AP English Language and Composition credit at Illinois colleges
Every Illinois college with a published AP English Language and Composition credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
76 of 89 Illinois colleges (85%) award credit for AP English Language and Composition at a score of 3. 11 require a 4 and 2 require a 5. The lowest bar in the state is a 3 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (3 credit hours). 89 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | Rhetoric 1-- | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | ENGL 160 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy | |
 DePaul University Chicago | 3 | 4 | WRD 103 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENGL 103 | Policy | |
 College of Lake County Grayslake | 3 | 3 | ENG 121 | Policy |
 Joliet Junior College Joliet | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 William Rainey Harper College Palatine | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale | 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | Policy |
 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills | 3 | 3 | COM-101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy | |
 Columbia College Chicago Chicago | 3 | 3 | ENGL 111 Foundations of 21st Writing | Policy |
 Triton College River Grove | 3 | 6 | RHT 101 & 102 | Policy |
 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | Eng 180 | Policy | |
ICC Illinois Central College East Peoria | 3 | 3 | ENGL 110 | Policy |
 Eastern Illinois University Charleston | 3 | 3 | ENG 1001G | Policy |
 Rock Valley College Rockford | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 McHenry County College Crystal Lake | 3 | 3 | ENG-151 | Policy |
 National Louis University Chicago | 3 | 9 | — | Policy |
 Aurora University Aurora | 3 | 4 | ENG1000 | Policy |
 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield | 3 | 3 | EGL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | Policy | |
 Bradley University Peoria | 3 | 3 | English 101 | Policy |
 Lewis University Romeoville | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Parkland College Champaign | 3 | — | ENG 115 | Policy |
 Saint Xavier University Chicago | 3 | 6 | ENGL 120-188 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Morton College Cicero | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Roosevelt University Chicago | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Governors State University University Park | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Lake Land College Mattoon | 3 | 3 | ENG 120 | Policy |
 Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais | 3 | 3 | ENGL 109 | Policy |
 Prairie State College Chicago Heights | 3 | — | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Black Hawk College Moline | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 John A Logan College Carterville | 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 South Suburban College South Holland | 3 | 3 | ENG 207 | Policy |
 Kankakee Community College Kankakee | 3 | 3 | ENGL 1613 | Policy |
IVCC | 3 | 3 | ENG 1001 or ENG 0000 If a student receives a 3, 4, or 5 on both AP LANG/COMP and AP LIT/COMP, the student will get 6 course equivalency credits (for ENG 1001 and another elective credit) but will be required to take ENG 1002. | Policy |
 Kaskaskia College Centralia | 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | WRIT 1101 | Policy | |
 Kishwaukee College Malta | 3 | 3 | ENG 103 | Policy |
 McKendree University Lebanon | 3 | 3 | ENG-111 (English I: Academic Writing) | Policy |
 Moody Bible Institute Chicago | 3 | 3 | College Writing or Oral and Written Communication Elective | Policy |
 Millikin University Decatur | 3 | 3 | EN1xx | Policy |
 Chicago State University Chicago | 3 | 3 | ENG 1270 | Policy |
 Richland Community College Decatur | 3 | — | ENGL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | ENG 101 & ENG 102 | Policy | |
DACC Danville Area Community College Danville | 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | Policy |
 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest | 3 | 3 | ENG 1100 | Policy |
 University of St Francis Joliet | 3 | 3 | ENGL 111 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENGL 1101 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy | |
 Carl Sandburg College Galesburg | 3 | 6 | ENG 101 & 102 | Policy |
 Quincy University Quincy | 3 | 3 | ENG 111 | Policy |
 Knox College Galesburg | 3 | 1 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Rockford University Rockford | 3 | 3 | RHET 101 | Policy |
 Illinois College Jacksonville | 3 | 4 | EN 121 | Policy |
 Greenville University Greenville | 3 | 3 | ENGL 105 | Policy |
 Trinity Christian College Palos Heights | 3 | 3 | English 103 | Policy |
JU Judson University Elgin | 3 | 3 | ENG101 | Policy |
 Spoon River College Canton | 3 | 3 | ENG101 | Policy |
 Monmouth College Monmouth | 3 | 4 | 100 level English elective credit | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENG 111 | Policy | |
 Southeastern Illinois College Harrisburg | 3 | 3 | ENG 121 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | ENG 1101 | Policy | |
 Wabash Valley College Mount Carmel | 3 | 3 | ENG 1101 | Policy |
 Eureka College Eureka | 3 | 3 | ENG103W, Academic Writing & Research | Policy |
 Lincoln Trail College Robinson | 3 | 3 | ENG 1101 | Policy |
 Principia College Elsah | 3 | 3 | ENGL XXX | Policy |
FCC Frontier Community College Fairfield | 3 | 3 | ENG 1101 | Policy |
TIUI | 3 | 3 | ENG 111 | Policy |
 VanderCook College of Music Chicago | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences Rock Island | 3 | 3 | English Comp. I | Policy |
 Loyola University Chicago Chicago | 4 | 3 | UCWR 110 | Policy |
| 4 | 3 | COM 101 | Policy | |
 Augustana College Rock Island | 4 | 4 | ENGL-elective | Policy |
NCC North Central College Naperville | 4 | 4 | NCCC Elective (satisfies the Composition component of CARD 101) | Policy |
 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield | 4 | 3 | ENG 101 | Policy |
 Dominican University River Forest | 4 | 3 | CRWS 205 | Policy |
 Wheaton College Wheaton | 4 | 4 | ENGW 103 | Policy |
 North Park University Chicago | 4 | 4 | WRIT 1050 | Policy |
 Lake Forest College Lake Forest | 4 | 1.0 | English credit | Policy |
 Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington | 4 | 1 | Elective, W | Policy |
| 4 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Northwestern University Evanston | 5 | 2 | English 1LC | Policy |
 University of Chicago Chicago | 5 | 100 | — | Policy |
AP English Language and Composition credit in other states
How we ranked this
One row per Illinois college: the lowest score that earns actual credit under the policy that applies to all students, and the largest credit award published at that score. Placement-only policies — permission to skip a course without earning credit hours — are excluded. Credit hours and course equivalents are reproduced exactly as the college published them; “—” means no value was published and we do not estimate one. A page is published for a state only when at least 8 colleges back it.
Frequently asked questions
Which Illinois colleges give credit for AP English Language and Composition?+
89 colleges in Illinois publish a credit-bearing policy for AP English Language and Composition. 76 of them (85%) award credit at a score of 3, 11 require a 4, and 2 require a 5. The full list, with credit hours and the course each exam replaces, is in the table on this page.
What is the lowest AP English Language and Composition score that earns credit in Illinois?+
3. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign awards credit at a score of 3, worth 3 credit hours, counting as Rhetoric 1--. 76 Illinois colleges in total set their bar at a 3 or lower.
Does in-state residency change AP credit in Illinois?+
No. AP credit policy is set per institution and applies to admitted students regardless of residency — residency affects tuition rate, not credit awards. What does vary is the school within a university: engineering and nursing colleges commonly set higher bars than arts and sciences. The rules shown here are the ones that apply to all students at each college.
How do I verify these Illinois AP credit policies?+
89 of the 89 colleges on this page link to their own published AP credit page in the Source column; our snapshot was taken July 30, 2026. The college's page is authoritative and can change between admission cycles, so confirm there before building a graduation plan around the credit.
Keep exploring
Data sources: Each college's own published AP / advanced-standing credit page (captured July 30, 2026) · IPEDS institution directory (names, control, location). Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.