Best Advanced Placement Classes

College application season can be an anxious time for you, your family and just about everyone who cares about you. You’ve worked hard and done your best, but how do you know you’ve got the academic experience that colleges are looking for

By making the decision to take an AP course, you’re letting colleges and universities know that you have what it takes to succeed in an undergraduate environment. AP courses signal to admissions officers that you’ve undertaken the most rigorous classes your high school has to offer. They see that you’ve challenged yourself with college-level course work and expectations, and have refined your skills to meet these expectations. In the increasingly competitive admissions process, this knowledge can be very valuable.

Importantly, AP courses offer admissions officers a consistent measure of course rigor across high schools, districts, states and countries — because all AP teachers, no matter where they’re teaching, have to provide a curriculum that meets college standards. So when admissions officers see “AP” on your transcript, they have a good understanding of what you experienced in a particular class and how well it prepared you for the increased challenges of college.

By making it through an AP course and scoring successfully on the related AP Exam, you can save on college expenses. Currently more than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the country offer college credit, advanced placement, or both, for qualifying AP Exam scores. These credits can potentially save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition, fees and textbook costs, which can transform what once seemed unavoidable into something within reach.

Increasing number of college admissions officers say that Advanced Placement courses are of “considerable or moderate” importance in their decisions.