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Latin American Universities Recognize AP Exam Grades
for Credit
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by Michael Hogan
American School Foundation of Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
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More About AP Recognition in Latin America...
Contributing to the Growth of AP
One of the most exciting developments within the Advanced Placement Program is the growing recognition of AP Exams at universities outside the United States. Increasingly, universities worldwide are looking to AP as a reliable, transportable credential. Universities in more than 50 countries currently accept AP Exam grades for credit, advanced standing, and admission priority.
In Canada, for example, AP acceptance is now universal, with every university granting credit or placement, or both, for specified grades on AP Exams. Hundreds of Canadian secondary schools offer AP courses and exams. And while Canadian students entering college need not leave their home province to take full advantage of the benefits of AP, they certainly can leave and still find their AP Exam grades recognized at universities throughout the world.
Over the past decade, the International Services unit has developed numerous initiatives designed to educate universities outside the U.S. of the benefits of accepting AP credentials. These efforts have created opportunities for thousands of students pursuing higher education internationally. Those who have benefited include both international students and U.S. students studying abroad.
As a result of these initiatives, Germany and Austria offer countrywide recognition of AP Exam grades. In the United Kingdom, the use of AP Exam grades as an admission equivalent of the fifth year of secondary school studies is now common, and almost 90 universities recognize AP. In fact, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the central organization that processes applications for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the UK, has recently "mapped" AP Exams against the British General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A Level) examinations. A growing number of universities throughout Europe find AP Exams valuable when evaluating applications for admission. In addition, universities in Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan increasingly use AP.
Reaching Out to Latin America
The AP Program faced significant challenges in gaining acceptance in Latin America. Until recently, a relatively small number of students sat for AP Exams. In addition, few students from North America applied to Latin American universities. South American countries had little interest in AP credit recognition because they already widely accepted the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) program. Directors of international high schools were concerned that their local students would perceive the AP Program as elitist if only American universities granted credit for AP. In the spring of 2004, only six universities in four Latin American countries recognized AP Exams. Without recognition by local universities, the Program's growth was unlikely.
But by 2004 that began to change. A growing number of AP students attending international schools in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay began asking about credit from local universities. In addition, the limit on admission to medical schools in the United States had many U.S. students looking for premed and medical school options south of the border.
In response to the need, the College Board's International Services division created the Latin American University Recognition Initiative, which provided a number of tools to address the problem. The first was translating into Spanish all major documents pertaining to AP, as well as creating new ones especially for parents and administrators in Latin America. These included Avanza con el Programa (Get with the Program) and "AP en América Latina." In addition, International Services sent letters in Spanish to rectors and admissions directors of major Latin American universities, outlining the benefits of AP recognition to the universities and to the region. AP representatives met with IB officials to publish a joint pamphlet in Spanish and English comparing both programs to inform university administrators that both programs set high standards and produce disciplined students who are prepared for university and have completed rigorous curricula. Meanwhile, International Services delivered AP professional development to educators in schools throughout the region through the support of a generous grant issued through the U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools.
Promoting and Educating Online
Even more important was the innovation of an AP International Recognition Web site as part of the College Board's Web site. This site promotes the AP policies of universities outside the United States. Last year, international students, parents, and counselors visited the site 150,000 times. By navigating the site's user-friendly and comprehensive layout, a student searching for university policies in Colombia, for example, will find Universidad de los Andes (sometimes referred to as "the Harvard of Latin America") and a clear explanation of its AP policies in English and Spanish. The site provides a link to the home page of the university, which includes more details on admission, tuition, scholarships, extracurricular activities, and student housing.
 AP International Recognition
Enthusiastic Acceptance of the AP Program
In Mexico, all 26 campuses of the Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, the largest and one of the most prestigious universities in Mexico, grant credit for specified AP Exam grades. In addition, several high-profile secondary schools associated with Tecnológico de Monterrey began teaching classes in AP Physics and AP Calculus AB in 2005.
In Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic, prestigious medical schools recognize AP Exam grades in calculus, biology, physics, chemistry, and statistics. Since admittance to medical school in Latin America begins with the premed year, those with AP grades of 4 or higher in these subjects can move into higher-level medical courses almost immediately. In addition, medical schools have offered many AP students priority admission.
All of the major Catholic universities, the most independent colleges in Latin America, signaled their willingness to join in the AP recognition initiative early on. Jesuit universities with connections to Loyola University Chicago and Boston College in the United States were well aware of the benefits of the program and the quality of the students who applied with the AP designation on their transcripts. Maryknoll, Thomistic, Franciscan, and Dominican universities quickly followed suit. In Uruguay, in addition to the well-known Universidad de Montevideo and the excellent Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Universidad ORT Uruguay (the oldest Jewish university on the continent) also chose to grant AP recognition.
Throughout Latin America, 68 universities in 12 countries now grant recognition for AP Exam grades. These include Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. This result has helped drive the growth of students taking AP courses in Latin America, growth that comes from not only U.S. students studying at international schools abroad but also local students and "third-culture" students. In fact, in May 2006, the number of AP Exams administered at schools in Latin America increased by more than 12 percent over those taken in 2005.
In addition, the number of U.S. and Canadian students applying for study in universities abroad has increased dramatically, especially in Latin America, where the tuitions are lower and the quality of education is high. Agreement for shared degrees between North and South American universities has also increased, with many students now working, for example, toward a J.D. degree in international law by studying law in both the U.S. and a Latin American country. The quality of education in medicine is so high in Colombia that U.S. students attending the medical school in Medellín (noted as one of the top schools in the world for traumatic medicine) need only complete the U.S. board exams to begin a residency in the United States. Their pass rate on the medical boards exceeds 90 percent.
The most active support for this recognition project has come from the U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools, which is currently headed by Dr. Keith Miller. A former director of an international school in Latin America, Dr. Miller has long been interested in promoting the AP International Recognition Initiative. He believes that the rigorous academic work engaged in by AP students should be acknowledged not only by universities in the U.S. and Canada but also by the universities within the host countries of their schools. He and his colleague Dr. William Scotti, the Office of Overseas Schools' regional education officer for the American Republics, have been instrumental in convincing international school directors to promote this initiative.
As Janet Heinze, director of the American School Foundation of Guadalajara, noted, "This is an idea whose time has come. Now we not only see U.S. students going to great schools and getting scholarships as a result of their AP grades, we also see local Mexican students staying in the region and getting scholarships to study here. It is wonderful. And it really is all about the students, giving them more options and more opportunities."
Encouraging AP Students to Attend International Universities
As a result of the AP International Recognition Initiative, several international schools now offer scholarships for AP students wishing to attend a local university that recognizes their AP Exam grades. In addition, several universities, including the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, offer scholarships to outstanding AP students who wish to study in the region. In June 2006, Ingrid Albanes, an AP student in Mexico, earned a scholarship to attend the Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara. Not only did she receive a scholarship, but the university granted full credit for her AP course work in high school. "This is like a dream," she said. "I wanted to stay in Mexico close to my family, but in the past Mexican universities never accepted courses completed in high school. And I know if I do well here, three years from now I could I be studying in graduate school in Boston or Paris." Ingrid is one step closer to fulfilling her dream to work in the world of international relations.
Meanwhile, Belen Medina is headed to Notre Dame in the United States, where she, too, has a scholarship. "Without AP courses Notre Dame would not have even considered me for admission. It is just too competitive. And 10 years ago in Mexico, no one even knew what AP was. What a change!"
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Michael Hogan with AP student Belen Medina at her high school graduation.
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Michael Hogan is the author of 14 books and the emeritus humanities chair at the American School Foundation of Guadalajara.
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