AP Classes

AP courses are optional for high school students. However, choosing an AP course can help students set themselves apart in the eyes of admission officers, while students benefit from a more challenging curriculum. AP courses offer students the opportunity to learn the time-management and the study skills needed for success in college before getting there. We offer AP weekly tutoring sessions to help you apply the right study skills toward these college-level courses.

The College Board has reported that students who take AP courses and AP tests show higher success rates in college and are more likely to graduate in four years, while the majority of students take five or six years to finish their Bachelor's degrees.  

About 5,800 college faculty members work with high school teachers across the countryto develop and maintain the curriculum for the AP courses across 37 disciplines.  Colleges have found that students who have taken AP courses have challenged themselves and are readier for rigorous college level work. Colleges have also started to use AP exams to recruit for specific majors. 

AP Exams

AP exams are given once a year toward the end of the school year, during the first two weeks of May. Most of the exams take two to three hours to complete. For subjects that correspond to half-year college courses, the exam is closer to two hours in length. Results become available in July. Students might take an AP exam, even if they are not taking an AP class. If students are advanced or have done a lot of studying on their own, then they may want to take one of these AP exams.

Students who score three or above may be eligible to take advanced courses in college, receive college credits, or both. Those receiving college credits can potentially save on the costs of a college education, as students may finish the requirements sooner, thus giving them a head start on graduate school or future jobs.

Vogel Prep provides AP test preparation to help attain college credit on the AP exams in May. An AP exam score of four or five could potentially earn a full year's credit. A score of three could earn up to one semester of credit. Because all colleges differ, please check with the college admissions officer for details. AP exams can be one more way to save money in college.