Complete List of AP Courses and Tests

Complete List of AP Courses and Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you ever seen the full list of AP classes? Are you confused about which ones you should take? We’ll help you choose by showing you a list of all AP courses available. We'll also reveal which ones are the most popular and which are the hardest to pass. Read on for advice to help you pick your ideal advanced placement courses! Complete List of AP Exams First things first: here is the full list of AP tests. Before we delve into popularity and difficulty, this basic list can be really helpful. Scope it out and see which topics look interesting to you! There are 38 exams in total: AP Research AP Seminar Art History Biology Calculus AB Calculus BC Chemistry Chinese Language and Culture Computer Science A Computer Science Principles English Language and Composition English Literature and Composition Environmental Science European History French Language and Culture German Language and Culture Government and Politics (Comparative) Government and Politics (US) Human Geography Italian Language and Culture Japanese Language and Culture Latin Macroeconomics Microeconomics Music Theory Physics 1: Algebra-Based Physics 2: Algebra-Based Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Physics C: Mechanics Psychology Spanish Language and Culture Spanish Literature and Culture Statistics Studio Art Drawing Studio Art 2-D Design Studio Art 3-D Design US History World History When reading through this list, think about subjects you already enjoy and want to delve into more. For example, if you’ve always liked math, challenging yourself with the BC Calculus course (and exam) could be a rewarding experience. You can also look ahead to college. AP classes are a great way to explore subjects that aren’t usually part of high school curricula. Many AP classes, such as Computer Science, Psychology, and Economics, can give you a taste of college courses while you’re still in high school. AP classes: perfect if you're dreaming of life on campus. Also, think about the tests that could make you a more competitive applicant to the colleges you're applying to. You want to showcase your strengths, after all! For example, if you're applying as a science major and have done several science-related extracurriculars, it would be a smart idea to take (and ace!) the science AP tests, including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Before you sign up for an AP course or test, think about your prior preparation. In most cases, you shouldn’t jump into an AP class if you have no experience in that subject. For instance, many high schools have students take a regular or honors biology class before they can take AP Biology. Moreover, consider which AP courses are offered at your high school. Most schools don’t offer every single AP subject as a class. It is definitely possible to study on your own for a test, but it’s much easier if you take a class. This is especially true for the tougher subjects like Calculus and Literature. For a full description of each AP class and its exam, check out the AP Student website. Which AP Tests Are the Most Popular? Just knowing which AP classes exist won't help you totally narrow down your choices. To give you a better perspective, check out this list of AP courses, organized by popularity (i.e., the number of students taking them): AP Course/Exam # of Students Taking (2018) English Language 580,043 United States History 501,530 English Literature 404,014 Government Politics (United States) 326,392 Psychology 3,759 Calculus AB 308,538 World History 303,243 Biology 259,663 Statistics 222,501 Human Geography 216,783 Spanish Language 180,435 Physics 1 170,653 Environmental Science 166,433 Chemistry 161,852 Macroeconomics 146,673 Calculus BC 139,376 European History 101,740 Microeconomics 90,032 Computer Science Principles 72,187 Computer Science A 65,133 Physics C Mechanics 57,399 Studio Art 2-D Design 36,249 Seminar 30,964 Spanish Literature 27,451 Physics 2 25,741 Physics C EM 25,074 Art History 24,964 Government Politics (Comparative) 24,675 French Language 22,867 Studio Art Drawing 20,853 Music Theory 19,018 Chinese Language 13,825 Research 9,640 Latin 6,409 Studio Art 3-D Design 5,777 German Language 5,053 Italian Language 2,926 Japanese Language 2,459 Total Number of AP Exams Taken 5,090,324 Total Number of Students Taking AP Exams 2,808,909 Source: The College Board Taking a more popular AP exam has a lot of benefits. For one, the class is more likely to be offered at your high school. Another