How AP courses help students earn college credits in high school
Free online AP classes let motivated students earn college credit while still in high school. Getting a head start on your college credits can help you graduate college early, reduce college debt or pursue a double major more easily.
eAchieve Academy is a not-for-profit, fully accredited public charter school sponsored by the Waukesha School District. Students in ANY city or school district in Wisconsin are eligible to enroll 100% tuition free. (Live outside WI? You can apply too!)
Switch to online high school full-time, or stay at your regular school and take 1-2 free online college credit classes on your own time – it’s up to you.
Explore our free online courses for high school students, online AP classes, and learn more about how online school works:
How can I get college credits in High School?
AP classes give high schoolers the opportunity to earn college credit by getting a high enough score on the AP exam at the end of the class. All AP exams are scored on a 5-point scale where 5 is the best.
A lot of colleges will award college credit for a score of 3 or higher, while some require a score of 4 or 5 to receive credit. Some colleges will award you a different amount of college credits based on the strength of your AP test score.
eAchieve offers free online AP courses Wisconsin students can take to earn college credit. Study at your own pace, on your own schedule, and get support whenever you need it from our highly experienced instructors.
How many college credits can you earn in High School?
The number of college credits you can earn in high school by taking AP courses and exams is up to you. The first factor is how many AP classes you can handle during your high school career. Taking as many AP classes as you can fit into your schedule can look great on your college application and earn you a lot of college credit in high school (provided you do well on the AP exams). On the other hand, taking on too many advanced classes could overwhelm you and backfire. Your best bet is finding the happy medium where you are taking as many AP classes as you can successfully handle.
Another factor is which college or university you apply to. Most universities are happy to give you college credits for good AP exam scores, but not all. If you have a specific university in mind, you should contact the school and find out how selective they are with AP credits.
A score of 3 on an AP exam could earn you 3 college credits at one university, and zero at another (if they require a score of 4 or 5 to receive credit). Again, looking into the college admission requirements at the school(s) you have in mind can help you decide how many college credits you can realistically earn in high school.
Dual enrollment is another option for earning college credit in high school, but it’s not as clear-cut as AP classes are. The number of dual enrollment college credits a high school student can earn is determined on a state-by-state basis, and is defined by Wisconsin’s Early College Credit Program (ECCP).