Advanced Placement

Welcome to the Advanced Placement program at St. Charles East High School

The Advanced Placement Pathway can open doors to competitive colleges and universities and to honors programs at other universities. More importantly, completing a successful AP experience can better prepare students for college success. St. Charles High Schools offer a wide variety of Advanced Placement courses. College admissions offices recognize that an honors curriculum and district-written assessments for honors courses may vary from state to state, and even from district to district. Because the AP curriculum and accompanying exam represent a nationally standardized program, many admissions offices, particularly at competitive colleges, show preference for students who have successfully completed an Advanced Placement curriculum.

While there are many advantages of having Advanced Placement courses on a student‘s transcript, students are cautioned about enrolling in too many AP courses within any semester:

  • Time demands from juggling multiple AP courses should be considered carefully.

  • A well-balanced transcript that includes high-level electives which enrich a student‘s experience are also important in the college admissions process.

AP students can expect to devote considerable time on their own outside of class in preparation for Advanced Placement assignments and assessments. This may include required summer assignments. Advanced Placement courses offer high school students an opportunity to study college-level material while still enrolled in high school. All students who enroll in Advanced Placement courses are required to take the Advanced Placement exam in May. Students who fail to take the AP exam will have the Advanced Placement designation for that course removed from their transcript. By participating in the Advanced Placement examination program, students may receive advanced placement, credit, or both for a specific college or university. Check with specific colleges or universities to see if Advanced Placement credit is accepted.

Advanced Placement Exams Benefit Students

District 303 requires students to take the Advanced Placement Exam because of the inherent benefits:

    • Students challenge themselves at the highest academic level.

    • Students position themselves to be competitively marketable when applying to their first choice universities or colleges.

    • Depending on the university policy, a score of 3, 4, or 5 may be awarded college credit. Some students and families elect to apply this credit, allowing them to save money and/or to move into more advanced levels as a freshman in college.