How to Register for AP Exam and AP Exam Cost

How to register for AP exam? Are you having a tough time looking out for various sources about registering and paying for AP classes and tests? Or even wondering why AP exams cost so much? Then don’t worry, even if you’re home-schooled or your local school doesn’t have the AP program because we are here to guide you through all the necessary information about registration and paying for AP exams. 

How to Register and Pay for AP Exam?

The AP exams empower students to obtain college credit for classes they’ve already taken in high school as well as to exhibit their knowledge of college-level assignments. Students can undertake AP testing in a wide range of subject matters, including the history of the US, core subjects like physics, chemistry, English literature & composition, or even less opt for subjects like art & culture, mandarin, or even psychology.  

The odds are in your favor if you attend a public or private high school where you will have an AP coordinator at your school who will be able to register you for any advanced placement exams you decide to take. However, things may get a bit complicated for students who are either home-schooled or those who choose to pursue their educations online. You will have to register independently if your high school does not offer AP Exams. You can read our blog for useful tips on how to register for your AP Exams, along with some helpful cues for test day. 

How To Register For AP Exams

The Process of AP Registration 

The process of AP Registration differs from school to school. For instance, many schools require students to take a preparatory chemistry course before they can enroll in AP Chemistry. Your school’s course catalog ought to list out the required prerequisites for each of the AP classes. Usually, to take APs you will have to go over and do the regular class sign-up procedure, as long as you have taken up all the obligatory required classes.  

In some schools, you must decisively pass a placement exam to register for an AP class. For instance, my school’s vital criterion for students was to test into AP Calculus BC as well as AP Calculus AB – even if they had taken math up over Pre-Calculus. Grounded on your test mark, you were likely to be placed into either Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or regular (non-AP) Calculus. 

We highly recommend inquiring about signing up for AP Classes at your school guidance counseling office or taking help from one of your current teachers at school. They can properly guide you about any specific protocols outside of your school’s characteristic registration process. 

If you have been home-schooled or are attending a school without AP classes you don’t have to officially register for an AP class. All you need is to simply register for the AP Exam later in the year. It’s up to you to either take a class or do self-study during the rest of the year. 

If You Attend a School with AP Classes 

If you’re attending a school where you are taking AP classes, your AP teacher normally gives you a heads-up about your school’s AP test sign-up process. They are obliged to inform you about the deadlines for registration for the test. Some may even help you thoroughly through the registration process! However, if you still haven’t heard anything from your AP teacher until now or are just inquisitive about your school’s AP test sign-up procedure, you can make the extra effort to track down your school’s AP Coordinator and find out about the important dates and deadlines.  

Who is the AP Coordinator? 

Every school that offers AP classes often has a guidance counselor who is usually a staff member. If you don’t have an idea as to who this person might be, you must check with your AP teacher. It is the duty and the job of the guidance counselor to handle your AP test registration as well as coordinate with the College Board.  

You must keep in mind that, you will have to register for your AP exams through your school, there is no alternative method to register online. Further, as part of your registration, you’ll need to know the AP exam cost which comes to be about a $94 exam fee, which you’ll have to submit to the AP coordinator. And mind you, this AP test cost is per exam.  

What If You’re Home-schooled or Your School Doesn’t Have AP Classes? 

You can still organize to take AP Exams even if you’re home-schooled and are self-studying or you go to a school which does not have the AP program. You can take the AP test at a nearby participating AP school. 

To do this, you’ll have to contact the AP program in this situation. You will have to make sure to contact AP Services no later than March 1st of the year you want to appear for the test. In return, you will get the names of residents, participating AP schools who are keen on testing students from outside their locality, along with the phone number of the AP coordinator at that school. 

Below mentioned is the contact information for AP Services. You will have to contact them to get all information about any local school that will let you give you the AP exams: 

Phone	888-225-5427
International callers	212-632-1780
Fax	610-290-8979
Email	apstudents@info.collegeboard.org

Before making the call, you must prepare a list of the AP Exams you intend in taking. This will help you and the College Board in finding you a school easily. 

After the call and once you have all the relevant information from AP Services, next, you should call the AP Coordinators at the local school no later than March 15th to set a date for your test. 

Keep the following points in mind when you call the Coordinators to arrange for your testing: 

• That you acquired their contact information from the College Board. 
• That you are hoping to find a school that will let AP home-schooled students or students from schools that do not offer AP Exams take the test. 
• The particular AP exams you want to take. 
• If you have a recognized form of disability that will require accommodation. 

As soon as you find a school that will let you take the AP test, that school’s AP Coordinator will be responsible for assembling your exam resources and will let you know when and where to report for the exams. He will also collect AP exam costs i.e. your fees which may come out to be higher than the usual $94 as it will also cover the school’s extra proctoring or management costs. 

