AP stands for advanced placement and is a designation used for certain college-level classes that are tested at the end of the year by the College Board. These tests are graded on a scale of one through five, with five being the highest score and three being denoted by the College Board as "passing." Each college or university is allowed to set its own policy as to which tests they will accept for credit, how much credit they will give and what score is required to get credit. For example, college A may offer six college credits for a score of three, four or five on the AP chemistry test while college B may only offer three credits and require a score of four or five.

Instructions
●Contact the colleges that you are interested in attending to learn about their AP credit policy. Colleges are not required to give any credit for AP classes, so if you insist on receiving college credit, you will need to choose a college that will accept your scores.

●Take AP classes offered by your school or study on your own. AP tests are very challenging so it would be very difficult to do well on an AP test without taking an official class, but it is possible.

●Enter the names and identification numbers (provided for you by the testing service) of the colleges that you want to send your test results as part of the exam administration. The College Board allows you to send the result to a limited number of schools for free if you designate them at this time. If you later choose to have the scores sent to other schools, you must pay a small fee.

●Enroll in the college of your choice. If you have not already sent them an official copy of your AP scores, do so by contacting the College Board. The university registrar should automatically credit your transcripts based on your scores and the university policy.

Tips & Warnings
●In addition to earning college credit, having AP courses on your college application shows your aptitude for higher learning and will likely improve your chances of getting in to different colleges and universities. In addition, according to the College Board, 31 percent of schools examine AP scores when considering merit-based financial aid.

●Colleges will only give you credit if you are accepted and enroll in the school. For example, even if by university X's AP credit policy you would earn 30 credits, you will not get those credits unless you choose to attend that school.