Advanced Placement Exams

As an international student, you may be interested in taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The Advanced Placement Program gives you the chance to do college-level work in your high school. Scoring well on these exams allows you to enter colleges in an advanced status (with academic credit before you even start school), which can shorten your studies by a year or perhaps even two. Although these exams may be harder to find outside the U.S., you may be able to take them with American students at an international high school in your home country.

For more information, see the Advanced Placement Program.

Acceleration Credits

You may also be eligible for acceleration credits. A credit is a unit of academic work, and you need a certain amount of credits to graduate. Americans colleges often recognize that if you have graduated from a high school overseas, you may already have a more advanced education than many American high school graduates. You should ask the college you are applying to if it will provide you with credit in advance (acceleration credits) for high school classes you have taken in your country of origin.

Even between American colleges, it is an unhappy fact that many students experience problems with their new school not recognizing academic work done at their previous college or university (problems transferring academic credits). You can imagine the difficulties international students have transferring credits from a university in their own country to an American college. If you would like to transfer credits, you should speak with the admissions officer at the school your applying to as soon as possible.