In the midst of economic woes that have
public universities cutting enrollment and many institutions upping
their standards, students are finding ways to make themselves more
marketable to college admissions officials.

One of the ways they are getting a leg up on their competition
is taking rigorous Advanced Placement courses, which also prepare
students for college coursework and earn college credit.

According to the eighth annual Advanced Placement Report to
the Nation, nationally more than 540,000 seniors in the class of 2011
successfully completed AP classes, representing a 1percent increase over
the previous year and nearly doubling the number of students who
successfully completed the classes compared with a decade ago.

Read more in Maritza Velasquez’s story TESTS.