The Pros and Cons of AP Exams for High School Students

All across the country, high school students are breathing sighs of relief, as their AP exams are finally coming to an end.

After a year’s worth of intensive assignments, tests, and studying, which all culminated in a thorough three-hour long exam, these students will wait patiently for their scores to be released in July, scores that can range from a 1 to 5, and have the potential to have a significant impact on their college careers. If a student receives a passing score of a 3, they can get college credit at many universities, and if they score a 4 or 5, they are even more likely to get credit. Plus, high scores on AP exams are considered impressive and can be helpful when applying to colleges.

However, not everything about AP exams is beneficial. There are some downsides to taking the exam and the AP program, and many students have begun to wonder if the cons outweigh the pros.

The Pros

There are a lot of immediately visible pros to participating in AP classes and taking AP exams. One of the most basic is that AP classes are very rigorous and challenging, which allows hardworking students to challenge themselves in a variety of subjects, ranging from English, math, science, and history, to foreign language, art, and music. AP classes often have more coursework and work that is of a more difficult standard, but this is an opportunity that many students enjoy having.

And of course, as mentioned, AP exams have the potential to get students college credit. By passing the exam, students can often earn credit for college classes while they are still in high school. They can get a head start on their higher education, and gain experience with college classes and coursework that will be helpful at a university. Passing the exam also allows students to save money by not paying for extra credits, and spend less time taking courses they may not be very interested in.

And when applying for colleges, a 4 or a 5 on your application can set you apart from other applicants. AP exams are a great opportunity for high-achieving high school students and can be very beneficial for their college education.

The Cons

While passing an AP exam can earn you college credit, it doesn’t always. Guidelines for accepting AP scores are left up to each individual college, so while one college may take scores of 3, 4, and 5 for an AP class, a different college may only give credit for a 5 for that same class. This can be a downside to students, who may go through all the work of an AP class and exam to get a 3, only to find out that their college won’t give them credit for it. Along the same lines, many colleges are going test-optional, which means that students don’t have to submit standardized test scores, and other facets of their application will be analyzed and considered instead.

While this policy traditionally applies to SAT and ACT scores, it could be that this could include AP test scores, too, so if not as much importance is placed on them, it may not be worth it to take them. Additionally, several changes have been made to the registration process. College Board, the organization in charge of administering these tests, has previously moved up the date for registering for the exams to the fall, which rushes students into making decisions about whether or not they want to take the exam.

And if they change their minds later, whether that is to drop an exam they signed up for or to sign up for a new exam, it usually costs money, and can be a hard process to go through. And, the cost of taking AP exams goes up every year. Currently, each exam costs a whopping $94. AP exams can be a great opportunity for students who enjoy challenging themselves in high school and want to try to get ahead for college. However, the registration processes and fees, along with some colleges’ trend of moving away from test scores, may turn some students away from participating in these exams.