PRO

By Ethan King, Reporter

Are AP Tests worth it?

Stress, caffeine, no sleep. 

What does this sound like? AP test prep. 

But unlike most high school tests,  AP exams cost quite a bit of money. 

Ninety-four dollars per test, to be exact.

Some students believe  AP tests cost too much money to bother taking, but the exam has many benefits.

If you pass the exam (3 or greater), at most US and Canadian colleges you can get credit. 

Generally, this credit will go into the elective section. 

By doing this, you can graduate early. You can escape paying another semester or even a year in college.

While 94 dollars can seem pretty expensive now, it can end up saving you a lot more money in the near future.

However, many colleges will not count the AP class if you do not take and pass the AP test. 

Therefore, it is extremely important that you take the test. AP classes are only worth it if you take and pass the test.

According to the College Board, “85 percent of selective institutions report that students’ AP experience favorably impacts admissions decisions.” 

Since many colleges look at AP classes favorably, taking the AP test will enhance your application and may give you an edge over other candidates. 

Doing well on the AP test shows that you can perform well in college-level classes. For many college admissions, this improves your application. 

We live in a time where so many kids are applying to colleges, so it is important that everything is done to stand out as much as possible.

 Doing well on AP tests can do just that. Passing scores can also allow you to get micro scholarships from over 200 colleges. Micro scholarships are amounts of money that students can earn based on individual achievements through high school.

This is another example of the AP test saving you money down the road.

If you have the financial means to take the test and you feel you have mastered the subject, taking the test is completely worth it. 

There are so many benefits from the test, that really it would be silly to not take it. 

CON

By Noah Whang, Sports Editor

Upfront, it would seem like the obvious choice to take the AP exams along with your AP course. Since the classes are made to prepare students for the exams, taking them at the end of the year only makes sense. 

Then again, for students with different circumstances, opting out of the exams is a viable choice. It is common knowledge that scoring well on an AP exam benefits your chances for getting into college, which is true.

The credits that you obtain from doing well on certain exams can also shorten your time to graduate in college and lower your tuition costs. 

However, many students have chosen different paths for themselves and not everyone has an aligned future. Some kids planning on attending universities that don’t accept their specific AP credits shouldn’t feel forced to take them. 

Personally, many seniors feel as if there is no point to take the tests because their college acceptances have already been decided. For them, there is nothing left to prove. 

“I know myself and I knew from that start that by this time of year I wouldn’t have the motivation to study for the tests,” said senior Alex Chung. 

Signing up and spending money to take a test that you weren’t planning on studying for is simply just a waste. Furthermore, if you are overwhelmed with too many AP exams there is the chance that you neglect certain ones over others. 

This will result in your scores being negatively affected alongside with the guilt of knowing you could’ve done better. Although you have the choice to have your scores sent or not to colleges, why go through the fuss in the first place? 

Discouraging people from taking the AP exams is not the purpose of this article. Instead, it is to inform those debating on taking an AP exam or course at all. 

Just because the people around you are taking a certain AP course doesn’t mean you should be pressured into it. 

Before signing up, question yourself if you are willing to put in the time and money required for scoring well and if taking the class is even a wise idea in the first place.