The AP Edge

• Be admitted…Participation in AP is highly regarded among college admission officers. They know that AP students are often more mature than others and that college work will come as no surprise to AP students, because they already know how to hit the books, get ahead, and stay ahead of the class.

• Save money…Course waivers earned in AP may also help cut your college tuition expenses.  Savings can add up to $3,000 per course. So whether you end up at a small liberal arts college or a large state school, AP is a good investment in your education.

Students who complete AP courses are:

• better prepared academically.

• more likely to choose challenging majors.

• likely to complete more college-level work.

• likely to perform significantly better than students who did not take AP courses

• more likely to exercise leadership.

• more likely to graduate with a double major.

• twice as likely to go into advanced study.

            Willingham & Morris, 1986; UT Study 1988

From Facts About the Advanced Placement Program:

Because AP brings high educational standards into high school classrooms, colleges benefit by admitting increasing numbers of better prepared students. As numerous studies show, AP students outperform their peers who have not taken AP on virtually every standard. 

Students whose AP grades exempt them from introductory college classes typically do better in subsequent higher-level courses than those students who actually take the introductory college courses. 

AP students who receive credit and/or advanced placement are more likely than other students to take additional college courses within the academic discipline of their AP course work.

“AP Course Descriptions and the annual AP Examinations are developed for each subject in committees made up of college faculty who teach introductory courses and experienced high school AP teachers.  Periodic surveys of college courses and AP courses provide the committee with information about contemporary subject content and approaches to teaching; the course descriptions are updated every two years.” from  A Secondary School Guide to the Advanced Placement Program (p.13).