High School Doesn’t Offer AP Courses? Alternatives for Students Who Don't Have Access
It’s not news that colleges love to see applications with advanced placement courses listed; these higher-level high school and (even better!) college-level courses clearly demonstrate a student who works hard and strives to challenge themselves. But, what can students do if their high schools don’t offer AP courses? Let’s look at some more accessible alternatives.
AP Courses vs. Honors Courses
While both AP and honors courses tend to attract strong, academic-focused students, they have notable differences when it comes to coursework, pacing, and expectations.
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
Advanced placement courses come with a much higher level of accountability, on par with a college-level workload, but also provide students with an opportunity to earn college credit for their hard work. Students who are able to handle AP classes gain a lot of college-readiness skills in addition to their college credits while giving their GPAs a nice boost.
What’s more, having AP courses listed on a high school transcript will undoubtedly stand out to college admissions, and give those applicants a chance to stand out in the applicant pool.
Honors Courses
Honors courses, on the other hand, cover the same curriculum as high-school level courses, but are adapted for higher-achieving students, with deeper dives into the subject’s content. Unfortunately, while honors courses are more challenging, they do not offer college credit.
That said, honors courses—especially when they are the most rigorous courses offered—are not to be disparaged or scoffed at. Students who take honors-level courses show that they’re willing and able to test their academic skills through thought-provoking coursework. Colleges eat that with a spoon!
If honors courses are the best available option at a student’s high school, it is crucial for honors students to make sure that they are clear on their college applications and explain that their school does not offer AP courses. Throughout the admissions process, colleges take into account a student’s background, circumstances, and opportunities. A student who took an honors course load at a school without AP options should present to colleges as a student that made the most out of their educational options.
Dual-Enrollment Programs
Community colleges, in particular, are awesome at offering high-school students opportunities to take college-level courses. These courses are an excellent way to introduce high school students to college-level coursework. Plus, they’re actually earning double credit: an English/Math/History/Science course taken through dual enrollment counts for both their high school and college transcripts. They may even be able to receive dual credit for elective courses (e.g., Psychology, Writing, Foreign Language, Computer Science), too!
Dual-enrollment courses are often offered through partnerships between local community colleges and high schools. There are cases in which these courses are taught in the high school, and other cases in which students can take the courses at the community college, online through the community college’s distance learning program, or even a hybrid of in-person and online. These classes are deliberately scheduled to work around a high school schedule; students just need to be sure that they’re balancing their school work, college coursework, and extracurriculars—they don’t want to overfill their plates!
What if their high school doesn’t have a partnership with a community college? Students should reach out and ask the college which courses can be taken by high school students. Odds are, there is a catalog of available coursework for them to choose from. Some community colleges even offer specialty summer programs specifically open to high school students looking to get a jump start on their college education.
State-Specific Online Programs
Most states in the US offer higher-level coursework and programs through statewide virtual public schools and department of education programs. Through these offerings, there is plenty of higher-level coursework to choose from.
For example, the state of Massachusetts’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers qualified high school students the opportunity to enroll in MA Early College Designated Programs. These programs
“work to blend elements of high school and college to provide students with the opportunity to experience and complete college level academic coursework on a clearly articulated pathway and simultaneously gain exposure to a variety of career opportunities.”
California’s Department of Education offers an Advanced Placement program that provides coursework through public schools in California
“to provide access to rigorous, college-level courses for interested and prepared students. With such programs, students may pursue college-level work while still in secondary school and receive college credit, advanced academic standing, or both.”
The program also includes the guarantee that all completed AP coursework and credits are recognized by all colleges and universities—public and private.
Another example is Wisconsin Virtual Learning—-a tuition-free public charter school serving student residents of Wisconsin. WVL offers 14 AP courses for high school students looking to gain college credit, and even advanced standing at some universities.
There are even states that offer online AP courses for students—both locally and nationally— and some are even tuition free.
For instance, Florida Virtual School offers high school students—from Florida and nationwide— the ability to take college-level courses virtually and tuition-free. FLVS’s Advanced Placement® courses can earn students college credits and improve their GPAs.
In any case, a client that is qualified to take honors or AP courses is a client who has college on the brain. They’re the type of student who doesn’t balk at a full course load and isn’t afraid to push themselves academically; their work ethic is on point. For these clients, a comprehensive tutoring plan can make a world of a difference—both in their coursework and in their test prep. These students are also the type that are looking to push themselves to achieve high ACT® or SAT® scores. As their tutor, you need to be sure that their test-prep plan sufficiently matches their goals, objectives, and higher-level of learning.
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