A College preparatory course is a means by which college bound high school students may better meet the more stringent scholastic requirements for entry into colleges and universities. Students taking college-preparatory courses may have an increased quantity of classwork, and expectations to achieve are at a higher level. The GPA (grade point average) weight for college-preparatory courses may have more value for college entry programs than regular courses. College prep courses are particularly appropriate for providing the academic background needed to succeed in a degree program at a college or university. Above college-preparatory in difficulty is honors

Honors course

Honors course is a distinction applied in the United States to certain classes to distinguish them from standard course offerings. The difference between a regular class and the honors class is not necessarily the amount of work, but the type of work required and the pace of studying...

, where the advanced structure while similar in many ways to college prep, requires even more effort from the student. In many schools, a student can move from college-preparatory courses to Advanced Placement

Advanced Placement Program

The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...

courses, if they attain a certain average.