Benefits of AP Classes
Blake High School has offered AP courses since its founding in 1998, and hundreds of students choose to take them every year. However, some students decide not to explore them at all. Itβs commonly known that AP courses are more rigorous than the typical honors and on-level classes, providing students with an elevated course structure, which is true; however, that doesnβt make classes impossible. There are many benefits to taking AP courses, such as boosting your GPA. Another benefit of taking AP courses is that taking many looks good on transcripts, and colleges look for students who choose to take rigorous AP courses. If you have strong feelings about college and are aiming to get into a prestigious one, anything that will help you get accepted counts.
Taking AP classes can boost your GPA high enough to get into colleges you didn’t think were possible. I spoke to Mr. Gibbons about the potential increase in college chances.
Even though AP courses have many positives, there are also many negatives. AP classes oftentimes tend to be more rigorous than students expect. For example, AP Calculus A/B is seen as an βeasierβ class than AP Calculus B/C because it’s a slightly slower pace. However, this does not mean that A/B calculus is easier. All AP classes are still college-level. Nothing about them is βeasy.β Additionally, if youβre a person with a booked schedule and multiple extracurriculars taking up every hour of your time, multiple AP classes might not be for you. AP classes require extensive studying, more than honors or on-level classes, especially approaching exam season.
TBB spoke to Mr. Gibbons and Ms. Taylor, two AP history teachers, to get further insight into how helpful AP classes can be.
Ms. Taylor stated that she is told that students generally enjoy her class. βI do hear complaints that there is a lot of work, but I also believe that goes hand-in-hand with AP classes.β Even though thereβs more effort needed to truly succeed in an AP course, it seems to be working. Mr. Gibbons stated improvement in test scores over recent years; however, he also believes that βmany variables can account for student AP scores.β
Needing go put more effort into a class might sound discouraging to some, but, Mr. Gibbons shines light on a seemingly daunting task: βI think the conventional wisdom is that taking a challenging course load which may include AP classes is a way to show colleges that students are willing to work on more difficult material and that the score on the AP exam is necessarily a marker of how much a student has grown by taking the course.β
Taking APs benefits students going into college, and gives them valuable experience. Ms.Taylor mentioned her experience when it came to APs. βWhen I was in high school, we didnβt have AP options. I met people at college who had a ton of AP credit and were able to graduate early or double major. I did not have this space in my schedule, but I wish I did!β
Next year, challenge yourself, take an AP class!
Taking AP classes can boost your GPA high enough to get into colleges you didn’t think were possible. I spoke to Mr. Gibbons about the potential increase in college chances.
Even though AP courses have many positives, there are also many negatives. AP classes oftentimes tend to be more rigorous than students expect. For example, AP Calculus A/B is seen as an βeasierβ class than AP Calculus B/C because it’s a slightly slower pace. However, this does not mean that A/B calculus is easier. All AP classes are still college-level. Nothing about them is βeasy.β Additionally, if youβre a person with a booked schedule and multiple extracurriculars taking up every hour of your time, multiple AP classes might not be for you. AP classes require extensive studying, more than honors or on-level classes, especially approaching exam season.
TBB spoke to Mr. Gibbons and Ms. Taylor, two AP history teachers, to get further insight into how helpful AP classes can be.
Ms. Taylor stated that she is told that students generally enjoy her class. βI do hear complaints that there is a lot of work, but I also believe that goes hand-in-hand with AP classes.β Even though thereβs more effort needed to truly succeed in an AP course, it seems to be working. Mr. Gibbons stated improvement in test scores over recent years; however, he also believes that βmany variables can account for student AP scores.β
Needing go put more effort into a class might sound discouraging to some, but, Mr. Gibbons shines light on a seemingly daunting task: βI think the conventional wisdom is that taking a challenging course load which may include AP classes is a way to show colleges that students are willing to work on more difficult material and that the score on the AP exam is necessarily a marker of how much a student has grown by taking the course.β
Taking APs benefits students going into college, and gives them valuable experience. Ms.Taylor mentioned her experience when it came to APs. βWhen I was in high school, we didnβt have AP options. I met people at college who had a ton of AP credit and were able to graduate early or double major. I did not have this space in my schedule, but I wish I did!β
Next year, challenge yourself, take an AP class!