Everything You Need To Know About AP Courses!

If you are a high school student, you might be questioning yourself: What are the different AP courses? What is the importance of AP?  How will you benefit from the AP courses?

According to the College Board, 1.2 million students registered for AP Exams in 2022 in the United States. Demand for AP courses continues to rise thus it is important to build a clear understanding of AP courses.

This article helps you decide on the AP course you need to take and which ones are worth your time and effort. Read this article to understand the advantages of taking AP courses and the range of options available.

Boost your AP scores before exam day! Book a free trial with Wiingy’s top AP tutors and ensure you don’t miss out on scoring high. Every point counts towards your dream college. Act now!

AP courses list

After knowing about AP courses, it is time to look into the types of AP Courses available.  Now to know more about this the best thing is to ask your school’s AP coordinator about the courses which might be available to you as it depends on the school itself. 

Following is the list of 39 AP courses offered by the College Boards AP Program:

1. AP Art History
2. AP Music Theory
3. AP English Language and Composition
4. AP English Literature and Composition
5. AP Comparative Government and Politics
6. AP European History
7. AP Human Geography
8. AP Macroeconomics
9. AP Microeconomics
10. AP Psychology
11. AP United States Government and Politics
12. AP United States History
13. AP World History: Modern
14. AP Calculus AB
15. AP Calculus BC
16. AP Computer Science A
17. AP Computer Science Principles
18. AP Statistics
19. AP Biology
20. AP Chemistry
21. AP Environmental Science
22. AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
23. AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
24. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
25. AP Physics C: Mechanics
26. AP Chinese Language and Culture
27. AP French Language and Culture
28. AP German Language and Culture
29. AP Italian Language and Culture
30. AP Japanese Language and Culture
31. AP Latin
32. AP Spanish Language and Culture
33. AP Spanish Literature and Culture
34. AP Capstone Diploma Program:
    • AP Research
    • AP Seminar
35. AP Art & Design Program:
    • AP 2-D Art and Design
    • AP 3-D Art and Design
    • AP Drawing
36. AP PreCalculus

Now, it is crucial to find out which courses your school offers before making up your mind. Mostly, all of the AP courses are followed by an AP exam. For instance, AP Calculus AB often leads to college credit for a Calculus I course. The credit amount and minimum required AP score to earn that college credit are determined by each college’s policies, which you can often find on their respective websites.

But which course to select? How many to select? Is it even worth it? These are some questions students might think of. So, with this blog, we will try to help you clear your mind on AP courses as much as possible!

What are the benefits of taking an AP course?

As the years have gone by, more and more high schools have started offering AP courses. Students need to take into consideration their schedule, experience, and aptitude in the subject they would like to take. Taking an AP course while you’re in high school can be extremely beneficial for you in the following ways:

1. You can earn college credits and placement
   • Taking an AP course gives you an opportunity to earn college credits before even officially starting college. Mostly, AP students who have a four-year college degree have some credits when they start college.
2. It keeps your options open
   • An AP course has a wide array of benefits as you could pursue a second degree, you could study abroad, and even seek internships!
3. You stand out in your college application
   • Taking an AP course shows determination and zeal to learn thus if it shows on your college application, you are bound to stand out for sure. 
4. It saves your time and money
   • Earning a credit or a placement is always beneficial. You might be able to finish your degree early if you have the desired AP score as well.

College-bound students work on a tight schedule and the application process is becoming extremely competitive, SAT scores, extracurriculars, and various other aspects are taken into account. 

How to choose your AP course?

There are 38 AP courses from which you can choose. The courses are based on subjects like arts, math, English, history, science, computer science, world language, and culture among others. You should choose an AP course that you like and interests you plus the ones that you score well in classes. 

Who can take an AP course?

There are no specific criteria for taking an AP course but some schools may have some criteria to meet, an enrollment policy. Therefore, it is advised to talk to your school counselor or AP coordinator who can guide you through this process. To succeed in an AP course you must be motivated and work hard and prepare yourself well.

What are the easiest AP courses?

Every year, the College Board organizes AP classes and exams to help students improve their skills. Furthermore, AP classes provide many benefits and rewards to students and encourage them to continue their education.

The easiest AP classes are those in which students typically perform well and can easily achieve three or more points. However, it is also likely to depend on the student’s ability to grasp and keep the subject and keep it consistent.

1. AP Environmental Science

AP Environmental Science is considered quite easy in comparison to other AP courses. If you have a good foundation and a strong interest in Biology then this will be a perfect fit for you. This course deals with scientific principles, methodologies, and concepts to understand the relationships within the natural world.

This AP course teaches to analyze environmental problems and how to search for solutions to those problems.

2. AP Spanish Literature

If you are well-versed in Spanish, this appears to be the easiest AP course. This course enables you to earn college credits if you are fluent in Spanish. You, too, can be a part of the high pass rate.

Students who are not fluent in Spanish might struggle with this course. The course content typically focuses on six major Spanish literary concepts as well as reading comprehension.

