Hey guys and gals. My school offers AP capstone and I'm intrigued but I'm not sure what all the requirements are. Specifically, can you join AP capstone later in your high school journey or do you have to start from freshman year?
The AP Capstone program is divided into two main courses: AP Seminar, typically taken in your sophomore or junior year, and AP Research, typically taken in your junior or senior year.
The first course, AP Seminar, combines a mixture of writing, teamwork, presentations, and problem solving. Through researching a variety of topics of your choosing, you learn to evaluate information, identify issues, question perspectives, and form your own arguments. The AP Exam for AP Seminar does not test content knowledge, rather it assesses your application of these skills.
After completing AP Seminar, you then can move on to AP Research. In this course, you will pick a topic, conduct extensive research, and create a final research paper and presentation. This course does not have a traditional AP exam; instead, your AP score is based on your research paper and presentation.
One critical point to note is that to earn the distinction as an AP Capstone Diploma candidate, you must take both AP Seminar and AP Research, and also earn a score of 3 or higher on four other AP exams. On the bright side, these additional four AP courses can be in any subject, and can be taken at any point in your high school career.
In short, you don't have to start AP Capstone from your freshman year, but it does require a planned, two-year commitment beginning no later than your junior year. Check with the AP coordinator at your high school to get more specific guidelines for participating in the AP Capstone program at your institution.
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