AP Scholar Awards
Recognize the hard work and achievements of your AP Scholars
The AP Program offers several AP Scholar Awards to recognize high school students who have demonstrated college-level achievement through AP courses and exams. Although there is no monetary award in addition to receiving an award certificate, this achievement is acknowledged on any grade report that is sent to colleges the following fall. The College Board encourages schools to celebrate their AP Scholars by sending a press release (.doc/56K) to their local newspaper. Notifications about AP Scholar Awards are sent to students and schools in October of each year.
In 2009, the numbers of AP Scholar Awards given were:
- AP Scholar: 154,104
- AP Scholar with Honor: 64,202
- AP Scholar with Distinction: 90,635
- State AP Scholar: 109
- National AP Scholar: 13,185
- National AP Scholar (Canada): 248
- DoDEA AP Scholar: 2
- International AP Scholar: 2
You can view data for the 2009 exam administration by downloading this file (.xls/80K). Visit research, reports, and data for past years' AP Scholar volumes.
Award levels
- AP Scholar: Granted to students who receive grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams
- AP Scholar with Honor: Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams
- AP Scholar with Distinction: Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams
- State AP Scholar: Granted to the one male and one female student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with grades of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average grade (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken
- National AP Scholar: Granted to students in the United States who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams
- National AP Scholar (Canada): Granted to students in Canada who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on five or more of these exams
- National AP Scholar (Bermuda): Granted to students in Bermuda who receive an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on five or more of these exams
- DoDEA AP Scholar: Granted to the one male and one female student attending Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools with the highest average grade on the greatest number of AP Exams. The minimum requirement is a grade of 3 or higher on three exams.
- International AP Scholar: Granted to the one male and one female student attending a school outside the United States and Canada that is not a DoDEA school with the highest average grade on the greatest number of AP Exams. The minimum requirement is a grade of 3 or higher on three exams.
Notes about AP Scholar Awards
- There are two steps to calculating the awards:
- The student's average AP grade is determined based on all exams taken this year and in previous years.
- The student's exam grades are checked to see which ones count toward the various AP Scholar Awards (e.g., an exam with a grade of 3 does not count toward a National AP Scholar Award).
- A student must meet all criteria to be eligible. For example, a student who has a 3.25 AP grade average but only received a 3 or higher on three exams will not receive the AP Scholar with Honor Award because the minimum requirement is a grade of 3 or higher on four or more exams.
- The Calculus AB subscore, Music Theory aural subscore, and Music Theory nonaural subscore grades are not used in the AP Scholar Award calculations.
- The AP Scholar Awards are academic distinctions that students may cite among their credentials on applications, resumes, and so on. Students do not receive any monetary award from the College Board.