AP & CLEP Exams

Advanced Placement (AP) courses challenge high-school students to study subjects in greater depth. Having AP courses on a high school resume tells college admission officers that you can work hard and are more prepared for college work.

This will go a long way toward improving your chances of getting into a competitive college. And while you want to make the best grades you can, making a “B” in an AP or honors program is given more weight than achieving an “A” in a regular class study.

Once AP courses are complete, students can take an exam in the subjects and, if the score is high enough, can get college credit for taking these courses in high school. While there is a testing charge, it is far less than the cost of tuition and time in taking the same studies again in college.

Not every university accepts AP credit, but AP courses look good on a high school transcript even when college credit is not given. Information can be found online at the web site apstudents.collegeboard.org/.

The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a means of testing out in subjects students already excel in and can pass with a minimum qualifying score. Nearly 3,000 colleges nationwide grant credit and/or advanced standing for CLEP exams.

Benefits include saving time and tuition, demonstrating proficiency to college officials, and making college more interesting since students can move right into advanced courses.

Cost for each test is between $87 and $112 (depending on your TCC student status), and can be taken at the TCC campuses. For information call the TCC testing center at 595-7534 or go online to https://www.tulsacc.edu/student-resources/testing-services/clep-exams

Top Ten Tips to Minimize Stress & Maximize Scores on AP and CLEP Exams

1. 1. Eat blueberries and bananas, foods that increase your serotonin, which counter high cortisol levels that occur in stressful situations. Foods with B-6, protein and complex carbs such as sweet potatoes, turkey, rice, sunflower seeds, tuna, whole grain breads, pasta, cereals and fruit increase serotonin and endorphins, which open the brain channels.
   2. Wear your favorite color to the test. Science shows that color greatly influences our mood, productivity and creativity.
   3. Walk around the block. Exercise produces endorphins (healing hormones) almost immediately, which helps lower cortisol effectively and reduces stress.
   4. Rent a comedy or listen to a funny CD. Laughter has been scientifically proven to reduce stress hormones and release endorphins.
   5. Take a hot bath the night before the test and use aromatherapy candles. Science tells us that water reduces stress in the mind, body and soul. The morning of the test, turn on the faucet and put your hands (up to your wrists) under the water. Take a deep breath and clear your mind for one minute.
   6. Maintain an “attitude of gratitude.” It is physiologically impossible to be grateful and experience stress at the same time. Studies tell us daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy.
   7. See the others in the testing room as a community. Isolation is an illusion. Viewing your fellow testers as a team will increase your feeling of safety and decrease your heart rate.
   8. Repeat positive affirmations such as “I will do my best today” or “All is well.” Stop self hate talk and thinking. Empower yourself.
   9. Remember to breathe deeply. Most people take shallow breaths when they are stressed, which starves the body and brain of oxygen.
   10. Practice guided imagery. Take a deep breath and imagine you are in a safe place. This gets you centered, clears the mind and desomaticizes the worry

Source: Dr. Kathleen Hall, The Stress Institute, stressinstitute.com