How AP Classes can help you get ahead in College.

Find out how beneficial AP scores can be when it comes to getting ahead in college credits and classes. 

By: Isabel Sipkema, Biology and Educational Studies at Rhodes College ‘22

Many students aren’t aware of how beneficial AP classes can be when it comes to getting ahead in college credits. AP classes can allow students to either get to skip introductory courses and go ahead into more advanced classes or it can allow students to have a head start on the material that they will need to know for their introductory classes. Regardless of the AP class, you can go on the College Board and found out what scores you would need to get on an AP exam to be allowed to get some sort of college credit for those classes. Each university and college has different score requirements for what score margins they will accept for college credit, but almost all colleges will accept AP classes. Be sure to check this out, as this can help motivate you to study for your AP exams and to do well in your classes.

If you are able to get a qualifying score for your specific college or university, you will be able to use this class as a way to get ahead on college credit. You will likely be able to skip introductory classes and be able to take more advanced classes because of this, as your AP credit will serve as your credit for the introductory classes. Even if you don’t skip the introductory classes because you would rather focus on the material again and ease into college, having taken the AP class will allow you to feel more comfortable with the material that you are learning! 

To exemplify just how useful AP classes can be when it comes to college credit, I am able to graduate in 3 years because of AP classes. At my college, you need 128 credits to graduate and each student takes on average 32 credits each school year to make this graduation date. I was able to get a full 32 credits from AP classes and am therefore able to skip an entire year of my college education. Because I planned out the types of AP classes I was going to take and had them relate to my major, I am still able to double major and graduate in three years. Even if you don’t want to graduate early, taking AP classes can make it easier for students to double major or to add minors if they are able to use their AP credits to opt-out of the foundation classes. Overall, taking AP classes can significantly benefit your college education so take advantage of these AP classes!