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Like many seniors, Joe Basirico is starting to understand the stress of life after high school. Suddenly he is finding out that what colleges want isn’t as neat and tidy as a 4.0 and a letterman’s jacket. After spending Oct. 15-18 touring colleges in Idaho and Oregon and talking to admissions counselors, Basirico wishes he would have taken more AP classes.
“Colleges are very excited about students taking AP classes in high school because it offers a challenging syllabus for students,” said Basirico. “It shows that the students are more prepared for college.”
Basirico found that colleges like to see students taking the hardest classes available at their schools; the AP program allows another option for those who want to be challenged.
“We have the best smorgasbord of upper-level classes in any school in the state,” said history teacher Jean Barragan.
According to Barragan, 42 percent of the students who take A.P. U.S. exam pass the final. Scores are on a one to five scale with five being the highest score. Nearly 3,000 colleges accept a passing grade on the exam as college credit in that area of study.
“I hope to pass the A.P. test,” said Basirico, “so maybe it will save me some money in college.”
A.P. classes are designed to move fast and are difficult, and many students avoid them fearing it will lower their GPA. But, even if a student doesn’t pass the AP exam, colleges can still look more favorably on that student.
“Taking AP courses (influences) our judgement in a very positive way; passing the exams is more for you than it is for us,” said Peter Jones, an admissions counselor at the University of Pudget Sound.
So when registering next year, AP classes might be the boost you need.
“It was a good experience because now I feel more prepared for college classes,” said senior Toni Astle. “(I) understand on my own instead of being spoon-fed the information by the teacher.”
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