Advanced placement (AP) teachers are already counting down the days until their students take the big exam in May.
Students, however, are dreading the “big day.”
After most honors classes were taken out of Ridge this year, students in those classes were pushed up to the AP track, which is supposed to help you get into college.
The question is, do AP classes help or hurt you in the long run?
Some students are built for honors and are very bright, but they are not quite ready for AP.
This track is challenging and stressful, and is not for everyone.
If a student fails an AP class required to graduate, especially with the budget cut and schedule change, they are put at risk of not graduating with their class.
The requirements are different than general or honors classes.
AP classes are supposed to help you take a load off in college, because you have some college credits before you even start college.
Students can pass the AP class, but if they don’t get at least a three on the AP exam, colleges won’t even take a look at them, as said by, collegeboard.com.
This makes all the effort and hard work the student did all year pointless.
Yes, they have conquered something challenging and should feel good, but they still have to take the class in college.
The only thing an AP course is relatively good for, is preparing you for what you will be doing in college. According to collegeboard.com, AP will help you “Get a head start on college-level work.”
However, even then college courses in college are harder.
Students will still be in a bit of shock when they get to that level.
Colleges don’t just look at academics on a transcript; they want to see that the student was involved in their schools sports and activities.
It is difficult for students to manage school life, home life, sports, and activities at the same time and it is even harder when they have AP classes to worry about.
In the long run, Advanced Placement might help out some students, but being on that track is unnecessary.
Students in high school should stay in high school; they will have time for college when they get there.
If a student is successful in their AP courses, all they have done was take all the stress from college and add it on to their high school.
Those years are supposed to be the best of your life, and AP alone can help mess that up.