<p>Many students attending college after school in America take a wide array of "Advanced Placement" (AP) courses which are equivalent to college level credit at many colleges.
In turn, students coming into college with a lot of APs have a sharp advantage over international students (who do not have the opportunity to take AP exams) in the sense that they can take higher level courses, pursue a double major or minor if they wish.
Am I right?</p>
<p>PS: I do realize that some colleges are now not accepting AP scores and are conducting their own placement examinations (e.g. Caltech) but these colleges form a minority.</p>
<p>You may be right but why you are worry so much about it? There is not much you can do. And the only thing you can do is ask educators in your country to model your curriculum after the American curriculum. But many people in the US don't like the AP system.</p>
<p>In addition other systems could be even more rigorous and encompass more than the AP syllabus; in no way is that a disadvantage! (whether these get recognized or not is another matter)</p>
<p>APs are not meant for international students. But in fact, most national curriculums include a big deal of AP level courses (e.g. A Levels, the German Abitur, French Baccalaureat), and most schools grant one year worth of college credit for these credentials.</p>