College Advising AP Information
As advertised, registration for May 2023 AP exams (the only time they are offered) closed on Monday, November 14 at 5:00 PM to prepare for the College Board’s registration deadline of November 15. This timing adheres to College Board’s testing policy and schedule which we do not control.
Please read on for general information about AP testing at Seattle Academy or in anticipation of the next time registration opens which is next Fall for exams in May 2024.
As Seattle Academy has never offered AP classes, colleges don’t expect our applicants to take AP exams. Colleges understand our curriculum which our College Advisors effectively contextualize. Many other high schools also do not have AP programs and we find that colleges are decreasing credit offered for exams.
Purposefully not having an AP curriculum means SAAS teachers do not “teach to the test,” which can mean preparing students only for AP exams, but instead they foster a college prep atmosphere that involves much more critical thinking and ambiguity. Colleges consider our Honors courses AP equivalents for admission purposes and our Honors classes on purpose do not cover the same material as AP exams. Since Seattle Academy does not follow an AP curriculum, students must prepare for AP exams outside of class time. Our busy students do not always have time for this.
In recent years we have noticed a pattern of students signing up for AP exams and then choosing not to test once they realize their other schoolwork and activities take precedence and advantage them more for college admission than AP exams. Last year, fewer than half of the students registered to take an AP exam did so, for the reason stated above and also because they realized they did not need AP exams to apply to or enroll at their colleges. In thinking about your student’s future testing, please check the AP credit-granting policies of a selection of possible colleges before signing up for one or more AP tests in Fall 2023 for May 2024.
After consulting with faculty, we will offer this year only AP exams which may be plausible for students to take with additional independent preparation or because we know students have sufficient language fluency. We evaluate these offerings yearly in consultation with faculty and we may not offer identical exams next year.
As communicated numerous times via SAAS and individual grade-level communications, 5:00 PM on November 14 was a firm registration deadline as the College Board requires us to confirm our final order immediately afterward. As a result, no late registrations are allowed.
Students who registered on time and who have subsequent questions specifically about testing accommodations should please reach out to Jaymie Lewis at jlewis@seattleacademy.org.