a class exemption. This depends on your institution’s AP credit policy.
For example, if you took the AP Psychology exam and received a 5, you may earn 2 credits but still be required to take the institution’s Introductory Psychology class.
In another case, however, it is also possible that the AP Psychology exam credit could count as credits toward graduation and allow you to skip the introductory Psychology course at the institution.
Some schools could only accept two high-level AP exam scores to count as credit, and others could accept all of your AP credit. It truly depends on the school, and it’s important to research your school’s AP credit policy to determine whether or not you are really saving money in college with your AP credit.
While AP courses can potentially help you graduate early and save some money in college, the true benefit of the AP Program is to boost students’ GPAs, expose students to rigorous content, earn college credit before taking a course in college, and demonstrate a student’s knowledge and willingness to be challenged to the admissions committee through AP scores and courseloads.
Do AP Credits Help You Graduate Early?
In theory, yes, but the ability to use your AP credits to graduate early depends on the school you are attending. In college, you need to meet a required number of credits to graduate. For example, at Duke University, you need 34 credits to graduate.
Let’s say that you’re attending Duke University and you’re planning to major in Biology. Duke only allows you to use two of your AP credits to substitute for certain classes and count for graduation credits if you meet the score requirement.
You received a 4 on the AP Biology exam, so you are eligible to take Biology 201L or 202L and skip Biology 101. You also receive two credits for this AP score.
You received a 4 on the AP Spanish Language and Composition exam, but Duke’s AP requirement for AP Spanish Language is a 5 for you to take a high-level course or receive graduation credits. Therefore, you must take an intermediate Spanish course at Duke before you can take the high-level course, and you do not receive any graduation credit.
You have 2/34 credits fulfilled at Duke University, so it might take less time for you to finish your degree in Biology, but graduating early usually requires enough AP credit for an entire semester. In fact, at Duke, graduating early due to AP credits is not possible because the institution only accepts two passing AP exam scores, which isn’t a whole semester’s worth of credits.
Graduating early with AP scores is tricky, and it really all depends on the school that you are attending and the school’s AP credit policies.
Is It Better to Take AP Classes or Do Dual Enrollment?
If you can take both AP Classes and do dual enrollment (taking college courses at a local community college and earning college credit directly), taking many AP courses should be your priority and dual enrollment should be an additional supplement to your education if your circumstances allow.
The AP Program is nationally recognized by higher education institutions, and taking many AP classes is an unspoken norm among high school students and college admissions. You should not refuse to take any AP classes because you are taking dual enrollment classes.
Taking AP classes is the safer option when debating between doing dual enrollment. It’ll be easier for you to have transferable credits because it is a widely recognized program, it boosts your GPA if you do well in the course, and it doesn’t involve the hassle of accepting credits because your school is administering the course.
Public colleges are very lenient in accepting AP credit, and while private colleges have stricter policies, you can still earn credit for a specific number of AP scores if you received qualifying scores.
Dual enrollment, however, is more undependable. You’ll need to check whether or not your school accepts dual enrollment credits from the community college you plan to study at, you need to get approval for taking the course, and it’s not definitive that the university you will attend will accept the credits.
You’ll want to demonstrate your willingness to take rigorous courses to college admissions committees by taking more and more AP classes each year.
If you already are taking sufficient AP classes and want to challenge yourself further, this is when you should consider doing dual enrollment. Let’s say that your school doesn’t offer AP Computer Science and coding is something that you want to learn; then you should look into what CS courses are being offered at local community colleges and go through the proper means to enroll in the course.
Closing Thoughts From the Nest
Navigating through Advanced Placement classes, exams, and college admissions may seem overwhelming, and we hope that this article helped clear up some confusion about the AP Program.
Remember to prioritize taking AP classes over doing dual enrollment and try your best on the AP exams. Even if your exams won’t be considered as credit in college, you still have the option to impress admissions committees by sending your official AP score report to universities to demonstrate mastery and understanding of a certain topic (this is if you did well on your AP exams). Earning an ‘A’ in an AP course can also boost your GPA, which is an important consideration for the admissions process. Be sure to weigh all of your options as you enroll in AP courses and look into dual enrollment options at your local community college.
At the core of it all, these opportunities are for your academic exploration and enrichment, so take advantage of the options you have!