What is the difference between AP and Honors classes?
- Stephen Turban
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Both are called "rigorous." Both show up on a transcript as more demanding than a standard class. But only one of them comes with a standardized exam that colleges can actually verify, and that distinction matters more than most students realize.
Key takeaways
AP courses are reviewed and approved by college faculty and end in a standardized, externally scored exam, according to CollegeBoard. Honors courses are set entirely by your own school, with no external exam attached.
There is no way to earn college credit simply by completing an honors class, since honors has no standardized assessment behind it.
On a typical weighted GPA scale, AP classes commonly add a full point while honors classes add half a point, though this varies by school.
Neither course type is universally "better." The right choice depends on the subject, your school's specific offerings, and how each class is actually taught at your school.
What is the actual difference between AP and honors classes?
According to CollegeBoard's own comparison, AP courses are reviewed and approved by college faculty specifically to ensure that a student taking AP anywhere in the country is doing genuinely college-level work. AP exams then give colleges a standard way to verify that a given student actually mastered that material, regardless of which high school they attended or how that school internally grades its classes.
Honors classes do not have this external check. They are designed and graded entirely by your own school, which means an honors class at one school might be considerably more demanding than an honors class with the same name at another, and there is no standardized exam that lets a college compare the two directly.
Does an honors class ever earn college credit?
No. There is no way to earn college credit simply by taking an honors class, since honors courses are not tied to any standardized, externally scored assessment. AP classes can earn credit at many colleges specifically because the AP exam gives colleges a consistent, verifiable measure of what a student actually learned.
How do AP and honors classes differ in GPA weighting?
Most high schools that use a weighted GPA scale assign extra points to both course types, but typically not the same amount. A common convention adds a full point for an AP class on a 5.0 scale and half a point for an honors class, meaning an A in an AP course might be recorded as a 5.0 while an A in an honors course lands at 4.5. This exact scale is set locally by your school, not by any outside authority, so it is worth confirming your own school's specific policy rather than assuming a universal standard.
Which one looks better to colleges?
Neither one automatically wins. What colleges consistently say they want is the most rigorous curriculum a student reasonably has access to at their specific school, not a preference for one label over the other in the abstract. According to Harvard's own admissions guidance, the strongest applicants take the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them, a standard that applies to AP, honors, dual enrollment, or any other advanced option a school offers.
That said, AP does carry one practical advantage: because the exam is standardized, an AP score gives a college a piece of information about your mastery of the subject that an honors grade alone cannot provide. If a subject is central to your intended major, an AP option in that subject is often worth prioritizing over an honors equivalent when both are available.
When might an honors class actually make more sense?
If your school's AP section in a subject is known to be rushed or poorly taught, while its honors section in the same subject is genuinely strong, the honors class may serve you better academically, even if it carries a slightly smaller GPA bump. Honors classes can also make sense as a stepping stone before jumping into an AP-level course in the same subject, particularly in sequences like math or a world language, where the underlying content builds cumulatively.
Beyond the AP versus honors question
Both AP and honors classes are ultimately about signaling rigor within a class you did not design yourself. If part of what appeals to you about a subject is the chance to define your own question and go deeper than any single class allows, that points toward something different: independent research.
Programs like the Lumiere Research Scholar Program pair students with a PhD mentor to build an original research project, which complements a strong AP or honors course load rather than competing with it.
Frequently asked questions
Is AP or honors harder?
It depends on the specific school and course, but AP courses are built to a standardized, college-faculty-reviewed bar everywhere they're taught, while honors courses vary in rigor from school to school since there is no external check on them.
Can you get college credit for an honors class?
No. Honors classes have no standardized exam attached to them, so there is no mechanism for a college to award credit for one, unlike AP, which can earn credit at many schools with a qualifying exam score.
Do honors classes boost your GPA the same way AP classes do?
Usually not by the same amount. A common convention adds a full point for AP and half a point for honors on a weighted scale, though the exact figures depend entirely on your specific school's policy.
Should I take AP or honors in a subject I'm not confident in?
If you are unsure, an honors class can be a reasonable stepping stone in cumulative subjects like math or language before moving to the AP-level course, especially if your school offers both in sequence.
Do colleges prefer AP over honors classes?
Not universally. Colleges say they look for the most rigorous curriculum available to a student at their specific school, whatever that happens to be labeled. AP's advantage is the externally verified exam score, which honors classes do not have.
Resources
Official AP resources
Choosing Your AP Courses, including College Board's own AP vs. honors comparison.
AP Courses and Exams, the full current list of all 42 AP subjects.
More from the Lumiere blog
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.