AP Classes.

[loveDREAMreality]

i apply for my junior year courses in january, and so ive been really thinking ... should i take aps or not?

freshman year, i took honors geometry, i ended up with a b- first semester and a b+ second semester.

this year (sophomore year) i ended up not taking any honors classes because i didnt fulfill most of the grade/GPA requirements, and for the classes i did fulfill the GPA requirement for, i wasnt really into taking that course.

so, i got the course prerequisites sheet last week in the mail, &i was just wondering if aps were really worth the stress. i mean i have many friends taking world history ap, and they're CRAZY stressed with that class. my worry is, if i take the three aps i want to next year (APUSH, APES, and AP English III), i'd be stressing about those classes and my grades would be slipping in my other classes.

another thing is, aps would really help my low GPA, it isnt literally that low, but compared to the rest of my class, it is kind of low. so should i, or should i not take aps? and i also heard some colleges dont really count aps as college credit?

[sociallydsoryntd]

Hmm I'm only a junior right now so I can't really say if it'll help you in the long run (ie life). Though what I can do is advise you if you choose to do take them.

Thing is, I have three AP classes right now (Which is the maximum you can have in my school, unless you take AP art) and it really does stress you. If you don't manage your time well or outline your priorities, you won't necessarily slip in other classes, but you might slip in those AP classes. (Such as the case was for me).

^Mine was an interesting case since I "dropped" AP history but my counselors wouldn't let me, so I entered the class with an F, behind everyone since I had to make up 2 weeks of work. Because of that, I focused mostly on that AP class; thus, I started to fall in my other AP classes that also demanded a lot of, even though I should've been acing them. So really, if you do take all those AP classes, you need to prioritize your time and stick to schedule.

Anyways, you shouldn't count on AP classes as a gpa reservoir. I'm not sure how the grading system is in your school and classes, but as for mine, (at least in the AP classes,) it's really harsh, barely anyone gets an A. (I think there's 3 As total in 2 whole APUSH classes, maybe 1-2 A's in AP english and AP BIO).

^However, despite that, it'll still look better to colleges if you take AP classes, for a B in an AP class trumps an A in a non-AP regular class.

But anyways, despite all that, you learn so much in AP classes. It's up to you if you care enough about learning and improving your schools to take it (and if you think you can handle it). In the beginning of the year, I dropped AP english and switched to a regular class, but I swear, that class was just an insult to anyone's intelligence. It was soooooooooooo stupid I swear; I did more work in 8th grade honors english than that stupid class. It drove me crazy so I automatically transferred out, even though that meant making up summer work. All in all, it was worth it. My AP english class now is very very enlightening.

I also heard that some colleges don't really count APs as college credit, but that's if you score like a 3 or something. Some colleges want only 5s, and maybe 4s, but I'm not quite sure which colleges do nor the classes.

What's APES anyways?

[unknown_wanderer]

AP Enviromental Sciences.

APs are pretty tricky. Some colleges don't accept APs as a "real" college course so it's like a gamble.

I wouldn't recommend taking 3 APs your first time. I think you should try one and then take more next year. Especially take one Junior year because it'll bring up your GPA which colleges look at.

In APs, it's crazy work but I think in the end it's all worth it. You do learn a lot but it's a lot of stress. If you really think you're up for it and you already have your priorities straight, then go ahead.

[pawn on steroids]

I have a friend who's taking AP English this year. She says it's very stressful and that the class has to read huge novels and write extremely long papers. There was a paper that the teacher assigned and I heard from different people that they didn't sleep the whole night. I guess it was their fault for procrasinating, but it's a lot of work. I'm taking AP Bio this year and it's not as stressful as the English class, but still a fair amount of work. I think it's because my teacher is the apathetic kind and he can't wait to leave the school.

Before you decide to take the classes, try to get an idea of which college you want to go to since not all colleges take AP credits. Also, I wouldn't take that many AP classes at once. The most I'd take is 2 classes.

[sociallydsoryntd]

Oh yeah, one more thing: do some background research about the class and the teacher before you sign up for it. One of the Ap classes in my school is reaaaaaaaaaaaaaallly... useless. Near everyone is failing, since the teacher can't teach well, so most have resorted to cheating or bribing the TAs.

[my_papaya]

^You have TAs in high school? :blink:

Okay, I've started typing this about 3 times now; I don't know why I haven't posted a response yet. So freaking ADD.

Umm...you probably shouldn't take more than one. It's good to have some sop colleges see you challanged yourself some, but take one next year, then see how it goes to decide how many to take senior year. If you haven't even been taking honors classes, there's just no way you'll be prepared to deal with it. Most people I know who took only one AP class last year coming from CP and/or honors classes got a bit overwhelmed and did fairly badly in it. Last year (as a junior), I took two AP classes, and because I'd taken mainly gifted classes and a couple of honors before that, I got A's in them both, but it was still considerably harder. It is a lot of work, and teachers are generally disinclined to sympathize with students' complaints.

Also, don't take APUSH. If you're having these doubts about whether APs are worth it, it's not likely the best one to start with. There's a lot of stuff to learn, and the multiple choice tests are remarkably difficult. I actually like history, and got one of the best grades in the class (barely managed an A both semesters)...and still got a 2 on the AP test, which will get me credit nowhere.

Plus, I'm starting to think that it's a myth that college admissions-wise you're better off with a B in a harder class than an easier one. But that's a whole different personal rant...that a whole lot of people I know can relate to.

I'm a senior now, and by the time I graduate, and by the time I graduate, I'll have taken 7 AP classes. I have 4 per semester this year, and it definitely keeps senior year from being as fun as it's supposed to be. AP calculus aside, APUSH tests are still harder than any others.

What is English III, by the way? I thought the only two English APs were literature/language and composition.

[bebeexbroken]

I dropped out of AP English. We had so many vocab words that i couldn't keep track.

[my_papaya]

Vocab words? I haven't had any vocab words since I started taking AP English classes.

[sociallydsoryntd]

^Me neither. That's something we did at Freshman honors.

And yeah, we have TAs (teacher's aides). Usually juniors or seniors.

[goomstooms]

you should take AP classes for whatever subject that you are comfortable with whether it be a language or a science. fyi, AP classes give you college credit so you dont have to take as many when you get to college.