The exam is divided into multiple-choice questions and a free-response section with a text-based prompt and essay questions.

3. AP Computer Science A

In the AP course computer science A, students will learn about the concepts and tools of computer science and also learn about a subset of Java programming language.

This is a very basic and introductory course to computer science. Students learn how to design program, develop algorithms, write codes, and implements them.

4. AP Psychology

This AP course is simple due to its relatively simple syllabus. The curriculum includes tests, projects, and quizzes that must be completed throughout the school year. This exam will last two hours. The exam is divided into two sections: multiple-choice questions and an essay writing section.

Students may take the AP Psychology exam on paper or online. The two-hour exam includes multiple-choice questions as well as a free-response section, and it covers topics such as psychological research papers, theory, and quantitative data.

AP courses ranked by the number of test takers

Exam Name	# of Students Taking (2022)
English Language and Composition	520,771
United States History	456,520
English Literature and Composition	339,401
World History	314,716
Gov. and Politics – United States	298,118
Psychology	292,501
Calculus AB	268,352
Biology	237,338
Human Geography	221,815
Statistics	216,968
Environmental Science	179,957
Spanish Language and Culture	155,931
Physics 1	144,526
Computer Science Principles	134,651
Macroeconomics	134,413
Chemistry	124,780
Calculus BC	120,238
Microeconomics	84,386
European History	80,152
Computer Science A	77,753
Seminar	56,766
Physics C: Mechanics	46,301
Art and Design: 2-D Design	37,045
Research	26,947
Spanish Literature	23,009
Art History	20,970
Gov. and Politics – Comparative	20,949
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism	19,978
French Language and Culture	19,554
Art and Design: Drawing	19,210
Physics 2	17,842
Music Theory	15,594
Chinese Language and Culture	15,277
Art and Design: 3-D Design	5,377
Latin	4,832
German Language and Culture	4,450
Japanese Language and Culture;	2,765
Italian Language and Culture	2,194

Source – college board

AP courses ranked by difficulty

Sl.No	AP Courses	Passing rate (3+)	5
1	Physics 1	43%	8%
2	United States History	48%	11%
3	Gov. and Politics – United States	49%	12%
4	Macroeconomics	52%	16%
5	Human Geography	53%	15%
6	Japanese Language and Culture (Standard Group)	54%	16%
7	Chemistry	54%	13%
8	Environmental Science	54%	9%
9	English Language and Composition	56%	10%
10	Calculus AB	56%	20%
11	Latin	57%	11%
12	German Language and Culture (Standard Group)	58%	8%
13	Psychology	58%	17%
14	Microeconomics	59%	18%
15	European History	59%	14%
16	Statistics	61%	15%
17	Music Theory	62%	19%
18	Art History	62%	14%
19	World History	62%	13%
20	Computer Science Principles	64%	11%
21	Spanish Literature	64%	8%
22	Chinese Language and Culture (Standard Group)	65%	16%
23	Italian Language and Culture (Standard Group)	66%	11%
24	German Language and Culture (Total Group)	66%	20%
25	Computer Science A	68%	27%
26	Biology	68%	15%
27	Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism	69%	32%
28	French Language and Culture (Standard Group)	69%	8%
29	Physics 2	70%	16%
30	Italian Language and Culture (Total Group)	71%	23%
31	Gov. and Politics – Comparative	71%	16%
32	French Language and Culture (Total Group)	72%	13%
33	Physics C: Mechanics	73%	26%
34	Art and Design: 3-D Design	74%	6%
35	Japanese Language and Culture (Total Group)	75%	49%
36	Calculus BC	77%	41%
37	Spanish Language and Culture (Standard Group)	78%	16%
38	English Literature and Composition	78%	17%
39	Spanish Language and Culture (Total Group)	82%	24%
40	Seminar	83%	12%
41	Research	83%	13%
42	Chinese Language and Culture (Total Group)	87%	49%
43	Art and Design: 2-D Design	87%	11%
44	Art and Design: Drawing	88%	15%

As you can see from the above table, the percentages of students who earned a passing score on the mentioned AP exams indicated the level of difficulty of that AP course.

But the list is not definitive. As you can see that some course like AP Physics C: Mechanics which is considered to be one of the most challenging has a passing rate of 73% and easy class like Human Geography has a passing rate of 53%.

So, there are a number of factors that affects the passing rates of a course. Factor like student participation has a huge impact. Courses like Spanish literature and German language will only be taken by students having some background in the language or students who have an immense passion for the languages.

Additionally, some schools put some strict requisites for some courses which automatically eliminate interested students.

Source – college board

Boost your AP scores before exam day! Book a free trial with Wiingy’s top AP tutors and ensure you don’t miss out on scoring high. Every point counts towards your dream college. Act now!

Additional Resources

When do AP Scores Come Out?

Understanding Your AP Scores!

All About AP Exams

AP Pass Score

AP Score Report

AP Sending Scores

What is a Good AP Score?

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)