Advanced Placement & Concurrent Enrollment
Get a Head Start on College Preparation and Save on Tuition
High school students can take courses for credit at many colleges. Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Concurrent Enrollment courses may all generate college credit. Some of these courses have prerequisites and age requirements. Your high school counselor can answer specific questions about each of these programs.
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
Advanced Placement courses are college-level courses in 20 different subjects, from arts and music to calculus and English, that help students get ready for college during high school. There are a total of 35 different AP courses to choose from, however, each high school does not teach all of these courses. Students who score high enough (3 - 5) on the AP exams may receive advanced placement in college or college credit. This saves time and money, as students may be able to take fewer classes in college.
International Baccalaureate Courses
IB or International Baccalaureate courses are rigorous courses that compose a challenging 2-year liberal arts curriculum that leads to a diploma and meets the requirements established by the International Baccalaureate program. IB students are required to take courses in all 6 areas, take Theory of Knowledge, write an extended essay and participate in CAS. Students taking these courses are in grades 11 and 12 and must meet all requirements and pass examinations in each subject area in order to receive the IB diploma. In some schools, students who are not seeking the IB diploma are allowed to take individual IB courses and the subsequent exams.
Concurrent Enrollment Courses
Concurrent enrollment classes are college level classes offered to high school students for both high school and college credit. Concurrent enrollment students are enrolled for classes at both the high school and the college. While students earn high school credit, they also earn college credit, and could reduce the amount of duplicated classes. College credits are recorded on a permanent college transcript regardless of the grade, so students must take this into consideration when selecting one of these courses.
UtahMentor has an AP and Concurrent Enrollment articulation guide! If would like to see how much college credit you can earn at Utah colleges by taking these courses, click on these guides:
