Advanced Placement courses give students a chance to strengthen their transcripts by demonstrating academic rigor, and earn college credits. But these courses aren’t offered at every high school.
Nearly 80% of U.S. public high school students attended schools in 2024-2025 with five or more AP classes available, according to recent College Board data. However, not all students had similar access: 49% of Native American students had at least five AP courses at their high school compared to 93% of Asian students, 82% of Hispanic students, 76% of white students and 75% of Black students.
“When we’re talking about a holistic approach, taking an AP class would then just be one way to stand out,” says Michelle Kowalsky Goodfellow, associate vice president of enrollment management at Western New England University in Massachusetts. “But it’s not the only way.”
How to Get Credit if Your School Doesn’t Have AP Courses
If AP courses are not an option, experts advise students to consider taking at least one or several of the most rigorous courses available at their high school.
But there are other ways to still earn AP credit, including registering for online AP classes or taking the exam directly.
[Read: When Should High School Students Start Their Scholarship Search?]
Take an Online AP Class
Some states, such as Alabama, Florida, and Virginia, offer virtual AP courses at no cost to students. These options can allow motivated students to take advanced coursework even if their school doesn’t offer AP.
However, this option often requires additional steps, such as securing approval from a student’s school and arranging a local testing site for the AP exam. Experts suggest working with your school counselor to determine if the virtual route is the right fit.
Register for a Private Test Prep Course
Preparing for an AP exam doesn’t have to happen in the classroom. Online prep classes are available through companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review. Synchronous or self-paced options range from $425 to more than $1,000.
Self-Study for the AP Test
Many free test preparation resources are available, such as through the College Board, which administers the AP program. But self-studying shouldn’t be a student’s first choice, experts say.
“They have to then register (for the exam) through a high school that has an AP course, and it’s a lot of hoops to jump through,” Goodfellow says. “Unless a student really feels like they’re not being challenged in their current coursework then it wouldn’t necessarily be something that I would encourage a student to do if their school doesn’t offer it.”
[Read: What to Do for College During Each Summer of High School]
Consider Alternatives to AP
Experts recommend looking into alternative options if your school doesn’t offer AP or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, such as honors courses or dual enrollment.
Taking advantage of any such opportunities demonstrates to admissions counselors that students are “going above and beyond the high school curriculum,” Goodfellow says. “Those are all things that we look at as a positive indicator of their advanced academic experience and putting in some extra effort that maybe some of their peers may not have.”
Honors Courses
Taking honors courses across core subject areas can signal to college admissions counselors that students are ready for the next level of work.
“It comes down to making the most rigorous schedule for students that they can handle academically,” says Richard Tench, a school counselor at Saint Albans High School in West Virginia. If a school is limited on the number of AP courses they offer, “the goal is that we are going to give you the most rigorous academic load that our school can offer.”
Dual Enrollment
For some high school students, dual enrollment programs may be another option to earn college credit. Typically, students access these programs through their high schools, which partner with community colleges or four-year institutions. Students take classes on a local college campus or at their high school, depending on the program’s setup.
Dual enrollment is “about the experience entirely, not just the one-off test that AP offers,” says Gabriel Velez, associate professor in the College of Education at Marquette University in Wisconsin, adding that colleges are interested in seeing students demonstrate “academic excellence” in these settings.
Colleges that use a holistic admissions process often view dual enrollment coursework similarly to AP courses, experts say.
“There’s certainly differences, but at the end of the day, a community college course is college work, whereas an AP course is more advanced work from high school,” Goodfellow says. “So they’re both more advanced than the standard high school curriculum and that’s how we look at it.”
[Read: How to Recover from a High School Sophomore Slump]
Student Support and Fit
Consider the type of support needed to be most successful before committing to any type of advanced learning. Talk with a teacher or past students who have taken the course, experts say.
“Building that transcript up to the best it can be is what’s best for the student,” Tench says. He challenges students to get out of their comfort zone and think “a little more critically to really prepare them for that fall following their graduation in the spring.”
Students should also reflect on their educational goals but not overload their schedule, experts say.
“It’s very important for the students to just enjoy the process, enjoy their high school experience and enjoy the idea of going through the university’s admissions process because it can be so stressful,” Goodfellow says. “At the end of the day, there’s a place for everyone if they want to go to college.”
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What to Do if Your School Doesn?t Offer AP Courses originally appeared on usnews.com
