WEST MIFFLIN — No matter where your college and career path lies, West Mifflin Area High School has a set of Advance Placement and College in High School courses that can help you reach your goals.

“There are opportunities for any level of student,” said WMAHS guidance counselor Jennifer Shields. “That’s the big thing. People think that only the (top students) can take advantage, but really, everyone should want to see if you’re able to handle that rigor, and the cost is much less than taking it at the college level.”

Shields says it’s reasonable to be able to achieve 30 college credit hours before departing WMAHS — a full year of college courses.

Additionally, those students who have an idea of what major they’d pursue at college can get ahead in their course requirements via the AP/CHS courses.

Students are also saving money in the long run. A CHS course at West Mifflin runs between $200 to $230 depending on which local university is offering the course. Compare that to costs of $1,000 or more when taking the same course at a university.

“The cost is much less than taking it at the college level,” Shields said.

Even if students don’t maximize the AP/CHS courseload and only take a handful or just one or two, Shields says it’s beneficial.

“Taking at least one or two each year is preparing you for the rigor (of college),” Shields said. “It’s giving you that little bit so that you might be able to only take 12 credits in your freshman year instead of having to take a full 15. It’s showing you what that rigor is like, and it’s showing you what those expectations are at that higher-level college class.”

And, Shields added, there are opportunities in every course area. Each AP or CHS class also gets an added weight in terms of QPA.

 “Whatever your strength is … you have that opportunity to take some of the high-rigor classes and get those benefits,” she said.

Taking an AP/CHS course also shows college admissions offices that students can handle the rigors that await them, Shields noted.

“It looks good on the transcript when you’re trying to get into schools,” she said. “… Even if they don’t get any (college) credit, they still needed that rigor to see fi they could handle it and to get accepted into their programs.”

To take an AP or CHS course at West Mifflin, in most cases, a student must first have passed an honors level course in the same field of study. For example, to take CHS biology, a student needs to have passed honors biology earlier in their studies.

Some courses, such as CHS/AP psychology, do not have that requirement. The course catalog details each course’s requirements.

In the case of College in High School courses, students/families pay up front for the course, and then as long as the student passes the class, a college credit is received. The course is offered through a local university, such as Pitt, Seton Hill, Carlow, etc. The credit typically transfers to other schools if students don’t attend those universities after WMAHS.

With AP courses, there is no up front fee, but the student must pay for and pass the AP examination at the end of the year to receive college credit. Different schools have different exam score requirements to receive credit.

Some of these courses are taught simultaneously as an AP/CHS course, while others are exclusively one or the other.

“We think the CHS is kind of the better option, because you’re guaranteed those credits,” Shields said. “But to do that, you have to decide and pay up front. For the AP, you have to decide in the fall, but you don’t have to pay (or take the exam) until the spring. So you have a little more flexibility with that.”

West Mifflin’s full AP and CHS offerings may be found in the course catalog at this link.