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Obtaining College Credit while attending Gardner Edgerton High School

There are three ways to obtain college credit while attending Gardner Edgerton High School:

Advanced Placement

Some courses at GEHS are designated Advanced Placement.  If you enroll in an Advanced Placement course, expect a higher level of academic rigor and additional homework (including preparation homework during the summer prior to the semester your course begins).  Advanced Placement courses are designated AP in the GEHS Course Catalog.

AP and Honors courses are graded on a 5.0 weighted scale:

GRADING SCALE

A

B

C

D

F

Regular Course

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

Honors Course

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

0.0

Advanced Placement Course

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

0.0

Advantages of taking AP Coursework:

  • Students who take AP courses will receive the AP designation on their high school transcript. This designation improves your application profile in the competititive college admissions process, and may open the door to additional scholarship opportunities.
  • Students who achieve a 4 or 5 on the AP exam usually receive undergraduate credit for a course, and are often waived from taking that course in college.
  • Students who chose to take the national exam for a course must pay the designated exam fee.  The AP exam costs approximately $86 per course (fees subject to change, per The College Board).

Before you decide to take an AP course:

  • Consider the increased demands of taking an Honors or AP course.
  • Strategize with your School Counselor and Parent(s) about how to balance the increased demands of college-level coursework with your existing high school schedule (including regular courses, extra curricular activities, athletics, job and home life.)
  • If you are uncertain whether AP or Honors courses are right for you, start out by taking one course, rather than overloading your schedule with too many demanding courses.

The AP Exam

At the end of the school year, you will have the opportunity to take the Advanced Placement Exam for each of the AP courses you have taken.  You are not required to take the AP Exam, but you are strongly encouraged to attempt it.

The AP exam is scored on a 1-5 scale.  Many colleges accept an exam score of 3 or better and give the student credit as if the student had taken on or more basic courses in the subjecte tested.  Whether credit is given is completely dependent upon the policies of the receiving college or university. You are responsible for checking with the college or university that you plan to attend to determine if your AP scores will translate into college credit.

AP Exam Score

Interpretation

5 points Extremeley Well Qualified
4 points Well Qualified
3 points Qualified
2 points Possibly Qualified
1 point No recommendation

Honors Courses

Some courses at GEHS are designated as Honors courses.  Honors courses are designed to prepare students for the increased academic challenges of Advanced Placement courses.  Honors courses are designated HN in the GEHS course catalog.

AP and Honors Course Offerings at Gardner Edgerton High School:

AP Courses (AP)

Honors Courses (HN)

AP Biology Honors Biology
AP Calculus

Honors Pre-Calculus

AP Statistics Honors Algebra II
AP English 11/Language Honors English 9 and 10
AP English 12/Literature Honors American Government
AP U.S. History Honors Chemistry
AP European History Honors Physics
  Honors French IV and Spanish IV

 

Additional Links:

AP Informational Brochure

AP Parental Informational Brochure

Everything you need to know about AP at GEHS

What do students have to say about AP?

 

 

 

College Now Program · Johnson County Community College

The College Now Program, in partnership with Johnson County Community College allows students to earn college credit while in high school.  Students may take designated courses and earn "dual credit" - both high school and college credit - simultaneously - without ever leaving the GEHS campus. Courses are taught by qualified high school teachers.  There is no special exam to take at the end of a College Now course.  College Now courses are designated CN in the GEHS course catalog.  (Note:  Many of the courses listed as AP and Honors can be taken for College Now credit.)

To participate in the College Now program, students should:

  • Step 1 - visit the College Now website

  • Step 2 - Complete High School Authorization and Application Forms

  • Step 3 - Return High School Authorization Form and Application Forms

  • Step 4 - Submit Test Scores

  • Step 5 - Enroll

  • Step 6 - Pay for Your Classes

Visit the JCCC College Now website by clicking here.

Quick Step Program · Johnson County Community College

The Quick Step program, in partnership with Johnson County Community College also allows students to earn college credit while in high school.  The main difference is that students must attend their course at JCCC (or a JCCC designated location), rather than being able to take the course at GEHS.  Students must follow the same steps as under the College Now heading (above) to enroll in a Quick Step course.

Visit the JCCC Quick Step website by clicking here.