The Advanced Placement Program (AP) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.

The program consists of college-level courses developed by the AP Program that high schools can choose to offer, and corresponding exams that are administered once a year.

Fast Facts

• There are 38 AP courses in seven subject categories overall.  Santa Ana Unified offers 28 of those courses at one or more of the comprehensive high schools.
• Each AP course is modeled on a comparable introductory college course in the subject. Learn how AP courses are developed.
• Each course culminates in a standardized college-level assessment or AP Exam.
• AP Exams are given in May each year at testing locations all over the world.
• Students that earn a "qualifying score" of 3 or better may earn college credit or advanced placement once they enroll in college. 
• All SAUSD schools are authorized by the AP Course Audit to offer approved AP courses and use the AP designation.

Benefits of AP

Learning in AP goes beyond subject matter.  Students will gain confidence and study skills that will stick with them long after the class is over. Taking AP helps students stand out in the college admission process and understand what it is like to be in a college class so they are better prepared for freshman year on campus. By taking AP courses and exams, students may be able to skip intro college courses, earn college credit, save money on tuition, and dive into interests sooner at college. Most importantly, research shows that successful AP students persist to a college degree within 4 years as compared to their non-AP peers. In addition, new research supports the fact that students who earn a score of 1 or 2 are more likely to perform better academically than their non-AP peers.