Local Students Schedule Tough Courses For College
• APs, APs, and more APs
AP courses fill the schedules of many Peninsula and Palos Verdes high school students. What are they?
AP, Advance Placement, classes are college-level classes that are offered to high school students across our nation. Some students begin taking them as early as freshman year and tend to increase in number as they progress through high school. All five of my classes are AP.
Many people ask why students choose to take such rigorous classes while still in high school. For me, there are several reasons.
First and foremost, as you get further into high school, the amount of class levels available becomes limited. As a senior, there is only regular English or AP English, and same with calculus.
If I am aiming to challenge myself, then I must take the AP classes. Another reason that AP classes fill my schedule is because many colleges take AP course credit and put it toward your college credits.
However, the ability to utilize your AP credit is limited. Typically, a five on the AP is needed to be exempt from certain college courses, but some schools still recommend that you take the course from a college professor.
For myself, taking AP classes is more for the experience of being at the pace of a college-level class and getting myself more adjusted to the level of a college curriculum, so that when I do go to college, the transition is more smooth.
However, there are challenges with taking on AP classes. For instance, each student is responsible for retaining the knowledge of the entire course, which is extremely stressful.
To prepare for the test that covers the entire course, many students choose to buy prep books. Prep books can run from $20 to $30.
Depending on how many courses you take, you can end up spending a few hundred dollars just on prep material.
Additionally, the cost to take each exam is expensive. To take the test in May, which is required to receive AP credit, each student must pay $100 for each exam. For myself, and many other students, the cost is $500 or more just to take the tests.
Finally, AP classes are rigorous. There is a lot of homework, tests, and projects that accompany each class. Students taking AP work must be willing to dedicate the time needed to study for each class and be able to fit this time into your schedule.
The benefits and costs of taking AP classes vary from student to student. In the end, AP classes are available to create a curriculum to challenge students who choose to enroll in the courses and give the opportunity to receive credit for a college course.
