Advanced Placement. Dual Enrollment. These two terms permeate any ambitious student’s mind when looking at the courses they aim to take over their high school years, hoping to impress universities and earn college credits along the way. However, advanced classes don’t always directly equate to completing higher education units. With every major, educational department, and college having different graduation requirements, understanding exactly which courses one must take to minimize a future college workload is nearly impossible, as it is also dependent on unpredictable factors such as admissions and exam scores. Regardless, Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (community college while in high school) courses are a notable way for college-bound youth to showcase their abilities to admissions teams, garner vast knowledge on subjects of interest, and improve their studying skills over the years, with the potential to earn college credit/advanced placement being an additional benefit.

   As per the College Board website, “Many colleges offer credit for AP scores. Suppose you earn a four on your AP Biology Exam, and your college grants you eight credits for that score. That means you walk into your college with eight credits under your belt…” There is a distinction, however, between college credit and advanced placement. The website added, “Many colleges recognize that your AP scores demonstrate that you already know the material in certain courses they offer… Letting you skip these courses (so you can go right into advanced courses) is called granting you advanced placement.” This means that although passing the exams can provide one with a certain amount of credits, many of these aren’t necessarily going to directly place one closer to early graduation or get rid of one’s least favorite courses (apstudents.collegeboard.org).

   As for community college courses, these are automatically present as part of your college transcript. According to Counselor Kim George, students can find information regarding the courses they can expect to take at state schools and the equivalent community college courses on the Assist website (assist.org). This site shows specific course requirements by major at the selected school in order to graduate, making it a convenient way of understanding what one would need in order to graduate early from a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) school. However, George advises students to find a course balance that works for their goals and needs. “Being well rounded with both AP and community college courses is my recommendation,” she said. Finally, George recommends seniors interested in getting credits out of the way to contact the school they have decided to attend to see what courses they can take at the local community college before starting classes in the fall.

   Senior Bryanna Arellano is amongst the dedicated students who seek to take advantage of this opportunity. She said, “I definitely am working to graduate early from college. I have lots of AP and dual enrollment courses so I’ll be able to knock quite a few credits out and get a head start on my college course load.” Arellano has also seen fellow family members benefit from their rigorous high school course loads. She said, “My cousin was able to start as a sophomore at CSU San Marcos because of completing multiple AP and dual enrollment classes.”

   Nevertheless, students and parents alike may argue that the lack of coherency regarding credit allocation can make these courses and exams far less valuable, as there is always the possibility that an AP exam or college course doesn’t account for any units at a four-year institution. However, this perspective directly ignores the many other inherent values of these courses beyond the chance to save money in college, from college and career readiness to better admissions prospects. Arellano agreed, saying, “Even if you’re unsure about whether that credit will transfer to the college of your choosing, I definitely recommend still taking it. Not only could it count for a different requirement, it also teaches lots of good skills for studying, pace, and test taking.”

   Looking at the big picture, AP and college courses are a major opportunity that allow students to explore across their high school careers, helping exhibit rigor and ambition in college applications, preparing one for higher learning courses, and occasionally getting rid of graduation requirements. As stressful and confusing as navigating the ocean of classes may be, steering the boat with patience and productivity can guide one to exciting and unforeseen territories.