AP只能申请美国大学？AP、A-level两大体系的区别一定要尽早了解！

威明、睿智、通达、哲思

VERITAS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY 威睿达思

威睿达思（深圳）

VCA-SZ

Mar 27th, 2024

AP与A-level作为英语国家留学的两大体系经常被同学们放在一起进行对比。但是很多同学仅仅知道AP和A-level分别是美国与英联邦体系国家的标化考试，并不知道二者在升学方向、知识点覆盖范围、难易程度、适用对象上面有哪些区别。

AP and A-level, as the two major systems for studying in English-speaking countries, are often compared together by students. However, many students only know that AP and A-level are the standardized exams of the United States and Commonwealth countries, and do not know the difference between the two in the direction of higher education, knowledge coverage, degree of difficulty, and applicable to the above.

今天，小编就针对以上一些常见的问题，对两个体系进行介绍与对比。

 能换大学学分的课程体系：AP课程 

AP的全称是Advanced Placement，性质属于大学先修课程。其开发的目的是让一些学有余力的学生，能够提前学习大学阶段的知识，然后参加相应的AP考试，如果达到4-5分，基本所有的大学都可以转换大学学分，从而具备免除大学阶段学习这门课的权利。

The full name of AP is Advanced Placement, which belongs to the nature of pre-college courses. The purpose of its development is to allow some students who have the ability to learn in advance to study at the university level, and then participate in the corresponding AP exam, if you reach 4-5 points, basically all universities can be converted to college credits, so as to have exempted from the right to study this course at the university level.

 大量的课程选择：A-level课程 

A-Level是由剑桥大学开发，英联邦体系下的大学预科课程，被称为英语式高考。在课程的选择上最为丰富（总量有超过70门课程），但是一般具备数学、物理、经济学这三门课程的成绩，就可以满足申请大学的要求了。

A-Level is a pre-university program developed by the University of Cambridge, under the Commonwealth system, and is known as the English-language GCE. It has the widest choice of courses (more than 70 courses in total), but you can generally meet the requirements for applying to university by having grades in three courses: math, physics and economics.

AP课程每年可以考一次。每门考试分为两部分：第一部分为多项选择题，第二部分为自由答卷。根据考试科目的不同，每门课程的考试内容会有所差别。学生可以根据自己的实际需要选择考试科目。AP考试采取5分制。一般3分以上的成绩才可换取学分。

AP courses can be taken once a year. Each exam is divided into two parts: the first part is multiple-choice and the second part is free-response. Depending on the subject of the exam, the content of each course will vary. Students can choose the subjects according to their actual needs.AP exams are based on a 5-point scale. Generally a score of 3 or above is required to exchange for credits.

A-level课程的学生两年要考两次试。A-level的考试根据不同科目会有不同的paper，例如科学类会有三个paper，第一个paper为选择题，第二个为问答题，第三个为实验题，但不论是有几个paper，最后也会根据百分比折算成A*，A，B等。

A-level students are required to take two exams in two years. A-level exams have different papers according to different subjects, for example, there are three papers in science, the first one is multiple choice, the second one is a quiz and the third one is a lab question, but no matter how many papers there are, the final paper will be converted into A *, A, B, etc.

这里需要注意的是，AP考试是加分项， 而不是必要项；但是一旦进入A-level体系，就等于“开工没有回头箭”，A-level考试是必考的标化考试。

It is important to note that AP exams are a plus, not a necessity; however, once you enter the A-level system, there is no turning back, which means students MUST take the exam.

对于目标明确在美国名校的同学来说，AP体系是最为合适的。但AP考试并不仅仅被美国的大学认可。实际上，只要报考的是英语国家的大学，AP考试都能够作为强有力的参考项，被纳入申学的重要部分。况且优秀成绩能转学分，这就意味着修习AP并考得高分，也是在给之后的大学生活“减负”。

The AP system is the most appropriate for students whose goals are clearly in the top U.S. schools. However, AP exams are not only recognized by American universities. In fact, as long as you are applying for a university in an English-speaking country, AP exams can be used as a strong reference and be included as an important part of your application. In addition, good grades can be transferred to credits, which means that taking AP exams and getting high scores is also a "relief" for the university life afterward.

A-level课程主要偏向于英联邦国家和港澳的高校，设置的课程与美国大学的课程要求有差异。如果考生想要冲刺美国名校，A-level的竞争力就没有AP高了。另外，A-level对课程的研究深度要求比较高，也就是说，A-level的总体难度会更加大。

The A-level program is primarily skewed towards Commonwealth countries, and the curriculum is set to be different from that required by U.S. colleges and universities. A-levels are not as competitive as APs if candidates want to make a run at a top U.S. school. The depth of study required for the course is higher, which means that the overall difficulty of the A-level will be greater.

 1. 升学方向 

首要考虑的因素，是学生的目标升学方向。如果目标明确，铆足了劲要冲美国大学，那么AP一定是首选；如果去英联邦国家，A-level是最直接的；但如果学生仅仅只决定了要申请英语体系的国家，那么更推荐报考AP考试，因为AP考试受认可范围更广，普适性更高。

The first factor to consider is the direction of the student's goal of furthering his or her education. If the goal is clear, riveted to rush to the United States University, then AP must be the first choice; if you go to the Commonwealth countries, A-level is the most direct; but if the student only decided to apply for the English system of the country, then it is more recommended to apply for AP exams, because the AP exams are recognized by a wider range of universities.

 2. 学术承受能力 

在难度上来说，两个体系并没有明确的难易差距，但是A-level的知识点更深，因此AP相对来说性价比会更高，一方面容易出成绩，另一方面还可以在大学阶段换算学分。

In terms of difficulty, there is no clear gap between the two systems in terms of difficulty, but A-level is much deeper, so AP will be relatively more cost-effective, with easy grades on the one hand, and the ability to convert credits at university level on the other.