College 101
Financial Benefits of AP Classes
Okay, it’s time for some math. Not up for it? Please stop considering AP classes. Still here?
Then think about this: college tuition varies wildly. Resident tuition at a state university is going to be in the $8,000 per year ballpark. Out-of-state tuition at the same school might be more like $18,000 a year. Tuition at a private school could hit the $30,000 per year mark, or be even more (we know, right?)
What does that break down to per class or per credit hour? A full load for a semester in college is about five classes. Some semesters may be more, some may be less, depends on your major and timeline, but let’s call it five, since anything below three is considered part time. So that means that in an academic year, a student is most likely going to take 30 credits, or ten full-time classes.
Still with us? Applying an extraordinarily-complex algorithm where x equals cost per year and y equals number of classes per year, we can calculate average cost per class:
Resident Cost per Class at State University: $266.67
Out-of-State Cost per Class: $600.00
Private School Cost per Class: $1000.00 And that’s not even counting textbooks.
Don’t get us started on the cost of textbooks. If you are able to take AP classes and score a three or higher on the AP exams, you will be able to save up to a thousand dollars for each class. And if you can take enough to allow you to graduate a semester (or even a year) early, you will be saving on tuition plus room and board and pizza and all the other expenses that come with college. Simple Math.