AP Exam Master Guide to College Credit
Apr 05
Thanks to the invention of self-study, preparing to take AP exams is easier than ever before. Instead of being forced to only take AP classes that are offered by your school you can now study for whatever AP exam you like and take the exam at other schools. This allows students to essentially take as many AP exams as they can handle.
The AP exams are some of the best ways to prepare for college while in high school mainly because they offer many competitive advantages to you once you get to college. Let me explain:
1) AP exams give you college credit. That’s right, if you get a score of 3 or higher (see, your college of choice for AP Exam credit policies) you can generally get credit for certain classes. These credits are used to bypass requirements for general education which usually consists of about half of your entire college education. Your college education will be 60 units general education and 60 units for your major. Everyone who wants to get a college degree has to complete the 60 units of general education, regardless of major. AP exams allow you to get credits for your general education. So technically, if you plan your AP exam course load effectively you could graduate in two years instead of four, how great would that be? It requires lots of planning, however.
2) AP exams save you time. As you can see from the above explanation, AP exams replace the need to take certain classes in college, which means a significant amount of time will be saved by taking the AP exams. Just think of taking the AP exams as investing in your future which is basically what it is!
3) AP exams save you money, lots of money. Since you no longer need to take those classes anymore that means you don’t have to buy any textbooks, tuition, or other fees associated with college. Also, if you graduate in 2-3 years instead of 4 that’s tens of thousands you will save on room & board. It all adds up over time and if you plan effectively AP exams could save you tens of thousands of dollars! AP exams are worth their weight in gold!
4) AP exams show you are ready for college. Admissions counselors want the students they select to go to college and STAY in college. That’s why college admissions counselors place so much emphasis on AP Exams.
Now that you know of all the benefits to taking AP exams. I figured it would be very useful to many students if I wrote up an effective plan to maximize how many AP exams you can take. The idea being that students would start in their freshman year and by the time they are freshmen in college they would have dozens of AP exam credits that would be used to replace GE classes. Let’s start by breaking down each AP Exam subject area as it relates to the GE subject areas.
Most colleges start their GE course load by having 3-4 classes called their, “foundation” classes. These classes almost always consist of: English, oral communication, critical thinking, and math. With that being said, the following AP Exams will be useful in satisfying those requirements:
1. English Literature or English Language
2. Calculus AB or BC
It’s no surprise that these exams often rank in the top 5 most popular AP exams taken. Easily surpassing 200,000 test takers for each exam.
The next area of GE is called the, “explorations” category and generally consists of many board ranged subjects simply to expand your horizons. This section consists of a significant portion of your GE and hence is the place where you will get most of your GE credits. These AP exams are effective for getting credit for this area.
1. Biology
2. Chemistry
3. Physics
4. Psychology
5. Any Language class*
6. European history/World history
7. Comparative government
8. United States history**
*Note: You generally only need ONE language class, so taking multiple language APs will probably be a waste of time.
**the APUSH is the number one taken AP exam because the vast majority of colleges REQUIRE students to take US History as part of their General Education.
To effectively plan your AP course load you should consider each class and compare it to the AP Credit Guidelines issued by the college of your choice. To find these guidelines simply go to Google and type, “(college name) Advanced Placement Credit” or search on the college’s website. You can also use the College Board’s college AP credit policy search. Once you’ve found that you need to get a copy of the school’s general education requirements which can be found using Google or going to the school’s website. I would suggest printing a copy of each of those guidelines as it will be essential to maximizing your AP exam credits. At this point, you simply need to see what AP exams your school accepts and what each AP exam qualifies you for. Don’t take exams that your college doesn’t accept. Once you’ve done that, print up the, “AP Credit Worksheet” which will help you plan your AP workload. Good luck and make sure to do your homework!
AP Course Planner (example sheet)
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