Colleges favor students who challenge themselves by taking advanced courses such as AP. Therefore, the number of students taking an AP course has gradually increased throughout the years. Before choosing which AP courses to take, you may want to consider these following:
- Each college varies in terms of AP credit acceptance policy. Some colleges do accept a particular AP exam such as AP Art History; some colleges don't. In addition to this, every college requires different minimum AP score in order to get the credit. Although Stanford and UCLA both give out credits for the AP Chemistry exam, they differ in terms of the scores. Stanford accepts the AP Chemistry exam only if you get a 5 on the exam; a 4 is unacceptable. Sounds harsh, isn't it? In contrast to Stanford, UCLA requires you to get at least a 3 on the AP Chemistry exam if you want to get an equivalent college credit. You should check with the colleges you are applying to if they are willing to accept the AP credit before choosing what AP courses you want to take. You don't want to waste your money on an AP exam that eventually can't be transfer to your future college!
- Many of the students take the SAT subject tests to show which subjects you can excelled at. The best time to take the SAT subject tests is in the end of the school year, around May or June. Thus, the AP course that you will be taking in that year can help you get ready for the SAT subject test in the future. For example, taking the AP Biology class can prepare you for the AP Biology exam as well as the SAT Biology subject test. It is like killing two birds with one stone.
