Advanced Topics Courses and AP ® Exams

Advanced Topics Courses and AP ® Exams

Castilleja educators oer innovative courses that develop deep content knowledge to foster curiosity, support interdisciplinary understanding, inspire critical analysis, and challenge students to think beyond themselves. Castilleja’s curriculum is not limited by the College Board nor designed to prepare students for particular standardized tests, including Advanced Placement® (AP) exams.

Colleges understand and respect that Advanced Topics (AT) courses are Castilleja's most advanced curriculum. AP® courses are not required for admission to the vast majority of colleges, and colleges will not expect Castilleja students to present AP exam scores during the application process—it is optional to report AP scores on college applications. * We recognize, however, that in certain cases strong AP exam scores can provide value to Castilleja students once they get to college. Depending on the college or university’s policy, some students may earn college credit, exemption from college general education requirements, and/or exemption from lower-level requirements of specific disciplines.

When a Castilleja AT course prepares students for success on a specific AP exam, any student enrolled in that AT course will have the option to sit for that AP exam at Castilleja in May. Castilleja courses that will prepare students for success on a particular AP exam are listed below. Students are not automatically registered for AP exams; students will be given instructions and then expected to complete AP exam registration in the fall. Note: Only students enrolled in the corresponding Castilleja AT course (as listed below) will be eligible to register for the optional AP exam; we do not oer AP exams at Castilleja that do not align with our curriculum.

*The only universities that require AP® exam scores for admission are a few of the most highly selective programmes in England. If a student is set on applying to one of those programmes, please reach out to the Castilleja College Counselors for guidance, preferably during sophomore year.

Castilleja AT Course AT in Art: Studio Arts

AT in Chinese: Language & Culture AT in Computer Science: Object-Oriented Problem Solving and Design in Java AT in English: American Voices AT in English: Senior Seminars AT in French: Language & Culture AT in Mathematics: Calculus

Optional AP Exam

AP® 2-D Art & Design or AP Drawing AP® Chinese Language & Culture AP® Computer Science A

AP® English Language AP® English Literature AP® French Language & Culture AP® Calculus AB

AT in Mathematics: Calculus with Infinite Series AP® Calculus AB or BC

AT in Mathematics: Statistics II AP® Statistics

AT in Music: Theory & Musicianship AT in Spanish: Language & Culture AP® Music Theory AP® Spanish Language & Culture