As students at UC High continue on their academic journey, there is no doubt that many will want to take advanced classes. For those who choose to do so, a key question emerges: “Should I take a college class, or an Advanced Placement (AP) class?” From a credits and benefits perspective, college classes are clearly the superior choice.

   With AP classes, college credit is only earned by passing the AP exam associated with the class. In fact, according to a college admissions program, many institutions require at least a four or five on the exam for students to receive credit, even when a three is considered passing by College Board (princetonreview.com). Furthermore, as of 2025, students are charged 99 dollars for each AP exam they take, regardless of the score they receive.

   Community college classes taken while in high school, on the other hand, are completely free and do not require a test to be taken or paid for. They offer guaranteed college credit, so long as you earn a passing grade in the class. Not only do college classes have a lower financial barrier of entry for earning college credit compared to AP classes, but they also do not require the passing of a high-stakes test.

   In addition to college credit, college classes also provide extra course credits within the high school system as compared to AP classes. According to UC High’s counseling website, a minimum of 44 course credits is required to graduate, with additional requirements for each subject. For English, for example, UC High requires students to earn eight credits to graduate (uchs.sandiegounified.org).

   Normally, a student would have to fulfill this by taking eight semesters (four years) of regular, honors, or even AP English classes, all of which provide only one course credit per semester. College classes, on the other hand, provide two course credits per semester, meaning that if someone were to take two years of regular, honors, or AP English classes, and then one year of college English classes, they would be able to fulfill the same credit requirement in only three years, thus taking less time and fewer classes. This provides an easier path to early graduation and allows students more freedom in the classes that they take, since fewer individual classes would be required overall to fulfill specific credit requirements.

   College courses also provide a greater boost to students’ weighted GPAs as compared to AP courses. UC High’s course catalogue, which can be found on the UC High counseling website, states, “Advanced Placement (AP) courses will be given a weighted grade point… College Courses will receive 2.0 high school credits per semester and have 2 weighted grade points” (uchs.sandiegounified.org). A single college class will have the same effect on a student’s weighted GPA, and increase it the same amount, as two AP classes would. Maintaining a high weighted GPA is important for many opportunities, and especially college admissions. For students who are seeking to bolster their weighted GPA for these purposes, college classes are simply the better option, since they provide more weighted grade points per course than AP classes.

   Another exclusive benefit offered by many college courses is a more flexible schedule. While AP classes follow a traditional high school schedule of meeting every day of the week, many college classes are completely online or only meet a few days of the week. This allows students a free period to either rest, stay home, or work on whatever they may need to on the days their class isn’t in session.

   Other factors, such as learning style, student aptitude, and independence, are important to consider when deciding between taking AP and college classes. However, between the two of them, college classes simply offer more tangible benefits than AP classes. A student who earns a high grade in a college class will receive more benefits for their grade than if they received an equal grade in an AP class that covers the same subject. They will also have more flexibility in their schedule than if they were taking an AP class. For these reasons, college classes are the superior choice over AP classes.