How many AP classes have you taken – or plan on taking? Advanced Placement courses can serve you well not just during high school but also during your college tenure. It may not really strike you that your coursework in high school can affect classes that you will take for the four years of undergraduate study, but read on to learn more.

AP classes offer wonderful preparation for the college workload. In AP classes, you may find yourself reading eighty or more pages a night and working on essays, lab reports or problem sets, just as you will in nearly all of your college courses. AP classes offer fast-paced learning to high school students who are still feeling out what subjects they are most interested in, and can lead to choosing freshman courses or even a major later on. Even if you end up switching your interests and intended major in college, AP classes will give you a direction and goal to work towards before many of your peers.

AP courses can also serve to save you time, effort, stress and money! College is expensive, but with enough credits under your belt before you even start school, you may be able to graduate a semester, or even a year early! While most students enter college with just a few AP courses and credits under their belt, it is not uncommon for students to show up with a full semester  – 15 or more credits worth – of credits earned from AP courses. AP classes will also allow you to take more elective courses to broaden your horizons and explore all that your college or university has to offer.

Finally, there has never been a case where a good academic record with AP courses on a student’s high school transcript has hurt them in the admissions process. Good scores on AP tests and passing grades will show admissions officers that you have a drive to learn and succeed at a highly rigorous academic level.

Most colleges only accept a final AP exam score of four or five for course credit. While there are some that accept a three for the more difficult courses, you should not count on it. Each AP course with a test score of a four or higher should earn you three or even four credits towards your college degree. It may not sound like much, but anything that you can knock out of that 120 credit goal will save you some long-term stress, and ensure that your college experience goes exactly how you want it to!

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