What is an AP Test? What are the costs and benefits of taking an AP Test? Who takes an AP Test? These are all legitimate questions to ask before choosing whether or not to take an AP test. This article will tell you what you need to know about AP Tests.
Disclaimer: The following information is based off of knowledge I have gained through my high school experience. This article’s main purpose is to give a general overview of the AP test and is not tailored to a particular high school in any way. Throughout the article, I will refer to a “course” and a “class.” A “course” is the AP syllabus itself, and a “class” is the class taught at your high school.
WHAT DOES AP EVEN MEAN
AP stands for Advanced Placement. It is an acronym coined and trademarked by the College Board. It is very different from a typical high school’s College Preparatory (CP) class. A College Preparatory class only teaches students the basics of a certain course and there is not much work done outside the classroom. AP, on the other hand, is run like a college class, and it is meant to prepare students to face the rigors of a typical college course. Each AP Course is equivalent to an introductory class in a first semester class of a college student’s freshman year. The course material is more extensive than CP class material, and the homework is more rigorous than a typical homework schedule of a CP class. The AP class is also there to help you prepare for the AP Test.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT AP COURSES
There are about 30 AP tests ranging from Calculus to Russian Language and Literature. The following link is to the College Board website that shows the courses that they have tests for:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/subjects.html
[If your high school offers an AP class, then it should prepare you for the AP test. Before a high school can have the AP label on certain courses, each teacher has to get his/her syllabus accredited by the College Board.]
WHAT IS AN AP TEST AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS
AP Tests are administered every year in the month of May. They are designed to test your knowledge on what you have learnt in your AP class. Each test is about 3 hours long and there is usually a multiple choice section, followed by a free response section (unless you are doing Studio Art). Each test is scored on a scale of 1-5, with 5 meaning excellent to 1 meaning no qualification. A score of 3, 4, or 5 is usually what you should strive for. Each test is costs about $86 (price changes every year), but there are a lot of benefits to taking a test.
Benefits
1) Earn College Credit- Depending on how you do and what college you want to go to, your AP score may be able to place you out of the introductory course in college and will allow you to go onto the next course in the college curriculum. (Ex. If you took AP Chemistry and scored a 5, then in your first semester of college, you would take Chemistry 102 instead of Chemistry 101).
2) Boost your Academic Resume when applying to Colleges- The more AP Tests you take and do well on, the more it tells colleges that you are capable of handling a tough course load. There are also awards that you are eligible for if you do well on the AP tests. I will elaborate further in the AWARDS section.
3) Get used to how college courses are- You can get ahead on college level work and you will be ahead of the curve when entering college. You will improve your writing skills because of the free response sections in each AP test. Also, AP classes will involuntarily make you think more critically and efficiently.
4) Boost your school GPA- Some schools calculate a weighted GPA and that means that your grade in an AP class is weighted more than a grade in a CP class. (EX. A 100% in a CP class will be calculated as a 100% on your report card, but a 100% on an AP class will be calculated as a number higher than 100% depending on what the weight is. If the weight is 1.08, a 100% in the AP class will be a 108% when your GPA is calculated.)
HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU SHOULD TAKE AN AP CLASS
It is all up to you if you should take AP classes. These aren’t required, but they are very helpful to have. If you have the time and commitment, you should definitely take a couple of AP classes. If you want to earn college credit, boost your college resume, get ready for college, and/or boost your GPA, you should take AP test(s). Although none of these benefits are guaranteed, they can turn out to be guaranteed if you put in your best effort into the AP Class.
AWARDS
If you perform well on many AP Tests, you may be eligible for different AP Awards. This following link will show the different awards you can get:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/scholarawards.html
The Awards will not give you any scholarship money, but they are a great indicator to show how good of a student you are.
OTHER INFORMATION
1) From the College Board website: “Fee reductions of $22 per exam are available from the College Board for students with financial need. Check with your AP Coordinator to learn more about fee reductions and state and district subsidies.”
2) You can still take a test without even taking an AP class in your school. In fact, many people do this and it is commonly called as a “self-study.” You can self-study for an AP test if your school doesn’t offer the course or if you don’t have space in your school schedule to fit in the course.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope this has helped you make a more informed decision about whether or not an AP course is right for you. If you have any more questions, please comment on this post or message me with your question.
Works Cited: http://www.collegeboard.com
