Yes, you can take an AP test without taking an AP course, my student intends to take some extra this spring.

I would imagine a reason that some schools are adding them back after removing them is because college admissions officers use these results as a standard national metric, so it’s one more piece of information they can use when considering applicants.

That said, the tests are still dependent on the teacher that is grading and whether they grade hard or easy. There can be some inconsistency in grading across the board.

AP classes at schools that offer them aren’t limited to the main subjects. They also offer AP research, AP studio art, AP French/Spanish/Latin and AP music theory. Those aren’t all the type that can be done via self study. My children’s attend two different schools. Each has a standard level of classes, and honors level and an AP. The Honors and AP get a gpa boost with the AP boost being bigger. So the spread between the highest achieving kids and the mainstream kids is very noticeable. A straight A kid taking the basic level will not have the same GPA as the kid who takes a ton of honors and/or AP. We like this model because kids do develop more self awareness about their own academic ability as compared to their peers.

APs are also useful if you want to apply to international universities including the UK and Canada

I don’t think it’s about credit. I think they are a fair way for schools to benchmark how rigorous a student’s schedule is. otherwise you will rely on your school to communicate that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, a reason for taking AP classes if you don’t care about getting college credit/placement is that they are a recognized way to show rigorous course selection on the transcript. Not having them is not held against a student at a school that doesn’t offer them, however.

My kid's school -- and I assume other schools that don't offer AP classes -- have other ways to designate more rigorous classes. The school profile, together with the transcript, makes it very obvious.

I was specifically referring to why take AP classes at a school that offers them. Sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.

College Admissions usually will benefit if DC can earn 4s and 5s prior to start of senior year of HS -- and includes those on their college application package.

College admissions benefit from seeing the APs on your senior course list because it shows you are continuing to take courses they recognize as challenging.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, a reason for taking AP classes if you don’t care about getting college credit/placement is that they are a recognized way to show rigorous course selection on the transcript. Not having them is not held against a student at a school that doesn’t offer them, however.

My kid's school -- and I assume other schools that don't offer AP classes -- have other ways to designate more rigorous classes. The school profile, together with the transcript, makes it very obvious.

I was specifically referring to why take AP classes at a school that offers them. Sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.

College Admissions usually will benefit if DC can earn 4s and 5s prior to start of senior year of HS -- and includes those on their college application package.

Anonymous wrote:You can take an AP exam without taking the course. Pay $29.99 for Heimler’s History study guides and you too can score 5’s on all of those exams

Our private HS offers various advanced or honors classes, but they do not label any course as "AP". They do offer for students to sit any applicable AP exams at that school. It is optional to sit the AP exams, but very convenient since the school hosts the exams on campus for their students.

Prior to senior year, we took all of the (optional) AP exams that related to DC's courses **for the admissions benefits**. Showing 4s and 5s on those courses in DC's college applications (courses including Chem, Bio, US History, & PreCalc) shows that DC really had mastered that material.

Honestly, we don't care about getting college course credits. They are a bonus if they happen, but are not why we had DC sit those AP exams.

Anonymous wrote:You can take an AP exam without taking the course. Pay $29.99 for Heimler’s History study guides and you too can score 5’s on all of those exams

The question is specifically about the classes themselves, though.

You can take an AP exam without taking the course. Pay $29.99 for Heimler’s History study guides and you too can score 5’s on all of those exams

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are only 5 colleges that do not give "course credit" for AP classes, but they DO use them for evaluating course rigor in high school and they do recognize them for first year course placement.

I suspect you relied on Google’s AI-generated summary, which lists Brown, Dartmouth, CalTech, Amherst, and Williams. Those are not the only schools that do not accept AP for credit (Princeton is another, for example). And even among schools that do accept APs for credit, many accept only certain APs, not all. You really need to double check the specifics with each school under consideration.

However, one place to start is: https://www.c2educate.com/ap-credit-policies-top-colleges/

Most kids attending most colleges will get credit for AP scores. Nearly all.

My DC’s NESCAC SLAC will only give maximum of 4 credits for AP classes.

That was a choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are only 5 colleges that do not give "course credit" for AP classes, but they DO use them for evaluating course rigor in high school and they do recognize them for first year course placement.

I suspect you relied on Google’s AI-generated summary, which lists Brown, Dartmouth, CalTech, Amherst, and Williams. Those are not the only schools that do not accept AP for credit (Princeton is another, for example). And even among schools that do accept APs for credit, many accept only certain APs, not all. You really need to double check the specifics with each school under consideration.

However, one place to start is: https://www.c2educate.com/ap-credit-policies-top-colleges/

Most kids attending most colleges will get credit for AP scores. Nearly all.

My DC’s NESCAC SLAC will only give maximum of 4 credits for AP classes.