ADVANCED PLACEMENT Barren County Early College Magnet

Advanced Placement (AP)? What is Advanced Placement (AP)? AP courses are the most challenging courses offered at Barren County High School College-level courses Gives you a head start on college Shows colleges that you are a serious student & capable of college-level work Have the potential to earn college credits or placement into advanced courses in college

Did you know . . . If you earn a high school diploma, you’re likely to earn $7,000 more annually than students who don’t complete high school. But if you earn a bachelor’s degree in college, you’re likely to earn $22,000 more annually. Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2000

Prepare Now to Succeed in College A 1999 U.S. Department of Education study found that the strongest predictor of college graduation is… Participation in rigorous, college-level courses in high school (AP courses ). Clifford Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment (1999), U.S. Department of Education.

AP and College Success™ Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely than their peers to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years or less. Source: Camara, Wayne (2003). College Persistence, Graduation, and Remediation. College Board Research Notes (RN-19). New York, NY: College Board. Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely than their peers to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years or less. Source: Camara, Wayne. (2003). College Persistence, Graduation, and Remediation. College Board Research Notes (RN-19). New York, NY: College Board.

Levels of courses at BC: MOST DIFFICULT AP=Advanced Placement (AP Calculus) DIFFICULT Dual Credit = Dual Credit WKU (Psychology 100) Pre-AP = preAdvanced Placement (Pre-AP English I) Hnrs = Honors (Hnrs Integrated Science) AVERAGE No label (Algebra I)

Benefits of AP: for Students Prepare for success in college by taking college-level courses while still in high school Opportunity to earn awards, scholarships, and improve chances of college admission Opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement Students can earn college credit and/or advanced standing at over 2900 colleges and universities if they successfully complete an AP Examination Students gain college-level analytical, communication, and study skills as well as academic confidence Students can gain state or national recognition

What type of student is an AP student? Outperform their peers when placed into advanced courses Are ready and prepared for the rigor, work-load, and time required to be successful in an AP course Are more likely to take advanced courses in their AP subject areas Are more likely to choose challenging majors in college What type of student is an AP student? Students who complete AP courses are: better prepared academically more likely to choose challenging majors likely to complete more college level work likely to perform significantly better than students who did not take AP courses more likely to exercise leadership more likely to graduate with a double major twice as likely to go into advanced study –Willingham & Morris, 1986; UT Study 1988

Who designs AP courses & exams? AP committee members currently teach at dozens of the nation’s top colleges and universities, including: Dartmouth College Hamilton College Michigan State University Princeton University UCLA University of Texas at Austin University of Virginia Yale University

At BC, why do all AP students take AP Exams? Most of the nation’s colleges/universities & 24 other countries grant students admission, credit, and/or placement for qualifying AP Exam scores. It shows colleges that you are a serious student, who can succeed in a college course and exam. It shows colleges that you have experienced a college-level course and exam. Most colleges require you to take the AP course and earn a certain score on the exam before awarding college credit. For example, at Princeton, students can use qualifying AP Exam grades to: Graduate in three or three-and-a-half years Enter upper-level courses Fulfill a foreign language requirement

Saves you college TIME & MONEY!!! AP Exam vs. College Course $92 $315/credit hour (WKU) 1 HS credit = 3 college credits 3hr x $315 = $945 Example: BC Magnet student earns college credit for four college courses. 1 high school credit = 3 college credits 3 college credits x 4 AP courses = 12 college credits 12 x $945 = $11,340 saved 12 hours of time saved (semester of college courses)

Saves you college TIME & MONEY!!! Dual Credit Course College Course $200 per course $945 per course $40 one time app fee Example: BCHS Magnet student takes 4 dual credit classes while at BCHS $210 x 4 = $840 + $40 application fee = $880 and 16 college credit hours Add your AP college credits plus your dual credit courses and you could easily gain 28 college credit hours before high school graduation (almost 2 college semesters in credit)

PLACEMENT vs. CREDIT Some colleges award “credit” for qualifying AP Exam grades. This means you actually earn points/hours toward your college degree. Credit shows up on college transcript. Others award “advanced placement.” This means you can skip introductory courses, enter higher-level classes, and/or fulfill general education requirements.

Increase Your Options in College College credit can allow you to move into upper-level college courses sooner, pursue a double major, and gain time to study and travel abroad: “As a freshman, I was able to skip general ed requirements and head straight into the higher-level classes I wanted to take. Taking AP Exams literally saved me semesters of time.” —Brent Wiese, University of Iowa

Interested in saving $$$ If you earn a qualifying grade on an AP Exam, you can receive credit for the equivalent course at thousands of colleges and universities: “I took AP throughout high school because it was the most interesting and well-taught program offered. When I reached college, I realized that I had accumulated a year’s worth of credits. I graduated from Michigan’s undergraduate business school a full year early, saving $30,000 and a year’s time.” —Nikki Baker, University of Michigan

in the Admissions Process STAND OUT in the Admissions Process “One of the best standard predictors of academic success at Harvard is performance on Advanced Placement Examinations.” —William R. Fitzsimmons Dean of Admissions, Harvard University “AP Exams affirm the rigor of a student’s course work. Though admissions policies vary, if I were a student, I wouldn’t assume that the college of my dreams didn’t care about AP Exams in the admissions process.” —Bruce Walker, Director of Admissions University of Texas at Austin

Factors influencing admissions decisions (2001) NACAC Admission Trends Survey, 2001 6.4% Work/Extracurricular 8.2% Community Service 10.8% Interview 16.3% Teacher Rec 17.4% Counselor Rec 20.3% Essays 30.5% Class Rank 44.8% GPA 51.7% Test Scores 80.4% AP courses/rigor of schedule

Scholarships look at # AP courses taken and AP exam scores… Some of the most competitive scholarship awards value AP Exam grades: “Having the AP Exam grade can make the difference when it comes down to awarding precious scholarship dollars.” —Edwina Harris Hamby Dean of Admission Fisk University

Experience a College-Level Test The intensity of college exams catches far too many freshmen by surprise: “Students who have prepared for and taken the AP Exams adapt more easily to taking college essay exams, and are especially skilled in including a thesis and a well-developed argument. They are also less intimidated by sophisticated, college-level multiple-choice questions that seek to test understanding over memorization.” —Robert Blackey, Professor of History CSU, San Bernardino

AP: The Facts AP students who receive college credit or advanced placement into higher-level college courses perform better than the non-AP students who actually took the introductory college courses first. Source: Rick Morgan and Len Ramist. “Advanced Placement Students in College: An Investigation of Course Grades at 21 Colleges.” Educational Testing Service (1998).

AP Courses at Barren County English Language 11th Literature 12th Math Calculus AB 11th or 12th Statistics 12th Social Studies World History 9th or 10th US History 10th or 11th Political Science 11th or 12th Science Biology 10th or 12th Environmental Sci 10th or 11th or 12th World Languages Spanish 12th (fourth level) Art Studio Art 11th or 12th Music Theory 10th or 11th or 12th

Does the college accept AP credits? Go to www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy Type in the name of the college or university whose AP policy you want to view (or browse by letter of the alphabet). You will see two things for each school that has provided their AP credit policy info: A link to the college’s own Web page that details its AP credit and placement policies. A statement by the college or university about its AP policy.

Are you interested in taking an AP course next year? college credit? Just let your counselor know if you want to change into an AP course for next year. college credit? save money? prepare for college? save time? scholarships?

Questions?