Every year, the College Board administers AP exams to high school students. An AP Exam tests how well students understand the material on their corresponding AP course. Each exam, varying by topic, is a rigorous test that gives students a great topic to focus on when building their applicant profile. These exams take place in May – students can find their specific AP Exam schedule 2024 for each subject in the post below. We also share how other students performed on the 2023 AP exams so you know what to expect!
Most of the 2024 AP Exams will be taken in schools (not at home) using pencil and paper, and take place over a two-week period. The AP Chinese and AP Japanese exams are exceptions and will be taken on school computers. The AP exams start their first week on May 6th – 10th, 2024 and go on through May 13th – 17th, 2024 for the second week.
When looking at the start times, keep in mind that exams can be started up to 1 hour after the posted start time. For instance, the afternoon exams could begin anytime between 12 – 1 PM local time.
Some exceptions exist. For example, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism exams began between 2-3 PM during the regular exam schedule.
Many AP courses have portfolios, which must be turned in digitally for College Board to grade. These portfolios will be submitted and uploaded on a secure web application. Here are the AP deadlines for digital portfolios:
AP Art and Design: May 10th, 2024 (8 PM EST)
AP Seminar and AP Research: April 30th, 2024 (11:59 PM EST)
AP Computer Science Principles: April 24th, 2024 (11:59 PM EST)
Here is the AP exam schedule for week 1:
| AP Exam Dates - Week 1 | Morning (8 AM Local Time) | Afternoon (12 PM Local Time) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 6th, 2024 | United States Government and Politics | Art History Chemistry |
| Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 | Human Geography Microeconomics | Seminar Statistics |
| Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 | English Literature and Composition | Comparative Government and Politics Computer Science A |
| Thursday, May 9th, 2024 | Chinese Language and Culture Environmental Science | Psychology |
| Friday, May 10th, 2024 | European History United States History | Macroeconomics Spanish Literature and Culture |
Here was the AP exam schedule for week 2:
| AP Exam Dates - Week 2 | Morning (8 AM Local Time) | Afternoon (12 PM Local Time) | Afternoon (2 PM Local Time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 13th, 2023 | Calculus AB Calculus BC | Italian Language and Culture Precalculus | |
| Tuesday, May 14th, 2023 | English Language and Composition | African American Studies Physics C: Mechanics | Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
| Wednesday, May 15th, 2023 | French Language and Culture World History: Modern | Computer Science Principles Music Theory | |
| Thursday, May 16th, 2023 | Spanish Language and Culture | Biology Japanese Language and Culture | |
| Friday, May 17th, 2023 | German Language and Culture Physics 1: Algebra-Based | Latin Physics 2: Algebra-Based |
If you missed your exam date, don’t worry – you can take AP exams late. Alternate versions of each test are used for late AP dates to maintain exam security and prevent cheating. Here is the late AP exam schedule, which you could also consider week 3:
| AP Exam Dates - Late Week | Morning (8 AM Local Time) | Afternoon (12 PM Local Time) |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday May 22nd, 2023 | Chemistry Computer Science A Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Psychology Statistics United States History | English Literature and Culture Environmental Science Japanese Language and Culture Latin Macroeconomics Physics C: Mechanics |
| Thursday, May 23rd, 2023 | Chinese Language and Culture Computer Science Principles English Language and Composition Human Geography Precalculus Spanish Literature and Culture | Art History Biology European History French Language and Culture Physics 1: Algebra-Based Seminar |
| Friday, May 24th, 2023 | Calculus AB Calculus BC German Language and Culture Microeconomics Music Theory Spanish Language and Culture | African American Studies Comparative Government and Politics Italian Language and Culture Physics 2: Algebra-Based United States Government and Politics World History: Modern |
Just taking the AP class already shows colleges that you’re willing to challenge yourself and work hard, so just doing that is already a positive sign on your college application. Taking AP courses and preparing for the corresponding exams can be tough since the subject matter goes above the normal high school level. However, colleges then know that you went deeper into a certain subject, especially if it relates to your major, and it also exposes you to college-level material in that subject.
And of course, scoring a 4 or 5 on an AP exam will improve your applicant profile. It shows that you were strong enough academically to master a tough class and score well in a challenging AP exam. This effect will be greater if the AP course and exam is related to what major you are applying for, because it shows your strength in the subject matter of that major.
