College Board Moves AP Test Signup Deadline
The College Board, the maker of the Advanced Placement exams, has changed its AP registration deadline. AP exams, as our readers likely know, are administered in May of each year. For our students who choose to take AP exams that their high schools may not be anticipating they take (e.g., if they intend to take the AP Psychology test even though they didn’t take the AP Psychology course through their high school or at all), we’ve always advised them to notify their high schools by early February of their intentions. This way, the schools could order the exams for the students. Without this notification, they simply wouldn’t have the test booklets. But, as Bob Dylan would sing it, the times, they are a changin’.
AP Registration Deadline Will Be Earlier
As reports Jim Jump for “Inside Higher Ed” in a piece entitled “Ethical College Admissions: AP Registration,” “Whereas registration for the May AP exams has up to now happened in the spring, beginning next year students will have to commit to taking the exams and schools will have to place exam orders by Nov. 15. Schools will still submit payment in June, but students who elect to add or not take an exam after Nov. 15 will have to pay a $40 fee on top of the $94 exam charge. The justification provided by the College Board for the new registration procedure and fees is that ‘more students succeed when they register in the fall.'”
While Jump laments that high school counselors and administrators are getting all stressed out over this change because the AP exam registrations will now take place while school counselors are helping seniors navigate the college admissions process, we take no issue with the deadline change. It’s not that big of a deal! It seems to us that these folks are getting all stressed out over not much at all. The deadline moved up a couple of months, beginning next year. Whoop whoop.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know where you stand by posting a Comment below. We look forward to hearing from you.
3 Comments
Why does early registration lead to higher success for the student? Clearly it leads to higher success for the College Board. I suspect the trend set off in DC this past June may be influencing their decision to get as many students committed as possible while they can. I would applaud a new trend in high schools limiting or eliminating AP classes. Too often this type of policy will hurt the low income the most.
I’m pretty sure I’ve read this sentiment here on your blog: what about the senior who decides to enroll at a school that doesn’t give credit for certain AP tests? A student will not know where they’re going to attend in November, but they might know by February. Why would they bother spending the $94 to take a test that doesn’t benefit them?
This is a money grab. More students succeed when they register in the Fall? Where did they get that data? Let’s see it. No one registers in the Fall just like no one sends in his tax payment two months early. It’s asinine.
Hi Enologisto,
What you’ve written is correct and it likely is part of the reason why College Board moved up the registration deadline. Or, yes, it could very well be the whole reason. Students already know where they’ll be attending college by May of senior year (when they take their senior year AP exams). Many students know by February since most highly selective colleges release Early Decision / Early Action results come mid-December. So you’re right that College Board is essentially locking in payments for AP exams for seniors who may later decide they don’t need to take the tests because they’re admitting college doesn’t offer credit for them. And that’s not right — you’re absolutely spot on! That said, all of this only applies to high school seniors.