Many students have long prepared for and stressed about the optional Advanced Placement exams administered during the first two weeks of May, in hopes that they will receive college credit for their AP classes.

Students may participate in any of the 37 subject exams, that will provide information to colleges about the student’s ability to succeed at the college level for a subject. Colleges generally accept scores anywhere from a 3 to a 5 out of the 5 possible points as earning college credit; however it depends on the school.

The cost of taking multiple exams, at 106 dollars each, can be quite high, but there is financial aid available for those who are part of the federal free or reduced lunch program. However, students sometimes decide it is not worth it to pay for the test regardless, depending on their circumstances.

“The way we try to look at it for some students who are wavering on whether they want to take the exam or not, we ask them, especially if they’re a senior and they’ve been accepted to a school and they know what school they’re going to, they can always look to see if their school is going to accept the AP credit,” AP Coordinator Kate Mulcahy said. “If they accept it, paying whatever our price is here is going to be cheaper than paying for a class at the college level.”

AP Government and Politics teacher Brian Kellett believes that the test is worth the cost because of the possible benefit of college credit.

“It’s not cheap to take an AP exam but relative to what college course takes, it’s a good value,” Kellett said.

According to Kellett, past students have had a fair amount of success on the exams.  

“Generally my students think that the test is something that doesn’t catch them by surprise,” Kellett said. “They’ve been prepared for it, and the course pretty much matched the material on the exam as far as topics. But, it is a lot of material. There’s a lot to cover, and typically the students that prepare over a long period of time generally have success.”

Mulcahy agreed that the test results are generally very good, and often earn students the college credit they hoped for.

“The vast majority of students score a 3 or higher, so they’re pretty successful,” Mulcahy said.

Though taking a single test to determine whether or not a student will receive college credit for their class can be anxiety-inducing, those with experience advise not to stress about it.

“Don’t freak out. It’s just one test; if you screw it up, it’s not going to be the end of the world,” senior Max Slingluff, who took the AP World History exam last year, said.