plus is that there are more study guides and resources you can use for the test- both online and in print. It will also be easier to find other students to study with. On the flip side, you can distinguish yourself by taking and passing a less popular AP test. For example, having AP Japanese or AP Research under your belt can set you apart from other high-achieving students, especially in college applications. AP Test Passing Rates In addition to knowing all your AP exam choices and how popular each test is, it’s helpful to know how many students pass each exam. (AP tests are scored between 1 and 5, with anything 3 and higher considered passing.) Most AP tests have a pass rate of around 65% or higher. The high score of 5 is rarer- usually between 10% and 20% of a test's scores. Check out our table below, organized in order of the passing rate of each exam. Note: There are two different subgroups for language exams: Standard and Total. The score rates for language exams (Standard) only include students who didn't indicate they spoke that language at home or had spent four or more weeks in a country where that language was spoken. On the other hand, the rates for language exams (Total) also include students who speak that language at home and/or have completed study abroad programs. This is why many of the language AP exams (Total) have very high passing rates. AP Test Passing Rates 2019 Exam Name Passing Rate (3+) 5 Rate Studio Art: Drawing 91.1% 20.8% Spanish Language and Culture 89% 24.9% Chinese Language and Culture 88.3% 57.2% Studio Art: 2-D Design 86.4% 21% Calculus BC 81.5% 43.2% Physics C: Electricity Magnetism 81.1% 35.9% Seminar 80.7% 6.8% French Language and Culture 76.7% 15.5% Research 76.2% 10.8% Japanese Language and Culture 75% 38.2% Computer Science Principles 72.7% 13.6% Spanish Literature 71.9% 9.1% Physics C: Mechanics 71.1% 34.6% German Language and Culture 70.5% 18.4% Studio Art: 3-D Design 70.1% 10.1% Computer Science A 69.9% 27% Microeconomics 68.4% 22.2% Gov. and Politics - Comparative 66.2% 22.2% Biology 64.6% 7.1% Italian Language and Culture 64.6% .8% Psychology 64.4% 20.2% Art History 63.9% 12% Physics 2 63.5% 12.6% Music Theory 63.4% 20.9% Latin 63.1% 13.1% Statistics 59.2% 14.5% European History 58.4% .7% Calculus AB 58.3% 18.9% Macroeconomics 57.9% 17.6% World History 56% 8.7% Gov. and Politics - United States 55.2% 12.9% English Language and Composition 55.1% 10.1% Chemistry 54.6% 10.7% United States History 54.3% 12.1% English Literature and Composition 50.1% 6.2% Environmental Science 49.6% 9.5% Human Geography 49.1% 10.7% Physics 1 44.6% 6.2% Source: The College Board You might be wondering why tests like BC Calculus and Chinese- which seem really difficult- have some of the highest passing rates. It's not because they're the easiest AP tests. These tests have high pass rates because students who take AP Calculus BC and AP Chinese are much more likely to have prior experience in those subjects and are willing to take on a tough class. In other words, the students who take the hardest AP exams are a self-selecting group of high achievers. It takes years of math classes to build up to Calculus BC questions like this one. View a whole free-response section here if you’re curious about how hard Calculus BC is. On the flip side, some of the most popular tests, such as US History and US Government, have some of the lowest passing rates. This is likely because a wider pool of test takers means that there are more underprepared and unprepared students. In addition, note that Environmental Science, English Literature, and World History- also very popular tests- have very low 5 rates, under 10%. This could be because, again, a wider test taker pool makes for more unprepared students. However, since so few students can pull it off, it’s still pretty hard to get a 5 on these tests. If you take those courses, be prepared to study hard- especially if you want a 5! What’s Next? Once you’ve chosen an AP class to take, you might be curious about what the test is like. Learn about how long AP tests are and get tips on managing test fatigue. You're probably also wondering about your SAT/ACT score and how to improve it. If you're taking the ACT, get tips on how to avoid the most common ACT mistakes and learn how to get a perfect 36 score. Aiming for the SAT instead? Learn how to boost your score on each section: Reading, Writing, and Math. Thinking about college? Read our guides to developing a target ACT or SAT score to get into your target colleges. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: