Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Published 9:23 PM by with 0 comment

All About AP


AP exams are one of the many opportunities that Iroquois Ridge has to offer. Advanced Placement Exams are self- taught courses that end in an examination run by the school. If you do well on the exam you may be able to count the course as a university credit. In 2013, 5307 students wrote 8233 exams in Ontario alone.

Students take AP exams for many reasons. The most common include; standing out on university admissions, earning university credits, fast-tracking introductory courses in university, and to build skills for post-secondary education. Many people take AP courses simply as an exploration of a topic of interest, possibly to decide if they would like to study it further.  If you are interested in taking an AP exam to count it as a university credit, become familiar with your prospect universities on their rules and regulations.


The College Board offers over 35 AP courses in subjects such as: Art, History & Social Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Science, World Cultures & Language, English, and Capstone courses. At IRHS it is strongly recommended to limit yourself to no more than 3 AP courses each year. AP courses are scored on a scale of 1-5. A score of 1 or 2 will not qualify you to qualify you for a credit, a score of 3 or 4 may qualify you, and a score of 5 will most likely qualify you for a credit. .

AP exams can be a great experience, but they are definitely a lot of work. When preparing or thinking about taking an AP exam, you must think of them as an extra class added to your semester course load. You acts as both the teacher and the student, which requires a lot of discipline to stay on task, and you have to make time to study and review. Having a guided textbook makes the process easier, so that AP students are not completely lost. If you decide to take an AP exam, you must be prepared to make a commitment to yourself to study, It’s not an easy task between homework and other extracurriculars (not to mention the pull of Netflix). Taking an AP exam is as much of a test of time management, as it is a test of knowledge of course material.

As mentioned before, there are a variety of guided AP textbooks, which help AP students learn the material themselves. A few of the best known and most recommended textbook companies include; 5 steps to a 5 AP, Barron’s, and Princeton Review. Textbooks such as these help walk students through the course as well as provide both in-book, and online practice tests.

AP exams present a unique opportunity, and a unique challenge. Have you taken an AP exam? Post your opinion, advice, and experiences in the comments below!


Time to apply for this year is already over. If you are interested for the future,visit https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home for more information, or speak to Mrs. Patterson.




By: Alessia Collia

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