More than 90% of public high schools in New Jersey offer one or more of the 42 Advanced Placement courses authorized by College Board, allowing students to earn college credit while still in high school and strengthen their college applications.
More than 97,000 New Jersey students took at least one AP exam last year. In total, more than 206,000 AP exams were taken, with 77.7% earning a score of 3 or higher. The test is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with a score of 3 or higher typically earning credit at many colleges. Students also may be placed in higher-level courses based on their AP exam scores.
Some AP courses are more popular than others. According to College Board, the most popular AP courses for ninth- and 10th-grade students are AP Human Geography, World History: Modern, European History, Seminar, Computer Science Principles, and World Languages and Cultures.
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Among 11th-grade students, the most popular AP courses are AP English Language and Composition, U.S. History, Psychology, Biology, Physics 1, Seminar, Research, Computer Science Principles, World Languages and Cultures, and Art and Design.
For 12th-grade students, the most popular AP courses are AP English Literature and Composition, U.S. Government and Politics, Calculus AB, Statistics, Psychology, Research, Computer Science Principles, Computer Science A, World Languages and Cultures, and Art and Design.
Colleges look closely at students' AP scores because they reflect an ability to engage in college-level work. Colleges also recognize that grading policies vary widely among high schools and even among teachers. As a result, AP scores can be more revealing than a student's GPA.
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The 10 colleges that received the most AP scores from applicants last year were the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, the University of Florida, UCLA, Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UC San Diego, the University of Michigan, UC Berkeley and the University of Central Florida.
AP scores were also widely submitted at Rutgers University, where 5,608 applicants submitted results from 15,147 exams. At the University of Maryland, College Park, 4,574 applicants submitted results from 13,581 exams. At Penn State University Park, 5,428 applicants submitted results from 13,348 exams.
Students who successfully complete a substantial number of AP courses and exams during high school should focus on colleges that award college credit for those efforts. Doing so can allow them to pursue a double major, complete a major and a minor, or even graduate a semester or a year early, a significant financial advantage.
Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT preparation & private college advising by Ivy League-educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: How AP courses can help students cut the cost of college