Should I take the AP test?

grandcentral
Sun, 17 Feb 2008 13:14:29 +0000

I’m very jealous of your school paying for AP tests! My school doesn’t so I’ve had to be careful in deciding which ones to take. I have six this year, and I’m probably not going to take all of them for various reasons.

For one, how comfortable are you with the exam material? Are you fairly certain that you can get a 4, or preferably, a 5 on the exam? When paying for a test myself, I make sure to ask myself this question because it is a complete waste to take it otherwise.

Are you a senior? If you are, what are these implications you mentioned of not taking it? By that point, you will already be accepted at and have chosen a college. If you are a junior, I think it would make sense to take the test, as it would be an odd hole on your transcript if you’ve indicated a self-directed study of AP Latin, but didn’t take the test.

Lastly, Are you planning to use the AP score to earn college credit? If you are even possibly going to use it, either to place out of a requirement or to take a higher level of Latin, it will be beneficial. If you aren’t, there is little point in taking it. In my opinion, $80 isn’t worth spending solely to guage your progress in a subject.