Students in the Science and Technology Program experience the year-long tension as they endure the stress of numerous AP classes. Long nights, short time for rest, and ridiculous deadlines. The pressure is on.
Walking into Eleanor Roosevelt High in the beginning of freshman year is nothing compared to walking into the school as a junior, senior, and in some cases as a sophomore. The difference: more challenging classes, more requirements to meet, and of course, more Advanced Placement classes. There are examples of some students in the Science and Tech program that graduate from ERHS with a handful of AP classes under their belt, sometimes reaching 13 or 14. Some students enter into their junior year with three, four, or five AP’s on their schedules. Junior Nirvan Sengupta mentions how he willingly takes “All AP’s, except Band and Lunch.”
In essence, AP classes in high school have the purpose of imitating college classes. The grading system, the difficult tests, and the workload are especially similar. Students taking multiple AP classes usually end up with numerous time consuming homework assignments. Senior Vivianne Oyefusi mentioned how during her junior year, there were nights that she “wouldn’t sleep”. But now as a senior, the time she spends on homework is around three to four hours. Senior Duana Ogu agreed about excessive time spent on homework during her junior year, but says that she still spends around “10 hours a week on AP science homework.”
When asked, some junior and senior S/T students said that they regretted taking some of their AP’s. But when the time comes to fill out the schedule cards, the students sign themselves up for these rigorous classes. The underlying reason for some S/T students: Pressure.
Junior Rochelle Samuel reveals that she was pressured into almost taking AP Lang and AP World by her friends. They would tell her that since they were taking those classes, she should too.
When asked about her classes, senior Duana Ogu mentions that she was especially pressured into taking certain AP’s last year as a junior. When she was going to enter into her junior year, she originally signed up for Physics S/T, but she was informed that taking AP Physics B “would be better”. Even though she knew she was going to struggle in the class, she still signed up for it giving into the advice she received.
Science and Technology coordinator, Mrs. Hemelt, believes that they give you background for college credit but she doesn’t insist that the students take so many AP’s. She says that as many kids as possible should take AP Calculus and AP Physics B. When given a scenario of a student who is in AP Calculus as a junior and wants to take Physics S/T she says considering AP Physics B, “If you are that good in math, then you want to take the best Physics class.”
Whether this is considered relentless pressure or just simple advice and guidance from a well-meaning advisor depends on each student. But in some cases, Science and Tech students are partly responsible for placing this heavy load on themselves. Senior Duana Ogu admits that she “wanted to get that high G.P.A., that weighted grade”.
“Being in the Science and Tech program is like being in a 4-year competition, where each student competes against 250-300 other S/T students in their class for an internship or a scholarship.” says junior Kyra S. Students in a class also compete against each other for a high rank. When it is time for graduation, someone has to be the valedictorian. Of course, the valedictorian will be the person with the highest rank in the class. So some students believe that taking that extra AP course and excelling in it may be a good investment of time and energy. Junior Rochelle Samuel says that she “wanted to take as many AP’s as she could” so that it would “set her aside from other students”.
ERHS Alumni and owner of a successful tutoring business, Richie Holmes, confirms the fact that there is “undue pressure for S/T students to take so many AP’s.” Explaining her point, she says “If you don’t take that many AP’s you feel as if you are at a disadvantage” because you feel like you aren’t going to stand out.
To satisfy this yearning for recognition, some students end up taking not only numerous AP’s, but AP’s that don’t even interest them. Concerning this, Holmes mentions that “it takes away the fun of learning” which then causes these classes to become a burden to the student.
Granted, S/T students are not the only ones that take AP’s. Students that are not in S/T take AP’s as well. But with a requirement to take at least six sciences and a math class every year to remain in the S/T program, students always end up taking at least one AP science or AP math to fulfill those mandatory requirements.