Participation In College Admissions Essay

Now what was the benefit of taking these AP classes, personally it did nothing for me rather if it was for college credit or just to push myself. But I was never alone in these situations when switching from an AP to an honors class or taking the AP exam to get out of taking the final. Do students in Advanced Placement graduate from college at higher rates than non-AP students?
Recently participation in Advanced Placement courses has expanded as selective colleges take students AP course into account in their admissions decisions and as programs have been introduced to encourage a broader student population to take AP courses and exams. The Advanced Placement (AP) Program was originally designed to provide students a means to earn college credit and/or advanced placement for learning college-level material in high school by avoiding needless repetition once these students arrived at college. Today the

program serves an equally important role as a signal in college admissions.

Regardless of the exam-taking that earns students college credit, AP course-taking has become a primary signal used to identify motivated, high achieving students in the college admissions process. In addition, state policy makers have begun mandating the inclusion of AP courses in their districts and high schools. AP course experience matters now more than ever. In 2000, a survey of 962 four-year public and private colleges and universities showed that AP experience factors directly or indirectly into five of the top six criteria in college admissions (Breland). The vast majority of students who drop out of college do so during, or immediately following, the freshman year and "academic performance was the overwhelmingly most significant factor affecting a freshman's decision to continue into the sophomore year" (Braunstein). If the AP Program is truly college preparatory, AP experience should improve academic performance in college and increase the likelihood of returning for the second year.

Because the AP curriculum replicates freshman-level college courses, any preparatory benefits students derive from the program should be apparent within the first year of college. Students who have a GPA of less than 2.0 and do not return to any four-year institution in for their second year of study, including those who transfer to two-year postsecondary institutions are not retained.
A study in Texas includes race into the mix saying 10% of white AP takers do not return for a second year. Average first semester GPA is also highest for white AP-takers is 2.77 and lowest for black students with no AP experience is 2.10. Percent of students who retained an average GPA overall with no AP classes is 83.7% and 90.6% for AP takers (College Board).
Some student variables include race, sex, SAT scores, high school GPA whether a student graduating class, and whether Hispanic students have ever been Proficient. Family characteristics include parent education whether the student received a Stafford Loan. High school percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced took college entrance exams, the student/teacher ratio, percentage of inexperienced teachers, and school size (Klopfenstein).
In conclusion taking AP courses raises your success in graduating, increase in college admissions, and improves college readiness. Students who did not take an AP class and test do not definitively graduate without success but with a lesser chance of readiness. Although they are a stress to take it gives significant benefits to your education.