Complete List of AP Courses and Tests (2023)

FAQs

How many AP exams is enough? ›

Aim for four to eight AP exams in your junior and senior years. For competitive Ivy League schools, admission officers also want to see AP courses for core subject areas and additional courses. If possible, aim to pass about seven to 12 AP exams if applying to these highly selective schools.

There are 38 AP subject exams. Want to take an exam for a course not offered at your high school? Talk to your guidance counselor about your registration and study options.

If you've taken an AP Exam and want to review your answers to the free-response section, you can request your free-response booklet pages be sent to you. We can only send booklet pages from the most recent exam administration. College Board doesn't offer rescoring of the free-response questions for AP Exams.

AP Physics C – Electricity & Magnetism (E&M) is rated as the hardest AP test by real AP class alumnae, with an average difficulty rating of 8.1 / 10 (10 = hardest). Those who stay the course often score well, though, with a 2022 pass rate of 69%, and 30% of students earning a 5.

Junior Year

Depending on what kind of school you want to go to, you should be taking between 3 and 5 AP® classes this year. You will need to manage your time well, however, as you also need to study for the SAT® or ACT® during this time.

Incoming students who have taken AP exams need a total of 32 credits to be eligible for Advanced Standing. Credits are earned by scoring 5 on a minimum of four AP exams. Harvard confers 4 or 8 credits for eac eligible AP exam depending on whether the exam covers one semester or one full year's worth of material.

Many of the least popular AP exams are world language tests, as these exams generally target a more niche group of students. What's more, some languages are less commonly taught at high schools than others (e.g., Japanese and Italian courses are rarer than Spanish courses).

Take as many as you can handle without spreading yourself too thin. Make sure you will have time to study for the ACT or SAT this year. An Ivy League hopeful might take 3 to 5(!) AP classes, while if you're aiming for less-selective schools, 2 or 3 would be enough.

If that answer isn't fully satisfying, here is a look at the average number of APs students tend to take over the course of their high school years, broken down by college selectivity: Selective schools: around 7–12 APs. Semi-selective schools: 4–8 APs. Less selective schools: 1–5 APs.

AP exams are graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score possible.

Can my AP teacher see my AP Exam score? ›

Only teachers authorized through the AP Course Audit for the most current year for which AP score data has been released have access to their students' exam scores online. Teachers must have their course authorization renewed every year to continue to have access to current and previous years' reports.

A percentage of multiple-choice questions from prior exams are reused every year, guaranteeing the statistical reliability of each AP Exam from year to year.

Easiest AP exams by pass rate

AP Calculus BC. AP Chinese Language. AP English Literature. AP French Language.

Additionally, starting with the class of 2027, students must take at least six advanced placement, dual enrollment or early college classes to be considered for valedictorian status.

The Ivy leagues don't discriminate if your school doesn't offer you AP classes. However, if your school offers AP classes and you don't take the opportunity to take them all they will notice that and it's not a good thing. This really depends on how many your school offers.

Colleges like them both. Both honors and AP courses are rigorous courses that most high schools weight more heavily on your transcript. AP courses, however, culminate in the AP Exam. Good AP scores show colleges you are ready to succeed at college-level work and can even earn you college credits.

Does Harvard Accept AP Credit. Harvard does accept AP Credit for classes in which a student earned a 5 on the AP Exam. These credits are accepted under a program called “Advanced Standing.” To qualify, students must earn a 5 on a minimum of 4 AP tests, transferring a total of 32 credits.

Is 17 AP classes too much? ›

To be competitive at some of the most highly selective colleges in the country, 8-12 AP courses may be the sweet spot amount, assuming the student can handle that level of rigor. There are no colleges out there that require you to take 14, 17, or some other obscene number of Advanced Placement offerings.

Okay, Seriously, Which AP Classes Are the Hardest? United States History, Biology, English Literature, Calculus BC, Physics C, and Chemistry are often named as the hardest AP classes and tests. These classes have large curriculums, tough tests, and conceptually difficult material.

What happens if you fail an AP class? If you fail an AP class, then your GPA will likely drop as it would for a normal class. This grade also shows up on your transcript. However, you may be able to retake the class the following year to raise your grade and increase your GPA.

While honors courses usually add 0.5 points to your GPA, AP classes often add 1 point. In other words, a 3.5 GPA would be boosted to a 4.0 in an honors class and a 4.5 in an AP class. This boost can prove particularly useful if you want to challenge yourself with more difficult training without punishing your GPA.

While you don't have to take all of the AP classes your school offers, taking a few, especially during junior year or senior year, will definitely boost your college applications.

There is no written guideline on the planet that exists that recommends Sophomores to take 3 or more APs. Most successful admits into the best school take 1 or 2 APs during 10th, maybe 3-5 during 11th, and 3-5 during 12th. If you end up with 7-12 APs total over 3 years that more than enough.

