SETTING A COURSE FOR HIGHER LEARNING SOME TAKE AP CLASSES FOR FUN.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS 

Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Daniel Iland is relieved.

After studying and stressing for countless hours, and spending nearly $1,000 in exam fees, this 17-year-old senior from Saugus High School is finally finished with all of his Advanced Placement testing.

"When you're done, it's like a huge weight is off your shoulders," Iland said.

Iland has been challenging himself with rigorous courses since the ninth grade, taking everything from European history to macroeconomics. By all accounts, his investments have paid off. The teen will be going in the fall to Rochester Technology Institute with a full scholarship, but he admits it wasn't the Advanced Placement courses that got him there.

"I was a National Merit Scholar, so the AP classes didn't really affect my entrance or my scholarship at the college," Iland said.

Like Iland, thousands of students across the nation have been arduously filling in bubbles with No. 2 pencils with hopes of high scores on the AP tests. Their scores -- measured on a scale of one to five -- can push their grade-point averages beyond the 4.0 straight-A level and, in theory, are supposed to give them an advantage when they look for colleges.

But there's a question whether these tough courses actually help kids get into college more easily than their peers.

Colleges throughout the country are not required to give students additional credit for AP courses. The College Board reports that 90 percent of colleges and universities do give college credit for students who pass AP tests, but there is no formula for how these classes translate into units.

In Southern California, neighboring colleges differ greatly in how they treat AP courses.

UCLA looks at the scores differently in every department, accepts just scores of 4 or 5 on AP exams and usually applies credits toward elective units.

At California State University, Northridge, scores of 3 and above qualify incoming students for credit. USC gives 4 units of credit for students with AP test scores of 3 and above. At either university, the policy can change for certain majors.

Jennifer Topiel, director of public affairs for The College Board, the nonprofit agency that operates the SAT college entrance exam, said the board supports the idea of colleges having their own way of accepting AP test scores.

Topiel said the AP program has come a long way since its inception 50 years ago when these higher-end classes were available only at elite high schools and college preparatory academies.

"The value of taking AP classes, whether you get credit or not, is that it gives students a chance to expand their horizons," Topiel said.

"Anecdotally, students don't use their AP classes to place out of classes, but to allow them to take higher level courses."

It seems today's students agree.

Whitney Tatisuwanna, a senior graduating with a grade-point average of 4.55, has taken nine AP classes in her four years of high school. She said at first she took the higher-level classes because she felt like she needed a challenge, but eventually taking the courses became a habit.

"You start to feel like you can take all your classes that way," Tatisuwanna said.

The 17-year-old, who wants to be a lawyer, will be attending UCLA in the fall and knows she'll be lucky if she gets any credit for her AP courses at the competitive university.

But that's OK with her.

"Taking these classes is about how bad you want to improve yourself more than anything else. The college factor was in the back of my mind but it wasn't the deciding factor."

Martin Kirby, AP physics teacher at Hart High School for the past 24 years, has watched the popularity of his courses grow. He now teaches only AP courses.

"These classes have become more popular for two reasons," Kirby said. "They are more interesting and fast-paced and many kids now feel like it's a requirement."

A 4.0 GPA is no longer the ultimate. As more and more kids sign up for Advanced Placement classes, the 5.0 is the new goal.

Kirby thinks the raised standard helps motivate all types of students.

"These classes are not just for elite students, any student who thinks they can succeed can make it in this class if they try and some students have really surprised themselves at how well they do."

Marty Fricke, the AP adviser at Saugus High, said the number of students taking the AP exams has more than doubled in the past five years on his campus. In 2001, 350 AP exams were given in 10 subjects. This year, 750 exams were doled out in 17 subjects.

Fricke said he encourages his students to take AP courses to give them an edge in the college application process.

Alex Trouch, 19, who entered UC Santa Barbara as a junior, said the biggest benefit he got from his AP classes was the opportunity to get into the college's coveted critical studies program.

The program takes students already interested in a particular field and molds then into innovative thinkers and future leaders in their chosen professions.

"I don't think I would have gotten into this program if I hadn't come in with so many advanced courses," Trouch said.

Trouch, who plans to become a physicist, said he's also enjoying the flexibility the courses have given him. Trouch received 35 units of college credit for his eight high school AP courses -- so he has more flexibility in the classes he takes.

Despite his surplus of credits, Trouch said, his days of rushing through classes are over.

"I could get out of here in two more years, but I don't think I want to rush it."

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