By: Arin Garland ’18
March is just around the corner, and for many underclassmen, that means it’s time to choose their classes for next year. For those coming into their junior year, many may have heard this question a lot recently: “How many APs are you taking?”
As many may already know, Advanced Placement courses are essentially college level courses that go beyond teaching students basic concepts, forcing them to use critical thinking and application. Some sophomores may have already taken AP Biology or AP U.S. History, however most are still new to the concept of AP classes.
It is true that there are advantages to taking AP classes, as it can give your GPA a significant boost and also fulfills most elite college’s requirement of a “challenging and rigorous course load,” as Yale mentions on their website. However, APs do not secure your ticket into any college that you want. Also, if you force yourself to take an AP in a subject that is not relevant to your interests, then it may end up hurting your grade rather than helping it.
“Don’t take AP courses just to get into college… enrollment alone will not guarantee your college admission. Moreover, taking AP courses and doing poorly because you are taking them for the wrong reasons or are not interested in the subject…will not reflect well upon you, nor will taking AP courses that cause undue stress, limit your ability to participate in other meaningful activities, or impact your ability to get enough sleep each night,” Challenge Success in their 2013 report on the advantage of AP classes said.
As a current junior, I am taking two AP classes in subjects that I excel in: social studies and English. Out of all my classes, the homework load from these two classes is by far the heaviest, and I dread thinking about how long it would have taken me if it had been for a math or science class. The only A class that I am taking this year is physics, and it has been one of my hardest classes, mostly because I have no interest in the subject.
For some people, taking classes that they have no interest in may not be a problem. The extra GPA boost does them some good, but people tend to perform much better when they are taking a subject that interests them. If it is a subject irrelevant to what one may want to do in the future, it’s pointless.
This goes to show that the classes and levels that you choose to take really depend on your interests and whether or not you will have time for certain classes based on your schedule outside of school.
It is important not to force oneself to take APs that one has no interest in; instead, it is advised to fill one’s schedule with classes that one feels will be useful in the future, either in a specific field, or something that will be able to help no matter the area of study.
