Advanced Placement (AP)

With the Advanced Placement courses (AP), students can take college-level course work in high school. When students take AP courses and exams, they demonstrate to college admission officers that they have sought out an educational experience that will prepare them for success in college and beyond.

Performing well on an AP Exam means more than just the successful completion of a course. Most colleges and universities accept successful exam scores for credit, advanced placement, or both. Research consistently shows that students who are successful in AP typically experience greater academic success in college than those who don’t participate in AP.

With qualifying AP Exam scores, you can earn credit, advanced placement, or both at the majority of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Individual colleges and universities, not the College Board or the AP Program, grant course credit and placement. You should get a college’s AP policy in writing. Check with the institution directly or use the AP Credit Policy Information search at https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement.

You decide which colleges, if any, receive your AP Exam scores. Colleges that receive your AP score report will typically notify you during the summer of any advanced placement, credit, or exemption you’ve earned. Contact your college to learn how your AP Exam scores will be applied.

Each AP Exam score is a weighted combination of your scores on the multiple-choice section, the free-response section, and, as applicable, through course performance assessment. AP Exam scores are reported on a 5-point scale, which offers a recommendation on how qualified you are to receive college credit and placement.

5 - Extremely Well Qualified

4 - Well Qualified

3 - Qualified

2 - Possibly Qualified

1 - No Recommendation