All You Need To Know About The Advanced Placement Exams

What’s The Advanced Placement Exams?

Advanced Placement (AP) Exams offer both US and international students the opportunity to explore their interests, challenge themselves, and earn college credit. Your AP exam scores can earn you college credit and let you skip introductory college courses.

AP exams cover a wide variety of subjects, including math, physics, chemistry, biology, English literature, calculus, economics, and psychology. AP exams are offered by the College Board during the final period of a year-long course.

AP results are highly valued by top schools in the US, and they can be a great differentiator for international students. By performing well on AP exams, you show that you’re confident with college-level courses and focused on getting into US colleges.

How Are AP Exams Scored?

You don’t need top AP scores to get credits for college.

For high school students, AP exams tend to be more challenging since they are college-level exams. The administration, however, allows you a leeway when it comes to collecting credits.

For instance, you don’t need to score top grades to earn credits. You can earn college credits even if your AP exam scores are average.

Depending on your college of choice, you may want to take fewer AP exams and score high in these subjects instead.

The AP tests are rated on a scale of 1-5. One-pointers do not receive any recommendations. In contrast, scoring a 5 would be exceptional. In order to begin accumulating college credits, you need a minimum score of 3.

What Are The Other Advantages Of Taking The AP Exams?

With AP exams, you can demonstrate to schools that you are capable of handling advanced content and can cope academically.

American high school students are typically limited to taking a certain number of AP exams. If you are serious about your college application, aim to take as many as you can throughout the 4 years of high school. It could help improve your weighted GPA and help you stand out in the application pool if you take more AP exams than your peers.

Keep in mind, however, that how well you do on these is just as important as how many you take. Taking more AP exams than you can handle may compromise your GPA and harm your application more than help it.

In case you are not studying for an American High school diploma, APs are a bonus but not a necessity. If your schedule permits, consider taking them.

Here are some additional advantages of taking the AP exams:

What Subjects Are Offered For AP Exams?

The AP exams consist of 7 subject areas which are AP Capstone, Arts, English, History & Social Science, Math & Computer Science, Sciences and World Languages & Cultures.

There are 38 AP exams in total as listed below.

Which AP Subjects Should I Take?

When choosing an AP subject, choose one that you can do well in.

The subject selection is entirely up to you! Nevertheless, we recommend taking a few subjects relevant to your intended major.

For example, AP Computer Science or Calculus are excellent choices for Computer Science applicants.

If your strengths lie in different areas, utilize them to your advantage.

For example, AP History or AP French can help you stand out as a Computer Science major.

It is most important, however, to take subjects you enjoy and succeed in! Low scores in challenging subjects won’t help as much as high scores in any subject.

What AP Exams Are Offered In Singapore?

Schools in Singapore commonly offer Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math, English Literature and Composition, English Language and Composition, and English Language and Composition.