<p>my friends (who arent in any AP) asked me these questions:</p>
<p>what is the point of taking AP classes? aren't u learning what u would learn in college anyway? why stress over it in high school? why do colleges want to see you taking AP courses and their exams?</p>
<p>and then this:</p>
<p>even if u do well on the exams, and are exempt from taking it in college, isn't the college tuition price the same as if u were taking the classes anyway? why pay for the same amount for classes that u won't be taking in college anyway (since u'd be exempt from ur AP scores)?</p>
<p>Because college admissions is getting more and more competitive and AP scores are now being used to beef up college applications. At top schools, AP scores are more and more important as admissions counselors can use them to differentiate people with As in AP classes who get 2s on exams from people who might get B+s but get 5s.</p>
<p>No kidding...I've got 12 APs after this summer under my belt (I'm a junior) and I still don't feel confident because I know of people who have taken 16+ APs before senior year.</p>
<p>Besides,l I learned a lot of **** from the APs I've taken so far (in my opinion at least) so it's not a complete waste....</p>
<p>One reason why I am kind of against APs (even though I took 3 this year) is because by taking them you are leaving college earlier. Why do that? College is supposed to be the best 4 years of your life. Why make it shorter?</p>
<p>well, who8me, AP credit can really help to get the general education requirements of a college out of the way. This makes it easier to, say, double major, or take more elective classes in topics that might interest you.</p>
<p>Wow, 16+ APs... my school offers hardly any. Euro, Calc, Bio, Environmental sci, and this weird deal in the English department (also Latin, French, Chinese, and Spanish, none of which I can take).</p>
<p>The point of taking them is to show that you're a dedicated student and can excel in many subjects. Yes, the learning process is important, but high school grades can be incredibly subjective. The AP exams are standardized tests to (for the most part) accurately evaluate your knowledge.
[quote]
One reason why I am kind of against APs (even though I took 3 this year) is because by taking them you are leaving college earlier. Why do that? College is supposed to be the best 4 years of your life. Why make it shorter?
[/quote]
Most students still stay in college for four years. The AP credits only cover the basic requirements in science/math/etc so students can focus on more advanced classes that they actually enjoy taking. From what I understand, very few actually choose to graduate because they have a few extra units under their belt.</p>
<p>If someone is taking a very tough major in college or just wants to take some classes that interest him in college, AP can get the basic class out of the way. No, tuition will not always be the same unless that students takes another class in the place of the one he tested out of. </p>
<p>It's a little different, but at one college I am applying to the writing section of the SAT is looked at much like an AP score as far as its weight. My school doesn't offer AP English anything, but because of that score that is considered like an AP score, I don't have to take freshman Comp. I plan on majoring in English, so that is one basic class I can replace with a more advanced comp or a class that interests me.</p>
<p>hey ive heard something about an "AP Scholar" thing for those who take over a certain number of AP exams or something like that. could someone explain to me what that is?</p>
<p>AP Scholar
Granted to students who receive grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.</p>
<p>AP Scholar with Honor
Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.</p>
<p>AP Scholar with Distinction
Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.</p>
<p>AP State Scholar
Granted to the one female and one male student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with grades of 3 or higher on the greatest number of exams (at least three exams), and then the highest average grade (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken.</p>
<p>National AP Scholar
Granted to students in the United States who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.</p>
<p>National AP Scholar (Canada)
Granted to students in Canada who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on five or more of these exams.</p>
<p>Department of Defense for Education Activity (DoDEA) Scholar
Granted to the one male and one female student attending DoDEA schools with the highest average grade on the greatest number of AP Exams. The minimum requirement is a grade of 3 or higher on three exams.</p>
<p>AP International Scholar
Granted to the one male and one female student attending an American international school (that is not a DoDEA school) outside the U.S. and Canada with the highest average grade on the greatest number of AP Exams. The minimum requirement is a grade of 3 or higher on three exams.</p>
<p>AP scores basically help to separate the best from the worthy. That is the simplest way I can put it. Top-tier colleges want to see you take the hardest classes you can throughout your high school career. However, this poses a problem: how do they know the difficulty of, for example, AP Biology at your school and AP Biology at another school? This is where AP test scores come into play; a student with a 5 on the AP Biology test and a B/B+ in the class will look better than a student who has a 2 on the same exam and an A in the class. Basically, you take APs to strengthen your college application and learn more than you would in a base level class, and you take AP tests (and do well on them) so that colleges have something to check the validity of your grades with.</p>
<p>so if by the end of this summer (im a junior about to be a senior) i will have taken 4 ap tests and done well on all of them, would i be able to put AP Scholar w/ Honor on my applications or do i need to recieve some recognition from the college board first?</p>
<p>at my school, any class other than the AP is just not worth taking; all you do is busy work. so instead of wasting time in normal english classes, why not challenge yourself with AP english and actually learn something?</p>
<p>Because you don't have time for the homework, you don't think you're going to learn much new stuff even in the AP class, or it's not your favorite subject? I could've taken AP English and US History this year, but I chose not to. From what I've seen from aquaintances who took them, I'm glad. For one thing, I already knew a lot of their material. They also do a ton of essays, and I hate writing assignments. Regular English and History are very easy. The other kids in the classes are also more fun and less nerdy.
What I'm saying is that every AP class in every subject isn't for everyone.</p>
<p>I took AP US Government this year because I wanted to take a class with other people who found politics as cool as I did, with material that I knew would challenge me. I was not disappointed.</p>