what is an ap award

An AP award is a recognition from College Board for doing well on multiple AP exams, usually based on the number of exams taken and the scores earned. The most common ones are AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, AP Scholar with Distinction, and State AP Scholar.

What it means

AP awards are not separate classes or tests; they are honors added to your AP record when you meet certain score thresholds. They mainly show consistent strong performance across AP exams.

Common AP awards

• AP Scholar : scores of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams.

• AP Scholar with Honor : average score of at least 3.25 and scores of 3 or higher on 4 or more AP exams.

• AP Scholar with Distinction : average score of at least 3.5 and scores of 3 or higher on 5 or more AP exams.

• State AP Scholar : recognized by state-level performance rules set by College Board.

When it shows up

These awards are typically reflected after AP scores are released, and students can see them in their College Board AP information.

College impact

They can look nice on a record, but the award itself is usually less important than the actual AP scores and coursework behind it.

TL;DR: An AP award is just a College Board recognition for strong AP exam performance, not a special class or certificate.