One last thing that you’ll need to pay heed to is that your host school needs to manage the exams for you. This is to say that the host school is not supposed to forward the AP exams to you or your school. This means you’ll have to travel to your host school on exam days. 

How to Register Independently for AP Exams 

After you’ve decided which AP Exams you want to take, you ought to contact the College Board, to begin the registration process. Start by visiting the College Board’s AP Services page in January of the same year you want to go through testing. You may also give a call to the AP services at 888-225-5437 or email them at apstudents@info.collegeboard.org to fix a call with an AP Coordinator. This person will contact you with information on nearby locations and dates. Furthermore, he/she will also order all your necessary exam materials for testing day. 

When speaking with your AP Coordinator, make sure to let your coordinator be acquainted with that the fact that you’re looking to register for the exam(s) independently. Home-schooled students must approve that they will be using the state home-school code delivered by the coordinator on exam day. You must also apprise the Coordinator of any lodgings that have been granted to you for testing day. You will have to bring your Student Accommodation Letter along with you to the testing center on the day of the exam to authorize you are qualified for accommodations. 

Tips to remember for Exam Day 

It is very important that on the day of your AP Exam, you must arrive on time and carry a valid, government-issued photo ID. Make sure that you’re using the correct school code before entering it to make sure your exam scores are recounted accurately. If you are a home-schooled student, you will use a 6-digit home-school or self-study code given to you on test day. And lastly, you must get plenty of sleep and have a good breakfast before taking your AP Exams. 

 What is the AP Exam Cost? 

The AP Program charges a fee for each of the AP Exams you want to appear for. Your school will assist you in submitting any AP Exam fees you owe. You must talk to your AP coordinator to find out what to do if you have any queries.  

Fee Reductions 

If you have a substantial need for financing, then you possibly will be eligible for a $34 College Board fee reduction per AP Exam. Depending on your state of financial position there might also be extra funding available to complement the College Board fee reduction and decrease your fee even further. You must inquire with your AP coordinator to find out what kind of support may be available to you. 

Exam Fees 

Description	Cost per Exam
Exam (excluding AP Seminar and AP Research) available in the U.S., U.S. territories, Canada, and DoDEA schools*	$96
Exam (apart from AP Seminar and AP Research) taken outside of the U.S.*	$126
AP Seminar or AP Research Exam which is taken anywhere	$144
Late order fee  Exams that have been ordered between November 16 and March 15 for full-year or first-semester courses invite a late fee in addition to the exam fee. This fee doesn’t relate to exams for courses that start after November 15 and exams for students that transfer into the school.	$40 per exam in addition to the exam fee
Unused/canceled exam fee  If you choose to decide that after November, order the cut-off date not to take an exam that was well-organized for you, the charge is $40 per exam instead of the full exam fee. The $40 fee relates to any fallow or canceled exam, including an exam ordered for a student who qualifies for a College Board fee reduction. It’s essential to tell your AP coordinator if you choose not to take an exam.  This fee will not apply to you if you decide to transfer out of a school.	$40 per exam

*”Outside the U.S.” means exams administered at schools outside of the United States, U.S. territories, and commonwealths, Canada, and DoDEA schools. Fees for exams taken at sanctioned test centers outside the United States differ. 

Note: 

• Your school may well need you to pay a greater fee than listed in the table to cover proctoring and organization costs. 
• In most circumstances, there’s no additional fee to take a substitute exam in the course of the late-testing schedule. If you’re planning to take an exam during the late-testing period, check with your school’s AP coordinator to validate whether you be obligated an additional late-testing fee. 

Curious about an AP Test cost and how to pay for the AP exam?  

We give you a step-by-step guide about how much the AP test cost and how you can pay for AP exams too. You can learn in this blog how much your AP exams are going to cost you in 2021-2022. We’ll also tell you how to get financial aid if you need it.  

AP Test Changes Due to COVID-19 

Due to the enduring COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, AP tests will here and now be conducted over 3 different sessions between May and June. It will depend on your school whether or not your tests will be online or on paper. To learn more about your dates and how all of this is going to work from now on, AP online review, and what these alterations mean for you, be certain to check all guidelines.  

 AP Exam Cost 

The fee for each AP Exam is approximately $94. In broad-spectrum, the cost for AP exams leans towards rising by a dollar or two every year. You can expect the fee to rise marginally perhaps up to $95 or $96 in the next year or two without worrying about a huge price increase happening anytime soon. 

Also, international students must take note: the fee for exams at schools outside of the United States, the commonwealth countries, and Canada is approximately $124 per exam. As College Board is based in the U.S., it proves expensive to handle international testing. To conclude, AP exams certainly are a costly affair. But there is financial aid available.  

What is meant by Total Registration and why does VHS use it for AP Exam registration?
Total Registration is a company that offers exam registration and payment services to high schools all over the country. It helps expand and improve order precision and registration efficiency for all the staff involved at the school. 

