This year, UC High’s students of active military families will be able to take all Advanced Placement (AP) tests for free. AP testing will take place May 4 to May 15 in the gym, auditorium or Media Center, depending on the subject.
According the UC High website, students from active military families who talked to Counselor Naomi Paige in the counseling office before January 20 can take AP tests for free. In addition, those who qualify for free and reduced lunch can still see Financial Officer Gail Newcomb in the counseling office prior to paying for their exams to get a discount (sandi.net). The financial aid office has a list of students that qualify for reduced-price AP exams.
According to iHigh Principal Patty MacIntyre, AP test fees for “students whose parents are active duty military or work directly for the Department of Defense (DOD)” are covered by the “Operation Student Virtual Learning grant, a three-year 2.9 million dollar grant awarded to San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) in September 2011 by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA).” Just last spring, DODEA extended the grant to continue funding through August 2015. The grant applies to “all SDUSD high schools.”
Each AP exam costs 91 dollars. The College Board provides a 29 dollar fee reduction per exam for students in need of financial assistance. In addition, the school can take advantage of a nine dollar rebate for each fee-reduced exam, making the lowest final cost for the exam 53 dollars. The only way to receive a refund for an AP exam is if one does not write on the answer sheet or workbook or start the AP exam (secure-media.collegeboard.org).
Students with an IEP or 504 plan must contact their case manager or counselor to discuss any modifications that need to be made to the exam so that the counselors can contact the College Board (sandi.net).
During the week of May 4 to May 8, AP tests for Chemistry, Environmental Science, Psychology, Calculus AB, English Literature and Composition, Spanish Language and Culture, Art History and United States history will be taking place. During the week of May 11 to May 15, AP tests for biology, physics (mechanics), US Government and Politics, English Language and Composition, Statistics, World History, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics will be taken (secure-media.collegeboard.org). Locations for these tests are to be announced.
There are many extra fees that students can choose to pay, such as if they want to withhold their score from a specified college, which costs 10 dollars per college and 15 dollars per report of the exam results. On the other hand, students can pay an extra 25 dollars to get their scores to a college faster. All requests must be received with payment before June 15, 2015. Students may also pay a 30 dollar fee to have their test rescored by hand and have the results sent to a college (secure-media.collegeboard.org).