Advanced Placement
Courses
AP Courses and the AP International Diploma
The Advanced Placement (AP) program is run by The College Board, a non-profit organization since 1955. It offers a wide variety of rigorous, analytical and challenging college preparatory courses. Depending on performance, candidates can earn worldwide university credits. The design, delivery and assessment in these courses offer a unique learning experience as it enables students to gain deep understanding of the subject, to develop advanced skills in writing and problem solving and to become actively involved in the teaching process.
Courses run for one year, at the end of which, students take external standardized tests provided by the College Board and administered by ACS Athens as it is a licensed school. The short duration of the AP courses compared to those of the IB, allows the students to design their own unique program which best fits their student profile and academic plans. In many instances, such programs have been proven to be more effective and timely for a great number of students.
Students receive a certificate for each AP course they complete. For each AP exam the student takes, and depending on performance, number of courses and extent of subjects studied, the College Board awards various certificates and awards, one of which is the AP International Diploma. ACS Athens is the only school in Greece offering the AP (Advanced Placement) International Diploma.
Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on five AP Exams from the subject combination listed below will be awarded the AP International Diploma (APID).
Two AP Exams from two different world language & culture courses* (Please note English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition are not world language & culture courses)
OR
Two AP Exams from one world language & culture course and one English course
One AP Exam offering a global perspective
One AP Exam from either the sciences, or math & computer science
One additional AP Exam; cannot be English or a world language
Students can take an AP exam without attending an AP course. This gives an opportunity to students who have acquired learning outside the school environment, through another class or have studied on their own to take the AP exam and receive the potential advanced placement in college.
College applications and grades for AP
Generally AP examinations take place in May at the end of the senior year. Scores are released in June from the College Board for the AP tests. A frequently asked question by both parents and students is, “How do colleges offer admissions to students prior to the release of the examination results?” U.S. colleges base admissions on a number of criteria (grades, difficulty of program, SAT scores, co-curricular activities, essays, teacher recommendations, and AP Predictions).
