Advanced Placement

Students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses may receive college credit if they pass the national test for that course with a grade of 3, 4 or 5. Tests are taken in May.

Our students take the tests right here at the high school (or virtually). This year’s fee is $85 per test. Test fees are waived for students qualifying for fee waiver or free/reduced lunch.

All students enrolled in AP classes are required to take the test.

Benefits of Taking AP Courses

• AP grades are weighted.
• Students are exposed to college-level coursework.
• Students gain confidence.
• College requirements are satisfied.
• Money is saved that would have been spent on similar courses in college.
• Students become stronger applicants to top colleges and universities.

Earning College Credit

Credit varies by institution. Generally, some of the smaller private colleges don't automatically accept AP credit. Students might have to take assessments that the college administers before credit is extended.

Universities often extend more than three hours of credit per AP test (the standard number of credits earned per college class) depending on the test grade and major.

For example, if a student is accepted into a college within their university that's not focused on science or engineering (the college of business, for instance) and scored a 5 on the AP Physics test, the student might receive 10 hours of college credit and most likely satisfy the relevant science requirement. If the student scored a 3 or 4, fewer credit hours would be extended.

In addition, AP students are often placed in the next level of a subject when they take that subject in college. So if a student passed the AP Calculus test, the student would likely be placed in Calculus II rather than Calculus I.

AP Test Scores

AP scores are no longer sent in paper form to the high school. Students must list the colleges they want the scores to go to when they take the test.

If students need to send their scores to a college they didn’t originally list, they must send them through the College Board.

There is a fee, but all AP tests taken by a student will appear on the score sheet. A student's final score sheet will list all the test scores from freshman through senior year.

For more information, visit the College Board's website or contact your EPHS Counselor. Also, make sure to check individual university websites for AP requirements.