During the 2016-17 school year, 98 Darlington students earned the designation of AP Scholar by The College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams.
“This is the largest number of AP Scholars in Darlington's history –nearly three times as many scholars as 10 years ago,” said Sam Moss (’63), Darlington's dean of college guidance. "This is not only a testament to the students’ hard work and willingness to challenge themselves with our most difficult courses, but also to the tremendous growth in our AP program through the years. Not only have 21% of our student body been named AP scholars – but a full 48% of our students in grades 9 through 12 are enrolled in AP courses. This speaks volumes about the commitment of our AP teachers to building such a strong program. “
The College Board’s AP Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. Students took AP Exams in May 2017 after completing challenging college-level courses at their high schools. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on the student’s performance on AP Exams.
At Darlington, five students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4 or higher on a 5-point scale on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. These students are Herren Burgess (‘17), Anna Katherine Cates (‘17), Brock Gardner (‘17), Thompson Liu (‘17) and David Wu (‘18).
Thirty-five students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. These students are Andrey Aprelikov (‘17), William Berry (‘17), Herren Burgess (‘17), Anna Cagle (‘17), Anna Katherine Cates (‘17), Amy Chen (‘18), Yifan Chen (‘18), Sara Dickinson (‘17), Bernadette Ebri (‘17), Emily Edwards (‘18), Henry Fields (‘17), William Flammer (‘17), Jiawei Gao (‘17), Brock Gardner (‘17), William Groover (‘17), Katherine Gu (‘18), David Hagler (‘18), Gabrielle Jones (‘18), Nicholas Jones (‘17), Sophia Kalusche (‘18), Christina Kinder (‘17), Peter Liu (‘18), Mingzhao Liu (‘17), Ansley McCoy (‘18), Emily Orr (‘17), Madeleine Padgett (‘17), Luke Parker (‘17), Kush Patel (‘17), Andrew Pickens (‘17), Gianna Pieroni (‘17), Sam Tackeberry (‘18), Griffin Wheeler (‘17), Noah Woford (‘17), Wei Wu (‘18) and Rong Ye (‘18).
Twenty-three students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students are Claire Anderson (‘18), Zane Anderson (‘17), Michael Blackmon (‘18), Cooper Brock (‘17), Stacy Chen (‘18), Ishani Desai (‘18), Sam Ding (‘18), Jackson Eady (‘19), Virgil Gong (‘18), Huy Hoang (‘17), Elizabeth Hudson (‘17), DongKyu Kim (‘17), Ian Kinney (‘17), Jamie Lertprasertpong (‘17), Jack McClain (‘18), Robert Monroe (‘18), Caroline Schrum (‘17), Tanner Shadday (‘17), Abigail Sklar (‘18), Jasmine Sparkman (‘18), Amanda Temples (‘18), Fowler Walker (‘18) and Nora Winkler (‘17).
Forty students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Examinations, with grades of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars are Carson Barnes (‘17), Arin Broderick (‘17), Annaliese Clevenger (‘17), Jacqueline Cline (‘18), Caroline Cordell, Ethan Delashmit (‘17), Olivia Drake (‘17), Chandler Edge (‘17), Sarah Flaniken (‘17), Mary Fricks (‘18), Madeline Hurley (‘18), Ellen Jiang (‘19), Mamie Johnson (‘17), Sam Kim (‘17), Katie Li (‘17), Yiqi Liu (‘18), Callie Maffett (‘18), Stella Miao, Ram Miniyar (‘19), Palesa Molapo (‘17), John Mumber (‘17), Farrin Mumpower (‘17), Long Nguyen (‘18), John Pearson (‘17), Samuel Raper ('17), Tejas Reddy (‘19), Anna Roberts (‘18), Anabelle Scarborough (‘18), Rainey Scarborough (‘18), Alan Shorey (‘18), Abigail Smith (‘18), Rand Smith (‘18), Dara Sodipo ('18), Ngan Tran (‘17), Lisa van Susteren (‘17), Madison Vaughn (‘17), Nolan Wilson (‘18), Philip Wofford (‘18), Wilson Zhang (‘18) and Annie Zheng (‘17).
Of these award recipients, 40 are currently seniors and have the 2016-17 school year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn another AP Scholar Award. Four rising juniors will have two years to meet the appropriate requirements to potentially receive additional awards.
Through more than 30 different college-level courses and exams, AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admissions process. Each exam is developed by a committee of college and university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring that our exams are aligned with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts and research institutions. AP is accepted by more than 3,600 colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam grades. This includes more than 90% of four-year institutions in the United States. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and higher graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,600 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, The College Board serves 7 million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT, the PSAT/NMSQT and the Advanced Placement (AP) Program. The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.
