AP Exams
Advanced Placement Examinations
AP Exams are College Board’s assessments in 42 AP subjects, each scored on a 1–5 scale. Many U.S. colleges grant credit, advanced placement or both for scores of 3 and above, and universities outside the U.S. also recognize AP scores. Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London, for example, publish AP-based entry requirements. Each college sets its own policy, so check the ones you are applying to. The 2027 AP Exams are held in schools over two weeks in May (3–7 and 10–14 May); some are fully digital in the Bluebook app, others hybrid with handwritten free responses.
Frequency
Once a year (May)
Duration
Varies by subject — e.g. 3 hours 10 minutes (Calculus AB), 3 hours 15 minutes (Chemistry, U.S. History); some subjects are assessed partly or wholly through portfolios or performance tasks
Format
Computer or paper
Score range
1–5 per subject
Eligibility
Open to any student: College Board recommends taking the AP course first but does not require it. You sit the exam through a school that administers AP Exams (your own or another nearby school) or, in some countries, an authorized AP test center.
Conducting body
College Board
Registration fee
US$99 per exam in the U.S., U.S. territories, Canada and DoWEA schools; US$129 per exam at schools outside the U.S. (2027 exams; College Board says the cost per exam stays the same in 2026-27). Students with significant financial need may get a US$37 College Board fee reduction per exam. Fees at authorized test centers outside the U.S. vary, and schools may charge more to cover proctoring and administration.
Source: College Board. Details here are for guidance only — fees, dates and eligibility change each cycle, so confirm on the official site before applying.
Verified against: College Board — 2027 AP exam fees (US$99 / US$129; US$37 fee reduction; cost unchanged in 2026-27); College Board — AP courses and exams (42 AP subjects); College Board — 2027 AP Exam dates; College Board — about AP scores (1–5 scale; credit for 3 and above at many U.S. colleges); College Board — AP around the world (course recommended, not required; testing at schools or authorized test centers); College Board — AP Calculus AB exam (3 hours 10 minutes; hybrid digital); College Board — AP Chemistry exam (3 hours 15 minutes); College Board — AP U.S. History exam (3 hours 15 minutes; fully digital); College Board — AP Drawing (assessed by digital portfolio); College Board — AP Seminar assessment (two performance tasks plus an end-of-course exam); University of Oxford — international qualifications (USA: Advanced Placement); University of Cambridge — accepted qualifications (Advanced Placement tests); Imperial College London — accepted qualifications (Advanced Placement); MIT Admissions — tests and scores (self-report AP); Harvard College — application requirements (AP scores); Stanford — first-year testing (self-report AP); Caltech — first-year application requirements (AP/IB scores); Princeton — standardized testing (self-report AP/IB); Yale — standardized testing (AP or IB scores); Columbia — testing (AP scores accepted); Cornell — does Cornell require AP exam scores?
Last verified: 30 September 2026.
Universities that accept AP Exams
Acceptance can differ by level and programme — confirm on the programme’s own page.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Stanford University
California Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Yale University
Columbia University
Cornell University
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Imperial College London
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