AP classes allow students to gain credit that can benefit them in their college experience. Accumulating enough credit may allow students to graduate from high school early, or even skip their freshman year of college. This credit can be earned either through Johnson County Community College and/or by taking the AP Exam at the end of your second semester of an AP course.

Sophomore Joseph Drewing, new to the AP experience, provides insight on the difference between AP and JCCC  credit.

“AP credit is more versatile and can be used across the board, but JCCC credit is more centralized, and you can only really use it in the Kansas area,” Drewing said “[On] the AP test, you earn the credit, but the JCCC you just pay for it basically,”

When students take the AP exam, it is a high risk, high reward situation as their score on said exam will determine whether or not they are granted the designated AP credit, comparatively opposite that of the Johnson County credit option. 

“I am part of the JCCC college now program so I am already getting my college credit, so I don’t need to do the AP exam,” Drewing said. “The pro is that JCCC credit you can get way easier, it does cost a bit more, but you can get all six credits for that class without taking some big test that you’d have to spend a lot of time studying for,”

On the contrary, those that are confident in their academic prosperity or are more inclined to take a risk, may be much more willing to follow through with the exam. Sophomore Jakob Kuehnen supports the idea behind the exams.

“For all my AP classes I haven’t done the JCCC, that’s just because I think I’m capable of doing that, of taking the test. I think that’ll prepare me well,” Kuehnen said “I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about JCCC stuff much at all. I’ve just always done the exams”

For most, a large part of the decision as to which type of credit to follow through with, lies in how they perceive their own academic abilities. Some may have less time to study and, therefore, may be drawn to JCCC credit, as opposed to AP credit.

“For me, I think the AP exam is a better fit, and that’s just because I trust myself to be able to study and get all that done,” Kuehnen said “If somebody is not willing to do that, or doesn’t think they’re capable of doing that, JCCC is better because it’s more of like a teacher relationship.”