Lisa, one of the founders of Hillhouse Education Center (a high-end education consulting firm), discusses the increasingly popular AP courses and exams, offering a professional perspective on AP course planning and providing valuable advice. This is the second article in a three-part series on how to plan your AP course and exam choices.
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Three directions provide AP selection guide
Q: What are the specific AP core courses? Do admissions officers understand the value of each AP subject?
A: AP English Literature and Grammar, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, Chemistry, Biology, AP US or World History. Admissions officers are very clear about the value of a 5 in each subject, so even if you get 5 in all the easier subjects, it won't be a decisive factor for applications to top 20 universities because it doesn't present much of a challenge.
Select AP courses by subject category
Choose AP courses based on career aspirations
Select AP courses by grade level
AP exam scores for college credit transfer in the US and Canada
Taking the University of California system as an example, after eliminating the SAT as a factor, the focus is now on the difficulty and grades of courses taken in grades 9-12, especially grade 12. Therefore, school grades and AP/IB courses are becoming increasingly important.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/
admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/california-residents/statewide-guarantee/
Many universities have rules for transferring AP courses for college credit or exempting students from taking them. Taking Berkeley University as an example, AP exam scores can be used to exempt students from Part A and Part B of Berkeley's Reading and Writing courses.
AP English Literature and Writing - A score of 4 can exempt you from Part A.
AP English Literature and Writing - A score of 5 can exempt you from Parts A & B.
AP English Language and Composition - A score of 4 or higher can exempt you from Part A.
IB HL English A: Literature* - A score of 5 or higher can exempt you from Parts A & B.
IB HL English A: Language and Literature* - A score of 5 or higher may exempt you from Parts A & B.
http://guide.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/colleges-schools/letters-science/reading-composition-requirement/
Taking UBC, a prestigious Canadian university, as an example, the AP exam scores converted to percentage scores are: 5 = 96, 4 = 86, 3 = 80, 2 = 70.
https://you.ubc.ca/applying-ubc/requirements/advanced-placement/
The impact of the removal of the SAT1 writing section and the SAT2 from the AP exams
With the elimination of the SAT1 writing component, AP English Language/Literature has become increasingly important.
“Compared to the SAT writing section, these two AP English exams can more comprehensively demonstrate a student’s English proficiency. Universities like Princeton require English teachers to submit a sample of a student’s in-class writing, which is a more accurate measure of a student’s actual level than the SAT1 writing section. So, the requirements for students’ writing are actually getting higher and higher,” Lisa explained.
However, please note that some universities' AP Seminar and AP Research courses in the AP Capstone program are for reference only and cannot be used for transfer credits after admission.
With the elimination of the SAT Subject Tests, AP exams have become increasingly important. In 2023, according to official statistics from the College Board, 5,197,601 students took AP exams, a 9.1% increase from 2022. However, college admissions are not based on the number of AP courses a student takes, but rather on the number of core AP courses and their grades.
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