What are Advanced Placement (AP) courses?
Advanced Placement, or AP, courses are specially designed classes for
high school students seeking to earn college credit or simply take a more
challenging course. Classes are available in a variety of subjects and typically
end with a rigorous examination at the end of the year. Students who
successfully pass AP exams may be granted college credit or admission to
advanced classes at some universities.
The Advanced Placement program is run by a corporation called the
College Board. In addition to running the AP program, the College Board
administers the PSAT and SAT. AP courses are offered in more than 30
subjects, although not all classes are available in all locations. The classes
are generally considered to be comparable with college-level requirements,
and have a very rigorous curriculum. Participating high schools have been
approved to teach AP courses based on specific criteria. Teachers must be
certified to teach AP and must submit a syllabus for approval by the College
Board before courses can be offered. Some high schools offer only a few
AP course; others can offer a dozen or more.
The Exams
The AP Examinations are administered each year in May and represent the
culmination of college-level work in a given discipline in a secondary school
setting. Rigorously developed by committees of college and AP high school
faculty, the AP Exams test students' ability to perform at a college level.
AP Exams are graded on a scale of 1 to 5. You must score a 3, 4, or 5
(depending on the college to which you are applying) in order to get college
credit. Some colleges will recognize a grade of 3 as qualifying for credit.
Most, though, require a 4 or 5.
What are the advantages of taking AP courses?
Stand Out in the College Admissions Process
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Demonstrate your maturity and readiness for college.
Show your willingness to take the most rigorous courses available to you.
Emphasize your commitment to academic excellence.
Gain Skills that Will Help You Succeed in College
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Get a head start on college-level work.
Improve your writing skills and sharpen your problem-solving techniques.
Develop the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous course work.
Broaden Your Intellectual Horizons
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Be part of a community of students and educators who are passionate,
curious, and committed to academic excellence
Engage in intense discussions, solve problems collaboratively, and learn to
write clearly and persuasively
Take courses that are developed by leading professors to reflect the level
of learning happening at colleges throughout the country.
Sources:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/atd_AP_classes.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-ap-courses.htm
How important are Honors and/or AP courses in college admissions?
It depends on where you want to go! Each college or university has different
admission criteria and standards. Some schools put a great emphasis on rigorous
coursework; others look more at overall GPA and standardized test scores. It is
certainly possible to gain admission to certain colleges without taking any Honors or
AP courses in high school. However, the top schools in each state will expect a
transcript that reflects challenging classes. Here’s what three of the top schools in
Georgia have to say about the importance of a rigorous curriculum:
The University of Georgia
"Demonstrated academic achievement" is the primary factor in first-year admission
decisions at the University of Georgia. The academic review of first-year applications
centers on three criteria: the student's grade point average (GPA) in core academic
courses, the rigor of a student's course selection, and his or her best combination of scores
on the SAT I or ACT with Writing. Additionally, all applications are reviewed for
conduct issues; recommendations; satisfactory completion of all courses and completion
of the required College Preparatory courses.
GPA and rigor of curriculum weigh roughly three-to-two to standardized tests in
predicting academic success at UGA. Effectively, this means that a student with a 4.0
GPA in a superior curriculum of Advanced Placement (AP) or International
Baccalaureate (IB) courses might be admitted with an SAT score at or below 1000. Yet,
another student with a 3.0 GPA and an SAT score of 1400 might not be admitted, if the
student opted for no more than a standard college prep curriculum with few if any
Honors, AP or IB courses.
While GPA is the most important factor in the admissions process, rigor of curriculum is
a close second. We expect students to take advantage of the most challenging courses
offered at their high schools. It is possible that a student with a 4.0 GPA who has avoided
the challenging courses offered at their high school may not be admitted while a student
with a lower GPA who has attempted the most rigorous courses at their school is offered
admission.
http://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/admission_information_for_first_year_stu
dents.html
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Georgia Tech
Freshman Admission
What do we consider in making admission decisions?
We evaluate four primary components of an applicant's background, in order to make an
admission decision. Click each section below to read a description of the four competitive
areas that are used to admit students to Tech.
High School GPA/ Rigor of Curriculum
We recalculate your high school GPA. We use a standard 4.0 grading scale, but only
factor in the core curriculum courses (see below). For students taking AP, IB, or College
level classes, we award an additional one-half point (0.5) for each course.
Example: If you take AP English and make a B, we would award you 3.5 pts. Last year
the competitive range (mid-50%) of high school GPAs was 3.67-4.04 .
Standardized Tests (SAT/ACT)
Leadership and Activity Record (Extra-Curricular Involvement)
Personal Essay
http://www.admission.gatech.edu/freshman/
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Emory University
Admission Considerations
High School Course Work
The Admission Committee will put the most emphasis on your high school curriculum
and grades. We understand the availability of honors, AP and IB courses varies from
school to school. Within the context of your school, we will expect that you have
taken a solid load of the most challenging courses available. Most competitive
students will have a B+/A- average or better within a rigorous course of study.
http://www.emory.edu/admission/admission/first_year_application/admission_cons
iderations.html