Barren County Early College Magnet Amy Allen Counselor

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. 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. 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.

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)

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

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

AP committee members currently teach at dozens of the nation’s top colleges and universities, including: 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

It shows colleges that you are a serious student, who can succeed in a college course and exam. 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. 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. 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 Most of the nation’s colleges/universities & 24 other countries grant students admission, credit, and/or placement for qualifying AP Exam scores.

Saves you college TIME & MONEY!!! AP Exam vs.College Course $87 $0 BC Magnet$315/credit hour (WKU) students1 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 CourseCollege Course Dual Credit CourseCollege Course $200 per course$945 per course $40 one time app fee Example: BCHS Magnet student takes 4 dual credit classes while at BCHS $200 x 4 = $800 + $40 application fee = $840 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)

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. 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. Others award “advanced placement.” This means you can skip introductory courses, enter higher- level classes, and/or fulfill general education requirements. PLACEMENT vs. CREDIT

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

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

“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

NACAC Admission Trends Survey, 2001 Factors influencing admissions decisions (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 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).

English Language11 th Literature12 th Math Calculus AB11 th or 12 th Statistics12th Social Studies World History9 th or 10 th S History 10 th or 11 th Science Biology10 th or 12 th Chemistry 11th World Languages French11 th (fourth level) Spanish11 th or 12 th (fourth level) Art Studio Art11 th or 12th

1. Go to olicy olicy olicy 2. Type in the name of the college or university whose AP policy you want to view (or browse by letter of the alphabet). 3. 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 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.A statement by the college or university about its AP policy.

Just let your counselor know if you want to change into an AP course for next year. Just let your counselor know if you want to change into an AP course for next year.