Every year in February and March our students go through the process of selecting courses for next school year. Starting from March 1st, every DAIS and DHA student in Grade 8 through Grade 11 will meet individually with a counselor to make final choices for their courses for next school year.
During this meeting, counselors will also look to make sure students are on track to meet graduation requirements, as well as discuss their future university plans to ensure your course selections line up with those goals. Usually colleges in the US require students to take courses in five core subject areas (English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language) as well as elective courses and AP courses that fit the student’s ability and passion.
In 2020, more than 2 million high school students all around the world took more than 5 million AP exams in more than 130 countries and regions. As a registered Advanced Placement school, Dalian American International School students are given the opportunity to gain college level skills and credit while still in high school.
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. More than 4000 colleges and universities in the US and worldwide grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the AP examinations.
There are 38 AP courses in 7 subject areas. At the end of each course, students take an exam, scored 1 to 5 points. Students need to register for the exam in the fall, and the testing dates for each subject are between early May and mid-June of the following year.
AP courses are usually challenging, they cultivate students’ ability to think, observe, and analyze problems, preparing them for a successful college experience. Research has shown that students who scored above 3 in AP exams are more likely to achieve excellent academic results and complete university studies compared to students that didn’t take AP courses in high school.
More than 4000 colleges and universities around the world, including more than 700 outside of the United States, recognize AP courses taken by students in high school, and allow individual students to skip some basic and introductory courses and take advanced courses at once, saving time and tuition costs.
Here are some examples of AP policies for international universities:
Most programs at Boston University award credit for test scores of 4 or 5 on most AP examinations.
Their minimum entry requirement in the standardized tests is a combination of AP scores at 4+ and/or SAT Subject tests at 650+, provided they are in different subjects.
If applicants from China are not writing the Gaokao (the National College Entrance Examination), they must submit three or more Advanced Placement (AP) exam results in three or more distinct subjects. Competitive results must be achieved in these examinations.
Each year, we offer around 18 AP classes for our high school students (and that’s a lot for such a small school like ours!). The counselors and principals make final decisions about how many AP courses individual students can take, based on teacher recommendations, PSAT data, MAP data, and overall academic performance of every student.
Based on college requirements, we suggest students to take AP courses where they have the potential to make at least a B. Students should also think carefully about how much time an AP course will take.
If there’s a course that we don’t offer, but the student needs to take it due to college requirements (e.g. Roman languages for some European colleges) or out of personal interest, or if there are conflicting schedules, the student may apply for independent study. The school will pay for online AP courses taken by our students if it’s a vital part of their college trajectory. We always try to hold the balance – to help students get to the college they want and receive good grades during the last years of high school studies, to keep them engaged, interested and motivated, but not overstressed.
Since DAIS is a College Board testing center, we provide our students with a unique opportunity to take all AP exams directly at our school, no matter if the respective AP course if offered at DAIS or not. The only thing students need to do is to apply for this exam on time and pay all necessary fees. College counselors at DAIS will be happy to provide further information on that.
The high school program at Dalian American International School provides a dynamic learning environment designed to prepare every student for a successful college experience. A strong program of academic rigor enables students to reach and challenge themselves in an environment that fosters independence and self-reliance. AP courses are a vital part of our curriculum:
We wish best of luck to all our students that are finishing their AP courses now and getting prepared for the exams, and we suggest all students in Grades 8-11 who are selecting courses for the next school year to explore the great opportunities of the Advanced Placement program.
