Advanced Placement (AP)

A complete registration is a multi-step process:

• Step One: Students must log into the My AP Platform and indicate if they wish to take their AP Exam(s).
• Step Two: Students must register for their exams in the MyPaymentsPlus platform
• Step Three: All exams must be paid-in-full online in MyPaymentsPlus by the registration deadline (November 9, 2025).

Students with incomplete registration and/or payment by the 11/9/25 deadline will have their exam order status moved to “No” in the My AP platform. In order to reinstate the AP Exams and have the exams ordered, the registration will incur the College Board $40/exam late fee, since all the steps in the registration process were not complete by the deadline.

Step 1: The My AP Platform

Students log into the My AP platform if they have an existing account or create an account, if this is their first ever AP Course, SAT, or PSAT exam registration.

• Join Your AP Class Section using the specific join code(s) supplied by the instructor. Students register for their exams and are enrolled into the AP course resources.
• Students MUST indicate in each AP course on the College Board website whether they will take the exam in May.
• Each account is defaulted to “Undecided,” therefore students must select “yes” or “no” for their intent to take the AP exam. If you do not make a selection and pay for your exam, your status will be switched to “no.” Students MUST keep up with their CB account login information. PDSHS does not have access to student accounts.

Step 2 & 3: MyPaymentsPlus

For all exams they intend to take in the spring, students must register and pay in the MyPaymentsPlus platform. There is a $15 registration fee for all students, including students who qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch.

• For detailed My Payments Plus directions, please see the guide.

Student Registration

• All students pay a $15.00 non-refundable fee.
• GCPS Students can register between Friday, September 26, and Sunday, November 9, 2025.
• Students will pay the $15.00 registration fee, along with any other exam costs on MyPaymentsPlus

GCPS students enrolled in AP Courses

• After the student pays for the initial $15 registration fee, GCPS will pay for 1 exam ($99.00) per student, as long as the student is enrolled in the course for which he/she is testing.
  • Each additional exam is $99.00.

GCPS Students who are Free/Reduced Lunch students and enrolled in AP Courses

• Gwinnett County Public Schools will pay for all exams after the $15.00 registration fee has been paid. Students must pay the registration fee on MyPaymentsPlus

GCPS students NOT enrolled in Gwinnett County Public Schools AP Courses:

• The cost is $99.00 per exam.

Notes

• The fee of $40.00 for any exam that is a late order, requires late-testing, or is canceled (and does not meet College Board approved guidelines) has been reinstated.
• A late order fee of $40.00 will be applied to each exam ordered between November 14, 2025, and March 13, 2026 at 11:59 pm for 1st semester and year-long courses.
• As of March 14th, 2026, no more AP exams may be ordered.
• The fee of $40.00 will be applied to any exam that is ordered late, requires late-testing, or is cancelled (and does not meet College Board approved guidelines).
• Students who have AP Comparative Government, AP Government/Politics, AP Macroeconomics, or AP Microeconomics during 2nd semester may register for those exams during the first registration window, or between Monday, January 5 and Sunday, March 8, 2026.

 

1.   What is an AP® course?
An AP course is an Advanced Placement® course certified by The College Board as a college-level class taught in high school. Students can earn college credit as well as high school credit for these courses if their scores on the national AP Examinations are high enough to satisfy university requirements.

2.   How much college credit can students earn?
Students can earn as much as two semesters college credit for each subject.  Contact a specific university for information on the amount of credit granted in different subject areas.

3.   Are AP classes hard?
AP classes are challenging but not impossible. The College Board requires that all AP teachers receive extensive training and that AP classes use college-level textbooks in order to maintain the level of rigor necessary to pass the national AP Exams.

4.   How many students pass the national AP Examinations?
While the number varies from year to year, our students pass exams in every subject area at well above the national rate. Typically, 65-75% of students pass their AP exam in any course.

5. What are grades like in an AP classes?
The Gwinnett County Board of Education established a 10 point bonus to be added to students’ final grades in all AP classes as an incentive for students to take more challenging classes. A grade of 89, for example, becomes 99 on the student’s report card. A grade of 95 becomes 105.

6. Do I have to be an A student to be successful in AP classes?
While A students often have time management and study skills that help them to be successful, any motivated student who has taken necessary prerequisite classes can be successful. Students who score above the national SAT average score tend to be more successful in AP courses than students with scores below the national SAT average.

7. Do AP courses have a lot of homework? 
AP courses do have homework, like all classes, but AP classes do need more preparation.  Students who have a job and work more than 20 hours a week or who spend more than three hours a day with extracurricular activities will need to consider their time management.  

8. How many AP courses do students take per year?
While some exceptionally well-organized and highly motivated students can manage 4-5 AP courses per year, most students find 2-3 classes per year more comfortable. 

9. Do AP courses matter to colleges?
Rigor of schedule is now very important to the college admissions process. In order to be competitive with students from across the nation who have transcripts showing many AP courses, students should take as many AP classes as they can. Colleges report that AP courses on a transcript show that the student has initiative, motivation, and time management skills

AP Capstone™ is Advanced Placement's innovative diploma program from the College Board, which is available for Paul Duke STEM High School Sophomores and Juniors. It is similar to an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, and requires specific coursework to be taken.

AP Capstone™ equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions. AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams will receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

Students that wish to pursue this program should register for the AP Seminar course during registration. AP Seminar meets students' 10th grade English/Language Arts course requirement and AP Research is taken during the Junior Year and is an AP Elective.

Learn more about the AP Capstone Diploma Program