Cox Mill High School

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college-level classes taught in high school and meet strict criteria for endorsement by The College Board. These courses are enriching and rigorous additions to the serious student's schedule. AP courses require a commitment to self-directed learning, superior academic skills, strong organizational skills, excellent time-management and a true interest in the course content. Due to their rigor, AP courses offer two extra GPA quality points. These extremely challenging courses should not be taken just as a "GPA boost" but rather as a valued part of the student's high school learning experience.

WHAT ARE AP COURSES?
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AP Course Overviews
AP Conversation Starters

SHOULD YOU TAKE AP COURSES?
Students - Why take AP courses?
Parents - Why should your student take AP courses?
AP Overview for Students
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SUCCESS IN AP COURSES:
AP YouTube Channel

AP Facts & Tips

Expect two to three hours worth of homework/studying/research per ight for each AP course and lots and lots of independent reading
Students involved in multiple after-school activities must carefully consider the time they have available to work on AP classes outside of school
Some AP classes can meet high school graduation requirements when taken as part of a yearlong combination
Taking more than two AP classes in one semester is not a good idea for most students due to the high work load
Students who want to take more than an average of two AP classes per semester should discuss this with a school counselor
Students who wish to take yearlong AP science courses later in high school should try to take Honors Chemistry in 10th grade (if possible)
Students planning to apply to highly competitive colleges should research the "average number of AP courses " taken by freshmen at the college or university
Some highly competitive colleges want students to "exhaust" the AP course offerings at their high school, which basically means taking AP courses in multiple content areas and not just in one subject
Students who plan to take a high number of AP courses in high school should make a plan that allows them spread their AP courses out over 10th - 12th grades