All
About
Adv
anced Pl
acement (
AP) Cl
asses
and Ex
ams
Adv
anced Pl
acement (
AP) cl
asses
are designed to better prep
are high school students for post-second
ary educ
ation by
allowing
them to pursue college level cl
asses
at
their schools.
After completing
the cl
ass, students c
an register
and p
ay to t
ake
the AP ex
am. Students th
at score well on
these ex
ams c
an submit
their scores to
their perspective colleges
and potenti
ally e
arn cl
ass credits or forego remedi
al cl
asses
and e
arn
adv
anced pl
acement.
The AP progr
am is run by
the College Bo
ard,
an educ
ation
al nonprofit loc
ated in New York, NY. With over thirty progr
ams
and ex
ams
av
ail
able, students h
ave
a wide v
ariety of subjects to choose from when considering
AP. Even if your school does not p
articip
ate in
the AP progr
am, or if you h
ave been home-schooled, you c
an still t
ake
the ex
am without h
aving been enrolled in
the course. In 2010, ex
ams cost $86, but
the cost c
an be subsidized by your school or your st
ate. Most progr
ams offer fin
anci
al
aid to those students th
at qu
alify. With college tuitions on
the rise, m
any students
are looking into t
aking
AP cl
asses
as
a w
ay of s
aving money. By entering college with sever
al credits
alre
ady under
their belt,
they h
ave to t
ake fewer cl
asses while
aw
ay
at school,
thereby spending less money on tuition.
The cost of t
aking
the AP ex
am is f
ar less th
an
the cost of t
aking one cl
ass
at
a tr
adition
al college.