If you don’t score well on one or more AP exams, don’t fret – deciding to take these exams (and getting scores back) won’t be directly submitted to the colleges you apply to. You can choose not to report your scores on your college application if your score is low.
Besides having high AP scores improve your admissions odds, there are many other benefits of taking these exams. Some are listed below:
Some colleges and universities award scholarships to students who perform well on AP exams. These could help cut down your college costs. Additionally, passing these exams (especially getting a 4+) could earn you college credit at some universities, saving you time and money since you do not need to take certain introductory courses. You could even graduate earlier by scoring well on multiple exams.
These exams can familiarize you with college-level coursework, and you may find it easier to make the academic transition into college due to your AP exam preparation. Even students who get a 1 or 2 on their AP exam still tend to do better in the college equivalent and are more familiar with the content than students who never took the related AP course or test. These exams can also help you determine what your academic strengths and weaknesses are in terms of your personal difficulty with each exam, which can help you whittle down your majors or career paths.
Here is how students fared on the most recent 2023 AP exams. The exams are graded from 1-5, with 5 being the highest possible score.
| AP Exam | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP Research | 13% | 26% | 45% | 13% | 3% |
| AP Seminar | 11% | 27% | 57% | 11% | 1% |
| AP 2-D Art and Design | 12% | 31% | 41% | 14% | 2% |
| AP 3-D Art and Design | 7% | 25% | 40% | 23% | 4% |
| AP Art History | 13% | 23% | 28% | 24% | 12% |
| AP Drawing | 16% | 33% | 36% | 13% | 2% |
| AP Music Theory | 20% | 17% | 24% | 24% | 15% |
| AP English Language and Composition | 10% | 20% | 26% | 29% | 15% |
| AP English Literature and Composition | 15% | 28% | 34% | 14% | 9% |
| AP Comparative Government and Politics | 16% | 23% | 32% | 16% | 13% |
| AP European History | 13% | 21% | 25% | 29% | 12% |
| AP Human Geography | 16% | 20% | 18% | 14% | 32% |
| AP Macroeconomics | 16% | 23% | 25% | 22% | 14% |
| AP Microeconomics | 18% | 26% | 22% | 21% | 13% |
| AP Psychology | 17% | 23% | 20% | 12% | 28% |
| AP United States Government and Politics | 13% | 11% | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| AP United States History | 11% | 15% | 22% | 23% | 29% |
| AP World History | 15% | 22% | 28% | 22% | 13% |
| AP Calculus AB | 22% | 16% | 20% | 22% | 20% |
| AP Calculus BC | 42% | 16% | 20% | 22% | 20% |
| AP Computer Science A | 27% | 22% | 18% | 10% | 23% |
| AP Computer Science Principles | 12% | 23% | 33% | 20% | 12% |
| AP Statistics | 15% | 22% | 23% | 16% | 24% |
| AP Biology | 14% | 23% | 27% | 24% | 12% |
| AP Chemistry | 15% | 27% | 33% | 17% | 8% |
| AP Environmental Science | 8% | 28% | 17% | 27% | 20% |
| AP Physics 1 | 8% | 18% | 19% | 28% | 27% |
| AP Physics 2 | 15% | 17% | 36% | 26% | 6% |
| AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 31% | 24% | 13% | 20% | 12% |
| AP Physics C: Mechanics | 23% | 28% | 22% | 15% | 12% |
| AP Chinese Language and Culture | 50% | 17% | 18% | 6% | 9% |
| AP Spanish Language and Culture | 24% | 30% | 30% | 14% | 3% |
| AP Spanish Literature and Culture | 8% | 22% | 37% | 23% | 10% |
| AP French Language and Culture | 12% | 25% | 37% | 20% | 6% |
| AP German Language and Culture | 19% | 21% | 26% | 20% | 14% |
| AP Italian Language and Culture | 20% | 22% | 29% | 18% | 11% |
| AP Japanese Language and Culture | 47% | 9% | 19% | 9% | 17% |
| AP Latin | 12% | 17% | 28% | 25% | 18% |
Prepare well for your AP exam and you can get a high score. It can be a challenging process, but the rewards are worth it. All it takes is positivity and determination to ace your exams. Be sure to take multiple practice exams and set strategies on how to reach your target score. Good luck in 2024!
