Advanced Placement Family Letter August 2024

Advanced Placement Family Letter January 2025

What are Advanced Placement (AP) Courses?

Advanced Placement courses are COLLEGE LEVEL courses offered by the College Board.  Students can expect to spend at least an hour if not more per night for each AP course they take.  Therefore, students need to choose their AP courses wisely.  

How Many AP Courses Should I Take?

• Colleges want to see students choose AP classes that they are most interested in and can handle well.  
• Taking 1 or 2 AP courses and earning strong grades is preferred over taking 4-6 AP courses and performing poorly. 
• Students should choose courses that play to their individual strengths. AP courses demonstrate college readiness and academic rigor.
• Students should connect their academic coursework to other areas, such as extracurricular activities.  This will enrich their exploration of a subject area.  For example, students who enjoy history and art should choose AP courses in those areas and expand on this knowledge by participating in clubs, internships, and/or volunteer work that involves these areas of concentration.

College Credit for Advanced Placement Courses

• Students can receive college credit and/or courses can be waived at the college level for those who successfully passed an AP exam.
• Universities award credit for AP Courses differently, depending on the major you apply to. 
• Each college makes its own decisions about how they award credit and placement. Refer to each college for specifics and guidelines OR use the College Board's search engine linked here: AP Credit Policy Search – AP Students – College Board
• Colleges do cap the number of AP exams they will award credit for, so don’t assume you will receive credit for every AP course you take.