Advanced Placement Exam 2023: Registration, Pattern, Preparation, Eligibility & Test centers

What is Advanced Placement? It is a program created by the College Board and accepted in the US and Canada. This program offers university-level courses and exams which students can take while they are in high school. Many schools offer AP courses, however, even if a school does not offer AP courses, students themselves can prepare for the exam and appear for the test at any local test centre.

Importance of Advanced Placement Exam

Numerous universities in the US and universities in Canada recognize qualifying the AP Exam score of 3 or more on a scale of 5 for credit or advanced placement. AP indicates that the student has mastered university-level knowledge while studying in school. It is accepted in more than 70 countries. It facilitates a candidate's entry to top colleges.

Advanced Placement Exam Eligibility

High school students across the world take Advance Placement exams to earn college credit and placement. The exam is administered in May every year. However, students need to register early for these exams. 

Advanced Placement Exam Registration

Candidates can now register at the authorised test centres for the May 2024 AP Exams. Registrations at some of the centres may open a bit late as well and the timeline for each centre differs. The registration process has to be completed by the students with their choice of test centre between September to mid-November 2023. They will also have to make the payment for the same. A second registration window may be opened by a few test centres between December to mid-March 2024. This will cost an extra amount.

Steps to register for AP Exams:

• Students should create a College Board account to register for the AP exam online.
• Students need to pay test centres directly for the exams.
• Once the seat is confirmed, students will receive an admission ticket from the test centre.
• Once the student registers for the exam online and pays the test centre, the Registration is final.
• Even if the student has aided to the test centre but has not completed the online registration for the AP, the student will not be able to take the exam.
• To complete registration, the student needs to do both these things.

List of AP Courses for International Students

Following are the AP courses offered under the AP program for international students for also earning a credit are as follows:

List of AP Courses for International Students
History & Social Science AP Courses
AP Comparative Government & Politics	AP European History	AP Human Geography
AP Macroeconomics	AP Microeconomics	AP Psychology
AP United States Government & Politics	AP United States History	AP World History: Modern
Maths & Computer Science AP Courses
AP Calculus AB	AP Calculus BC	AP Computer Science A
AP Computer Science Principles	AP Precalculus	AP Statistics
Science AP Courses
AP Biology	AP Chemistry	AP Environmental Science
AP Physics 1 & 2: Algebra-based	AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism	AP Physics C: Mechanics
English AP Courses
AP English Language & Composition	AP English Literature & Composition	-
World Languages & Cultures - AP Courses
AP Chinese Language & Culture	AP French Language & Culture	AP German Language & Culture
AP Italian Language & Culture	AP Japanese Language & Culture	AP Latin
AP Spanish Language & Culture	AP Spanish Literature & Culture	-
Arts AP Courses
AP 2-D Art & Design	AP 3-D Art & Design	AP Art History
AP Drawing	AP Music Theory	-

This is the exhaustive ist and course wise details can be found on the official website of College Board. 

Advantages of the AP Exam

Various universities give credit or Advanced Placement to students who qualify for the AP Exam scores of 3 or more. If a student has scored 4 on the English Language and Composition test, then he/she may become eligible to skip the university's English Language 101 course. The more number of classes a student skips with the AP Exam scores, the more money he/she will save on tuition.

Students can even skip the introductory course through qualifying AP Exam scores. In that period of time, students can attend other classes which will be counted in their degree. Students can utilize this time for earning a double major, or doing an internship or they can graduate early as well.

Check out: Advanced Placement Program and its benefits

Advanced Placement Exam for UK Universities

Students can apply to universities in the UK through UCAS along with their AP results. AP Exam scores will give them an edge over other applicants. Top universities like Oxford accept AP Exam scores.

Advanced Placement Exam Preparation Tips

AP Exams comprise MCQs or Essay questions and most of the exams are two to three hours long. AP courses help students by imparting knowledge that they can utilize in their college. Students can prepare for the AP Exams themselves without taking the AP course as a precondition. They can follow these given AP exam prep tips:

• Begin revising from old textbooks and notes each day without fail and side by side prepare on the recent resources.
• Start making notes and prepare keeping the AP exam pattern in mind.
• Buy relevant books that can prove useful in preparing for the related AP course and cracking the exam.
• In case the school teachers are unable to help or preparation requires professional help, then go for it.
• Finally, revision and mocks are the keys to success in cracking not just AP exams but any exam for that matter. 

Apart from this, scheduling in a calendar and sticking to the set structure can yield benefits for those appearing for the AP exam. 

Advanced Placement Exam Scores

AP Exam scores are released to students, colleges, and universities in July every year. Students need to visit the AP website to view their scores. Colleges and universities receive the AP Scores through the official AP Score Report sent by the AP Program. The first Score Report sent by the AP is free, students can order online by paying charges to send score reports to additional universities. Students also have the option to withhold or cancel their scores.

Advanced Placement Exam Dates 2024

In the year 2024, this exam will be held in AP-authorised schools and test locations. It will be a paper-and-pencil exam, the duration for which will be two weeks in May (May 6-10 and May 13-17).

Week 1	Morning Slot	Afternoon Slot
May 6, 2024	United States Government and Politics	Art History Chemistry
May 7, 2024	Human Geography Microeconomics	Seminar Statistics
May 8, 2024	English Literature and Composition	Comparative Government and Politics Computer Science A
May 9, 2024	Chinese Language and Culture Environmental Science	Psychology
May 10, 2024	European History United States History	Macroeconomics Spanish Literature and Culture
Week 2	Morning Slot	Afternoon Slot
May 13, 2024	Calculus AB Calculus BC	Italian Language and Culture Precalculus
May 14, 2024	English Language and Composition	African American Studies Physics C: Mechanics Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
May 15, 2024	French Language and Culture World History: Modern	Computer Science Principles Music Theory
May 16, 2024	Spanish Language and Culture	Biology Japanese Language and Culture
May 17, 2024	German Language and Culture Physics 1: Algebra-Based	Latin Physics 2: Algebra-Based

There is also an option for late testing available for those going to AP courses. In order to avoid security lapses, applicants can appear late for these exams later than the registration date. Applicants must check the late testing option availability at their designated test centres. For 2024, the late testing dates are May 22, May 23 and May 24.

Advanced Placement Exam Test Centres 

Registration fees and deadlines vary by the test centre. Candidates need to contact the test centre for the registration instructions and details.

Indian City	AP Test Centre Name	Offers Late Testing
Ahmedabad	Ahmedabad International School	No
Amritsar	Spring Dale Senior School	Yes
Bangalore	Bangalore International School	Yes
Chennai	USIEF	Yes
Hyderabad	Chirec International School	Yes
Indore	The Emerald Heights International School	No
Jaipur	Jayshree Periwal High School	Contact centre for info
Kolkata	USIEF	Yes
Lucknow	City Montessori Inter College	No
Ludhiana	Sat Paul Mittal School	Yes
Mussoorie	Mussoorie International School	Contact centre for info
Mumbai	USIEF	Yes
New Delhi	USIEF	Yes
Noida	Alliance World School	No
Rajkot	The Galaxy School	No
Visakhapatnam	Oakridge International School	No

Applicants applying for an AP course exam, should check out the timeline first and then apply for the exams. In order to gain a credit, applicants must check out the process and details accordingly.