Want to Go to College? Pay the College Board

If you’re a high school student planning to apply to a top-ranked college or university, there are some things you’ll need. Make sure to take the PSAT ($18) as early as possible in your junior year—or, ideally, as a sophomore, which will give you more time to study for the real thing. Take the SAT at least twice ($68 each) to maximize your score. Most important, you’ll want to take as many Advanced Placement courses as you can possibly fit into your schedule to show admissions officers that you’re challenging yourself, then take the end-of-year tests ($99 each, or $147 for AP Seminar or AP Research) to prove you’re already excelling at the college level. Signing up for eight or 10 AP tests over four years isn’t uncommon for students applying to top-tier universities, and you’ll need to stand out in an age of plummeting acceptance rates. If you need money for college, many schools will ask you to submit the CSS Profile ($25 for the first college-specific application, $16 for each subsequent one).

Can’t afford all those tests? Not to worry! Fee waivers are available for all of them, often funded by your state, town or school district, requiring more than $100 million in public funds each year. Your high school needs you to sit for the tests, too: It must report to the federal government how many students take accelerated coursework, and it can unlock additional funds if the numbers are high enough. Your school’s spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings also depends on how many students take AP courses and pass the exams. Finally, a number of states now require the SAT for graduation, and several public university systems are required to accept high AP scores for college credit. Thirty-five percent of all high school students take at least one AP test, and the share rises every year. You don’t want to be left behind.