If you’re in high school or currently have a high school student at home, you’ve probably heard of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Ran by The College Board (yes, the same College Board in charge of the PSAT and SAT), AP classes provide an opportunity for high school students to take college-level classes and receive college credit before stepping foot on campus.
With over a million students having taken AP Exams across the United States from the class of 2022 alone, you may be wondering what all the hype is about. As it turns out, College Board studies show that even students who score below a 3 (the minimum score to receive college credit) on AP Exams are more likely to enroll in a 4-year college, perform better once in college, and score higher on subsequent AP Exams.
It looks like taking AP classes opens doors for success before and during college. But there’s still plenty of room for questions on the specifics:
- Do AP Classes Count as College Credit?
- Do You Need AP Classes to Get Into College?
- How Many AP Classes Should I Take in Junior Year?
- How Many AP Classes Should I Take Senior Year?
- Does Failing an AP Exam Affect College?
Do AP Classes Count as College Credit?
The short answer is it depends. By the end of 2022, 36 states have adopted AP credit policies for their public colleges and universities, stating that credit will be granted for AP Exam scores of 3 or higher.
However, the exact policy differs from school to school. For example, at a highly competitive school like the University of California at Los Angeles, a 4 or 5 on the AP Biology Exam awards you 8.0 “Unassigned” credits. While doing well in AP Biology might help you get admitted into the school, they still want you to take their school-specific biology courses, so your AP credit won’t exempt you from the introductory biology sequence.
Do You Need AP Classes to Get Into College?
In recent years, colleges and universities have transitioned into more holistic approaches when it comes to admissions. That is, they aren’t just looking at GPA and test scores. When they are looking at GPA, they take into account the context of the student and school.
So do you absolutely need AP classes to get into college? No, especially if your high school or district doesn’t offer AP classes in the first place. But if your school does offer some AP classes, choosing to take them can contribute to the strength of curriculum on your admissions profile. If forced to choose, college admissions counselors will look at a student who opted for AP English over regular English. Then, they’ll say that the former decided to challenge themselves more, showing that they’re more academically prepared for college.
Another factor to take into account is the admissions rate of the college you’re trying to get into. For highly competitive colleges, they’re only admitting the best of the best academically. They’re looking for students who consistently challenged themselves with college-level classes and performed well. If you dream of attending an extremely competitive university, and often they have the most beautiful college campuses, then yes, you need AP classes to be admitted. After all, we recommend checking What is Good GPA and Top 14 QAS about Acceptance Rates for a better understanding of college admission.
How Many AP Classes Should I Take in Junior Year?
Again, the number of AP classes you take depends highly upon what kind of college you want to attend. Most college application deadlines are in the fall of your senior year of high school, so you will be sending transcripts with your grades from freshman through junior year.
College admissions counselors will pay close attention to your junior year grades, so this is the time to challenge yourself academically. But you still want to set yourself for success, so think about time you need outside of school for work, sports, or other extracurriculars. These activities take away time you could be spending on studying for AP classes, which are more rigorous than typical classes.
Generally, taking 2 to 4 AP classes your junior year will show that you’re serious about challenging yourself and preparing for college. If you’re applying to extremely competitive colleges, aim to take 4 or more AP classes. If a majority of your classes are AP, you’re demonstrating your ability to do well with a full class load once you’re in college.
How Many AP Classes Should I Take Senior Year?
Like we established, college admissions counselors are looking at your grades from freshman through junior year. However, that doesn’t mean you can slack off senior year. There are a few reasons to take a few AP classes your senior year, but only a couple of them have to do with getting into college.
Considering that your senior year is the only thing between you and college, you should try and take at least 2 AP classes (like government and economics) to keep your academic chops up for college classes. This is also an opportunity for you to earn some college credit before you officially get there, so do some research on what AP Exams and scores the colleges you’re interested will accept before making your class schedule.
Lastly, let’s say you get a conditional acceptance to a college in the fall. In that case, colleges usually ask for transcripts from your first semester of senior year. If you’ve taken a couple AP classes and done well, you’re more likely to be fully accepted.
Does Failing an AP Exam Affect College?
Let’s say you’ve loaded up on AP classes, but you end up scoring a 1 or 2 on a couple AP Exams. On the bright side, colleges value your performance in the AP class as a whole over your exam score. If you got an A in the class but failed the exam, they’ll look at the strength of the curriculum over your test score.
On the not-so-bright side, you won’t be able to receive college credit for that class once you’re in college. But since studies show that even students who fail AP exams have proven to do better than average once they’re in college, taking the AP class and exam in the first place will help you get into college.
Conclusion
AP classes are a great way to academically challenge yourself in high school and prepare yourself for the kinds of classes you’ll take in college. Depending on what colleges you’re interested in, you might want to load up on AP classes your junior year and dial it back down for your senior year. And remember, even if you don’t pass an AP Exam or two, the fact that you took the class will work in your favor! And if you are a high school graduate student, check the following articles as they could be valuable to you: How to Make Friends in College, Top 10 Questions About Campus Freshman Guide and Internships for First Year College Students. Good Luck!
