Sophomore Jacqueline Demcisak said the new Advanced Placement fall registration ending Oct. 15 means Advancement Placement courses are more of a commitment and more pressure.

“You are locked into the class,” Demcisak said. “If you realize this may be too hard for you and you just want to get through the semester you can’t change, (whereas) in previous years you could.”

High School Student Advocate Jami Lapray said having Advanced Placement (AP) registration take place in Oct. will benefit students in the end.

“I speculate the College Board moved (registration) to the fall because even students not testing need to sign up,” Lapray said. “College Board provides curriculum enhancements and practice tests online that you can only get if you are signed up for College Board. Moving (registration) to the fall allows (College Board) to offer those things to everyone.” 

 Demcisak said she was stunned when she found out registration was in the fall. 

“I was surprised because I know some people in the past have waited to see if they want to stick with the AP course before they register (for the test),” Demcisak said. 

Lapray said she hopes the need to register early will influence more students to sign up and understand that an AP class is a big commitment. 

“I think (the date change) will encourage more kids because they will have to decide early. Hopefully everyone will decide to take the test — then they will be more focused (in class) knowing they have to take the test,” Lapray said.

AP European History teacher Jeffrey Cohen said he dislikes the changes, as he feels the date change is not beneficial to his students.

“I think the early registration was meant to lock kids in and get their money upfront without giving them the time to digest the process and size up how they fit into the framework,” Cohen said.

The change not only moved registration to the fall, but also separated registration into two parts, according to Lapray.

“The College Board didn’t only make the change from spring to fall, but they changed it so we have to do a double registration — the College Board registration and another (registration)  — to pay for the exam. It caused a little bit of confusion,” Lapray said.

Since double registration is new and different, Lapray said she has worked to put the information in as many places as possible to clear confusion. 

“I talked and met with teachers, I put all the messages in (the) 6425 (newsletter), I put announcements in Schoology and have gone to all the AP classes,” Lapray said.

If students have any questions about exam registration they can talk to an AP teacher or email Jami Lapray at [email protected].