Most Popular AP Courses and Exams

School scheduling is as much an art as it is a science. There’s no perfect schedule for all schools, but there are some popular courses and exams that schools like to offer and students like to take. It’s not recommended for students to take all of these courses and exams in a single year. This list is a suggestion of courses to choose from.

Courses Most Requested by Students 

In 2023, nearly 30,000 seniors participated in our annual graduation survey, which asked “What AP course(s) would you have taken if your school offered it?” The top five courses have been consistent for two years:  

• AP Psychology  

• AP Biology  

• AP Chemistry 

• AP Physics  

• AP Computer Science A  

Most Popular AP Exams for All Grades

• AP English Language and Composition

• AP United States History 

• AP English Literature and Composition 

• AP World History: Modern 

• AP United States Government and Politics 

Most Popular AP Exams by Grade

9th and 10th Grade

• AP Human Geography
• AP World History: Modern
• AP European History
• AP Seminar
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP World Language and Culture Courses

11th Grade

• AP English Language and Composition
• AP United States History 
• AP Psychology
• AP Biology or AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
• AP Seminar or AP Research
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP Art and Design Courses

12th Grade

• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP United States Government and Politics
• AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics
• AP Psychology
• AP Research
• AP Computer Science Principles or AP Computer Science A
• AP Art and Design Courses

See the AP course and exam pages for more details on all AP courses.