With the price of Advanced Placement testing at $89 per test, junior Madison Meyer had to carefully decide whether she should take all four of her AP tests.
Meyer took AP tests in English Language, Chemistry, United States History, and French. “The price of four tests made me wince,” Meyer said. Although costly, Meyer believes that the testing will end up being beneficial in the future.
“College is expensive and if I can earn college credit for a few courses while I am at John Carroll, I feel that money is not wasted,” Meyer said.
For JC alumna Miranda Ripken, class of 2012, these tests have proven to be very useful for her college career. She was in an AP English course for both her junior and senior year. She received scores on her AP tests which enabled her to fill two of her English credits at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Ripken, studying to become a Chemical Engineer, had many AP credits from JC that applied to that career choice. She took AP Chemistry and Physics, scoring at least a four out of a five on the tests. Ripken was given the opportunity to choose not to take certain classes in these fields, though she chose to take them in order to participate in certain labs.
Ripken took AP Calculus BC at JC as well, and received a grade that enabled her to take Calculus II at Stevens Institute of Technology, rather than Calculus I in college.
AP courses have proven to be beneficial for Ripken, but this is not the case for all students, according to College Counselor Carrie Siemsen.
“If you can do well enough [on an AP test], it’s worth it,” Siemsen said. According to Siemsen, most colleges accept scores from three to five. “Every college has their own criteria,” she said.
AP European History teacher Rodney Johnson believes that all students who choose to take AP classes should take at least one of the tests. “The experience alone has value,” Johnson said. Otherwise, according to Johnson, students should only take AP tests if they feel comfortable with the material.
Sophomore Nikki Ishak does not believe that taking her AP European History test would have been worth the price. “I was not confident in my abilities in the class,” Ishak said.
Although AP tests do not always help students with college credits, taking the classes can be helpful in regards to college acceptance. “The classes the student chooses to take can be one of the most important factors in college acceptance,” Siemsen said.
According to Siemsen, colleges are more impressed with a student who receives a B in an AP class, than with a student who receives an A in a non-AP class. It shows that the student is driven and open to challenges.
“I took the AP classes not just to get college credit, but because I like to challenge myself academically,” Meyer said.
Lauren Glase is a Reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.