Can I benefit from AP classes?

<p>I am a home schooled student and am looking at the option of taking some AP classes. If I take the class online (since I don't believe I can take it through a public school), it would be very expensive. I've seen books that you can use to study for the AP tests that don't seem expensive at all. Can I use these books to study and then take the test and get credit for it being both a high school class and a college course?? Or will it only count towards a college course? Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>You can count it as a class on your homeschool transcript even if you self-study, whether it’s AP or not. The eventual college you go to may or may not give you credit for it, depending on their policies and your score. It can only be good for your college applications to show that you’re taking rigorous classes. </p>

<p>I was told, after it was too late for my son, that you are not allowed to say “AP ____” on your transcript unless it’s an approved AP class. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it seems reasonable. You are still allowed to put your AP score on the transcript.</p>

<p>Yes, it’s true that you can only call a class ‘AP’ and weight it more heavily in your GPA if it’s been audited and approved by the College Board. But you can self-study, describe it as an unofficial AP, and report your score on your transcript. I know that some families translate a 5 to an A, a 4 to a B, etc so that there’s a letter grade as well.</p>

<p>Tons of homeschoolers and even more kids in school self-study APs. Kids in school may do so because of school rules, scheduling issues, or because self-studying is a whole lot less work than taking a course.</p>

<p>There are oodles of prep books, podcasts, youtubes, sites made by AP teachers - amazing resources in every subject, though some APs lend themselves to self-study better than others. Many kids on CC are experts on AP preparation. When I want to know about the best prep books and ideas for AP self-study, CC is the first place I check.</p>