By Brandon Nguyen
The 2022 Advanced Placement (AP) Exams will return to their original paper and pencil format, which was shifted online for the past two test cycles due to COVID-19. Regular AP exams will take place over a span of two weeks from May 2, 2022 to May 13, 2022.
AP courses are college level and exams are scored out of five with the lowest score being one and the highest score being five. AP exams can be beneficial as scores above three or four may be accepted as college credit for many schools throughout the world. This means students can potentially bypass courses, save money and graduate faster.
How to Register for AP Exams
Each AP classroom at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) has flyers on the wall with important information for students.
In order to sign up, FVHS students must set up a Total Registration account. Students who already have a Total Registration account can simply log in.
From there, students must set up their College Board account and join their respective AP classes with a unique join code their AP teacher has, which are different for each period. Students can also receive their AP classroom join code, after they register for AP tests on Total Registration.
Once students are logged into Total Registration, they can view a host of links. Students should click “Edit Student/Parent Info” and review the information with their parents to ensure all personal information is up to date. When all the personal information is correct, students should click “Register for 2022 AP Exams.”
After that, students need to select all AP courses they are enrolled in, regardless of whether they’re taking the AP exam or not. Students should then click “next” to bring them into “Exam Details,” where students can select whether they are “Taking [AP] Exam” or “Not Taking [AP] Exam – Only enrolling in course.”
When students select which AP exam they want to take, they will be asked to enter payment information. A receipt will be provided for paid exams in the form of a printable and downloadable PDF.
Important Dates and Deadlines
FVHS registration for AP exams opens on Sept. 15 at 8 a.m. and ends on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. The late payment window is open from Oct. 7 at 8 a.m. to Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. with an additional fee of $40.
The deadline for reduced cost AP exams are due on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m.
In order to receive a full refund, students must cancel their AP exam by Nov. 4. Cancellations after Nov. 4 will only receive a refund of $48.
Students can cancel their AP exam by logging back into Total Registration and requesting an Exam Cancellation.
If AP exams are not fully paid for by Oct. 13, they will be canceled and students will not be able to take the AP exam.
Exam Payment Information
Regular AP exams cost $104 each with Capstone AP exams costing $152. Regular AP courses are taken in one school year divided between two semesters. AP Capstone courses are two school year long courses, including AP Seminar or AP Research.
Students can apply for a reduced fee application where eligibility is determined by household income and family size. For example, a family size of four’s total household annual income cannot surpass $49,025. Parents should be with students when filling out the form because of the personal information required.
Reduced regular AP exams cost $62 and reduced AP capstone AP exams cost $110.
Before filling out the form, students and parents should have the income of all household members and be prepared to upload their 2019 or 2020 Federal Income tax form.
Additional Resources
College Board provides a timeline of the 2021-2022 school year for students or administrators wishing to keep on track. College Board also offers AP classroom which provides video lectures and the percentage of how much each unit accounts for on the AP exam, for students wishing to review a topic or material not covered in class.
“Each digital classroom offers a great deal of practice for any topic that may be tested on the exam,” FVHS’s Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Jon Hurst said.
All course lectures can be found on the AP Youtube channel which “provides students with daily instruction, practice, and feedback on every course topic, and skill that’s tested on the AP exam,” according to the about page.
Students with any additional questions can ask their AP teacher or email Hurst at jhurst@hbuhsd.edu.
“I highly suggest students take advantage of the AP offerings here at FVHS. We have a tremendous group of AP teachers with a great track record for preparing their students for the exam,” Hurst said.
