High School expands Advanced Placement and College Course offerings

At Warwick Valley High School, students are challenged to take their education beyond high school, and a rich array of Advanced Placement and college courses are offered.
In all, a total of 99 college credits are offered at the High School through its growing list of honors and college classes. This school year, 14 Advanced Placement (AP) courses are taught at WVHS. In addition, the State University of New York at Albany, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), St. Cloud State University, and SUNY Orange offer a total of 17 courses.
English Literature, Physics, Mandarin Chinese, Engineering, and World History are among the college credit bearing classes taught at WVHS (for a complete listing of our college credit bearing courses, see below). New for the 2017-18 school year are Medical Interventions and Civil Engineering and Architecture, offered by RIT; and University Spanish 2, offered by SUNY Albany.

Why take college classes in high school?

College coursework challenges students to improve their writing skills, strengthen problem-solving abilities, and requires them to think critically. Students graduate high school better prepared for the rigors of college work, easing the transition from high school to college.
Students can also earn college credit, giving them a head start toward a college degree and possibly resulting in cost savings for students and their families.

Other benefits include:

• High school students who take AP and college classes gain confidence in their ability to succeed in college.
• Many college admissions officials see AP and college course experience as a signal that a student is ready to meet the expectations of college professors. They also like to see that a student is willing to take on an academic challenge.
• According to The College Board, 31 percent of colleges and universities look at AP experience when making scholarship decisions.

For Advanced Placement classes, the syllabus must be approved by the College Board to ensure that the work rises to the level of college study, and the College Board administers an AP final exam to students in May. If a student receives a qualifying score on the final exam and goes on to attend college, the student may receive college credits for the AP class. When a student enters college after high school graduation, the college he or she attends determines which credits will be accepted.
For classes offered by SUNY Albany, RIT, and SUNY Orange, the curriculum is provided by the college but taught here, at Warwick Valley.
Students are considered “dual enrolled” in the college and WVHS. Students can begin to build a college transcript, and, at times, those credits can be transferred to other colleges.
While students can earn up to four college credits upon the successful completion of an AP or college course, it is up to the individual discretion of a college or university to accept AP/college  credits or credits issued by another institution.
For example, Fordham University awards three non-major elective credits to students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on AP examinations including European History, Statistics, French, and several other courses. Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on a Biology, History of Art, or Human Geography may be awarded 3 credits from Fordham toward a core or major. Meanwhile,  SUNY Binghamton awards credit for scores of 3, 4, and 5, but how those credits are applied can vary by class.

College Credit Bearing Classes at WVHS

The following AP and college course are offered at Warwick Valley High School:

AP Classes

English Literature
English Language
Government and Politics
United States History
Psychology
World History
Biology
Chemistry
Environmental Science
Physics
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Spanish
Music Theory
There is no charge for AP classes. The fee for an AP final exam is $87. The fee may be waived or reduced for eligible students.

New York State University at Albany

University Spanish 1
University Spanish 2
University French
Science Research

Rochester Institute of Technology

Introduction to Engineering Design
Principles of Engineering
Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Introduction to Computer Science
Civil Engineering and Architecture

SUNY Orange

Calculus 1
College Algebra
College Trigonometry
Mandarin Chinese 4
Mandarin Chinese 5

St. Cloud State University

Principles of Biomedical Engineering
Human Body Systems
Medical Interventions