AP® Courses and the College Process

A transcript showing enrollment in multiple AP® courses is, by itself, not an accurate or reliable predictor of achievement or success in the college admissions process. In selective college admissions, students are read in the context of the high school that they attend. College admissions counselors are typically given detailed information about the courses that are available to the students in the school, the standardized testing averages for the class, the AP® exam results of the previous year, the percent of students attending a four-year college, and a grade distribution for the class to put the high school and its students into perspective.

While individual high schools are responsible for teaching their AP® courses, students take a national AP® exam at the end of the school year. The exams are scored on a scale of 1 – 5 with scores of 3, 4, and 5 considered “college recommended” marks. An individual school’s AP® program can therefore be evaluated on the overall success of its students on the national exams.

The reality is that colleges and universities consider the strength of a school’s AP® program when determining the merits of a student’s course choices and rigor of academic schedule. If the school’s “pass rate” (i.e. percentage of exams earning a 3, 4, or 5) is low, the assumption can be that the AP® courses taught are of questionable rigor; in such a scenario, the number of AP® courses on a student’s transcript can have a considerably less advantageous impact on the admissions outcome.

Berkeley’s AP® pass rate (a score of 3 or higher) in 2023 out of 904 total exams was 88%. According to the College Board®, in 2023, 93% of students at Berkeley scored a three or higher on at least one exam.

Unfortunately, there are many assumptions about what readers at selective colleges consider to be “pluses” regarding AP® courses. One of the greatest oversimplifications of the process is the myth that “X number of AP® courses are required to get into a selective college.” X varies, but the misguided theory behind this myth remains the same…“If a student doesn’t load up on AP® and courses, he/she will have no options.”

It is not enough in competitive college admissions to simply have AP® courses on the student transcript. Most applications for selective institutions—including the Common Application, which is used by 1,000+ colleges and universities—now ask students to report AP® exam scores in the application process. Likewise, a student’s performance in the AP® class is closely examined, as is the school’s overall performance on the exams, to determine the quality of the AP® program and the preparation for the student population as a whole. It is important to remember that the overall quality of a school’s AP® program is critical to the success of its students in the college process. For this reason, it is possible for two students at different high schools to have taken identical course loads with identical grades, but for one student to be seen as “more competitive” than the other based upon the reputation and perceived rigor of the individual high school curriculums.

Currently, 30 AP® courses are offered across all of the academic disciplines.

The philosophy at Berkeley is that the AP® courses should be taught at the college level, as intended by the College Board®, and as expected by the colleges. It is for this reason that the majority of our AP® classes are available to junior and senior students. Since it is a rare freshman or sophomore in high school who is prepared to successfully master the material in a college-level course, AP® placement in these grade levels is more intentional. Sophomores have opportunities to qualify for AP® European History, AP® Physics 1 or 2, an AP® world language course, or AP® Calculus AB. Our curriculum in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade is designed to build a foundation for students that lead to readiness for AP® success. It is an approach that has been highly successful for our students and school.

While maintaining rigorous entrance requirements befitting a college-level course, we have made AP® courses more accessible to qualified students. The number of students taking at least one AP® exam has increased each year, and we now administer 900+ exams each year. The increased accessibility of AP® courses continues to be accompanied by an impressively high level of performance on the AP® exams. Students are reviewed by college readers in the context of the program available to them at Berkeley and invariably benefit from the strong reputation we enjoy nationally.

At the same time, we resist any temptation to be complacent but instead remain at the forefront of issues of interest surrounding the AP® program; we continuously evaluate and research our program and make changes that are in the best interests of our students, their education, and the college process. In addition, we encourage parents and students to work closely with Berkeley’s academic counselors to ensure that a challenging schedule in which a student can be academically successful is in place.

At Berkeley, we require all AP® students to take the exam as part of their commitment to the course. Our college counselors are sometimes asked about the importance of the AP® exam score (given that the exam takes place at the end of the year) and the level of interest a college actually has in the outcome of the course. Again, the reality is that colleges and universities consider the strength of a school’s AP® program when determining the merits of a student’s course choices and rigor of academic schedule. If the school’s “pass rate” is low, the assumption can be that the AP® courses taught are of questionable rigor; in such a scenario, the number of Advanced Placement® courses on a student’s transcript can have a considerably less advantageous impact on the admissions outcome.

According to the College Board®, the Advanced Placement® program was developed in the 1950s and was designed to allow talented, motivated students the opportunity to take college-level courses while still in high school. It was seen as a partnership of sorts between high schools and colleges—a way to inspire bright students to maximize their abilities. At the end of the academic year, a national exam is given in each subject that is scored on a 1-to-5 scale with scores of 3, 4, and 5 considered “college recommending” marks. Every student takes the same exam, so it is possible to compare both student and high school scores on a national level.