AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with scores of 3 or more considered passing grades. Colleges sometimes count scores of 3 or higher for college credit, although more prestigious schools can only consider scores of 4 or 5.This means that students taking AP courses may end up with a GPA greater than 4.0, which can differentiate them when they apply to universities. It also means that students are not penalized for challenging themselves, for example, a B in Latin AP would still count as 4.0 on a student's weighted average. AP courses tend to be more demanding than regular high school classes.
Most AP courses are similar to first-year college courses. They are not easy, but you can succeed if you put in time and effort. Making a decision about which course to choose can be a real challenge for students. The good news is that most universities give extra points to people who participated in honors or AP courses.
As mentioned above, universities know that qualifying for honors means that your GPA is at an exceptional level. If you are applying to highly competitive private universities, I would recommend choosing AP courses instead of community college courses. For more information, go to AP Courses %26 Exams for a complete list of AP subjects and see the AP course descriptions. If you're looking for online AP courses, such as an online AP Computer Science course or an online AP Psychology course, eAchieve makes it easy.
The most popular types of courses that help with college admissions include AP (Advanced Placement) and College Board Dual Enrollment courses. A rigorous high school course load is very important for selective colleges, and AP courses can be considered stronger indicators of their academic skills than classes at community colleges.