 What is the cost of the exam?
This year each AP exam costs approximately $95.00. Students who have qualified for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program will have to pay a fee of $5 for each exam.   

 Do I have to pay my fees online?
On no account, but you must pay heed to the directions on the “Payment Stub” that you would have printed at the time of your registration. You can log in to www.TotalRegistration.net if you were not able to print a payment stub, and click on Make a Payment to either pay online or generate a new payment stub. 

Students will need to mail their payment (payable to Total Registration, LLC) with their Payment Stub to: 

Total Registration, LLC
PO Box 398
Eldorado Springs, CO 80025 

All payment cheques must consist of the Reference Number in the memo of the cheque. If you are not able to print a Payment Stub, please make sure to enclose a copy of your confirmation. 

 Can I Get Monetary Aid for AP Exams? 

College Board makes available a $32 fee decrease for each exam taken by students with established monetary needs. That $32 reduction will get down the overall cost of the AP exam to $53 to $62 per exam. 

The fee reduction will be determined by your state, and whether or not your district takes part in a program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).  

What is the CEP and how is it useful for managing AP test costs? 

The CEP is a program for schools and districts that targets areas with high percentages of low-income children.  Under the program, free breakfast and lunch are also provided to all students. The eligibility of a candidate for the fee re reduction in AP exams depends on a case-to-case basis, provided your school takes part in CEP. Although the College Board used to grant all students from CEP schools or districts a fee reduction, it is no longer the case as of 2019.  

If by any chance your district does not participate in the CEP, then the College Board uses the eligibility criteria for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program. Let’s look at what exactly those eligibility requirements look like below. 

If your school participates in CEP, The guidelines for qualifying for the AP fee reduction in CEP districts are as follows: 

Either your family’s earnings are at or under 185% of the poverty level issued each year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or 

You will be eligible as an “identified student” if you are: 

• in foster care or Head Start, or 
• homeless or migrant, or 
• living in households that accept SNAP/Food Stamps, TANF cash aid, or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations welfare 

 If your school doesn’t participate in CEP 

For schools and districts that do not partake in CEP, eligibility to join the federal Free or Reduced Lunch program can be used to be eligible for AP Fee reduction. 

The qualifying criteria for free and reduced lunch are almost the same as CEP: 

Your family’s earnings should be at or below 185%  of the poverty level issued every year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or 

You have openly certified minus application for free school meals because you are: 

• in foster care or Head Start, or 
• homeless or migrant, or 
• living in households that accept SNAP/Food Stamps, TANF cash assistance, or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations assistance 

But what if you don’t meet those criteria? Or do you meet those criteria, but $53 per exam is still too expensive?  

Some states have supplementary finance that may be accessible for AP exams. This could lower the AP exam cost of $53 even more. Furthermore, your school or district might have its fee reduction guidelines or programs. 

Tip to find out precisely how much financial aid you are eligible for AP? 

Channels may vary according to the place you live but let us tell you that there are reasonably a few channels available to get funding for your AP tests. You could as well get the money from College Board, your state, or even from your school. 

The guidance counselors at your school can help you assess if you qualify for College Board’s fee reduction, in addition to this, they’ll tell you about any bonus funding programs your school or state might have. The guidance counseling office should have familiarity in helping students get funding for AP exams, especially if your school has a wide AP course selection. 

 Why does the AP exam cost so much and is $94 Per Exam worth It? 

It is without any doubt that $94 for every exam is a whole lot of money! Even if you become eligible for College Board’s fee reduction, you could still be paying $53 per exam. So is the expense worth it? 

To answer that, it depends on if you pass the exam and how your score converts to college credit and/or admissions competitiveness. 

If you pass an exam that makes you eligible for college credit at the school you end up attending, the cost can unquestionably be worth it. This is to say that $94 could compensate for a course that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Some students are even competent to enter college as sophomores and save a whole year of tuition fees based on their AP credit.  

The $94 fee for an AP exam can also be of substance if you get a respectable score that helps you get into a selective college, even if that school doesn’t take AP credit. What this means is that you will have to decide for each AP class and test. Whether or not the class adds a significant challenge to your schedule, or are you just heaping on AP classes? You’re more likely to pass each AP exam you take if your schedule isn’t crammed with them. 

Think judiciously about this. Because you must not feel the stress to load up on AP classes just to have them for the sake of it. Only take up the classes you are assured you can do well in and/or have a strong personal interest for. 

Finally, in conclusion, we must say that the fee is categorically not worth it if you fail the exam, because you won’t get college credit and that $94 is essentially down the drain. Besides, a score of 1 or 2 does not look impressive to colleges, even if you get good grades in the AP class. Therefore, think wisely and take the right step.