You'll need nearly straight As in all your classes to compete with other applicants since the average unweighted GPA of students admitted into UCLA is a 3.9. You'll also probably need to take AP or IB classes to show that you can do well at advanced coursework., especially if your GPA is below the average.

You can definitely take 5 APs, but just make sure to stay on top of your work and spend a good amount of time studying to make sure you know the material.

You don't need to take AP courses to get into a good school, but they may help you stand out among peers with similar transcripts when getting into college.

Is a 70% a 5 on the AP exam? ›

Usually, a 70 to 75 percent out of 100 translates to a 5. However, there are some exams that are exceptions to this rule of thumb. The AP Grades that are reported to students, high schools, colleges, and universities in July are on AP's five-point scale: 5: Extremely well qualified.

A poor AP exam score will not affect your class grade. Typically, you receive your AP score far after your semester grades have already been submitted. So, you don't have to worry about failing the course as a result of failing the AP exam.

If you're struggling with an AP course or not doing quite as well as you like, there's no doubt you were wondering if AP scores affect admission. Thankfully, you don't have to worry. It's still absolutely beneficial to do well on the exam, but it won't hurt your chances of admission.

Your GPA Will Be Lowered: If you fail an AP Class, your unweighted GPA will be impacted the same way as if you'd failed any other class, which isn't great! However, your weighted GPA will fall by less, since AP classes are usually weighted a point or two higher than normal classes depending on your school.

Students who earn AP scores of 2 are well prepared to succeed in introductory college coursework. Compared to academically similar college peers who did not take the AP course, AP students who earn scores of 2 perform as well or better when they take those introductory college courses.

Can I retake the WELL AP exam if I fail? If you take the beta exam and fail your first try you'll be able to retake the exam once at no additional cost. You will have one year to claim your free retake.

It is important to understand that AP scores have minimal impact on potential admission to college unless the student is applying to the most selective colleges. A student who scores a 3 or above on the exam should consider a retake carefully because of this small impact.

The first thing that you should do is check the AP Score credit policy for the colleges that you are applying to. If they will give you credit for the 3, then by all means report it! On the other hand, if they only give credit for a 5 on that exam (not even for a 4), you may want to hold off.

Can you get a 1 on AP? ›

AP Exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Many U.S. colleges grant credit and/or advanced placement (that means they let you skip the equivalent course once you get to college) for scores of 3 and above.

AP classes, however, are more challenging than honors classes. These courses cover information, teach skills and give assignments that correspond to college classes. High school students taking AP courses will be held to the same standard as college students.

Math, science, and foreign language exams tend to give the most credit.

Aim for four to eight AP exams in your junior and senior years. For competitive Ivy League schools, admission officers also want to see AP courses for core subject areas and additional courses. If possible, aim to pass about seven to 12 AP exams if applying to these highly selective schools.

For students aiming for the Ivy League and Top 20 schools in the United States, a good target is to take (and pass) 10-14 AP classes throughout your high school career — or 3-4 each year.

[8] AP Chemistry is rated as the hardest of all AP classes if you're self-studying, at 8.3 / 10.

For students aiming for the Ivy League and Top 20 schools in the United States, a good target is to take (and pass) 10-14 AP classes throughout your high school career — or 3-4 each year.

The average student takes 3 exams over their high school/secondary school career, although there are certainly students who take more. Some research shows in general, it could make very good sense for students to arrive at their college or university with a core of 5 successful AP experiences.

Colleges are generally looking for a 4 (“well-qualified”) or 5 (“extremely qualified”) on the AP exam, but some may grant credit for a 3 (“qualified”). These scores mean you have proven yourself capable of doing the work in an introductory-level college course.

If that answer isn't fully satisfying, here is a look at the average number of APs students tend to take over the course of their high school years, broken down by college selectivity: Selective schools: around 7–12 APs. Semi-selective schools: 4–8 APs. Less selective schools: 1–5 APs.

Can you get into an Ivy League without AP classes? ›

The Ivy leagues don't discriminate if your school doesn't offer you AP classes. However, if your school offers AP classes and you don't take the opportunity to take them all they will notice that and it's not a good thing. This really depends on how many your school offers.

Take as many as you can handle without spreading yourself thin, and make sure you will have time to study for the ACT or SAT this year. An Ivy League hopeful might take 3 to 5 AP classes, while if you're aiming for less-selective schools, 2 to 4 would be enough.

If you manage to take 11 AP classes throughout your high school stay, that's enough (33 credits on average) to skip a whole year of college. While that may too much, even a couple of classes can be enough to give you a semester ahead of your peers coming into college.

How Many AP Classes to Take for Ivy Leagues and Other Top Schools in the US. For students aiming for the Ivy League and Top 20 schools in the United States, a good target is to take (and pass) 10-14 AP classes throughout your high school career — or 3-4 each year.