It is currently May, a month that many upperclassmen recognize as the month of Advanced Placement (AP). As the admissions to colleges have increasingly become difficult, it becomes more imperative for students to appear competitive towards colleges by taking increasingly difficult courses to prove their academic competitiveness. But, with the increase in difficult comes the insecurities that freshman and sophomore students face when choosing AP courses: Which ones should I take? How many should I take? Will I be able to handle the specific AP course(s)? I will cover the common questions asked in the hopes to help not only those who are currently in preparation for AP exams, but also for those who plan to take AP’s in the near future.
Which ones should I take?
The AP courses you should take is first dependent on these questions:
1. How many AP courses are available at your school?
2. Are there any class/course restrictions in your school?
3. Which ones you can handle?
Based on the situation that students are in, if there are multiple AP’s available that the students are allowed to take, then the third question becomes most pertinent. It is important to note that if the student struggles in specific science courses like Biology (due to the student taking a similar course previously), then it may not be the best idea to take on a course like AP Biology.
How many should I take?
This is really dependent on the student. It is not recommended that a student who did not ever take an AP courses suddenly take on 4 or 5 AP classes, unless the student already has a well established work ethic. It is best to spread the difficulty of the AP course load throughout the high school years, if permitted by the respective high school. It is also dependent on the AP courses selected and the respective school teacher for each course. A course such as AP Chemistry will be more difficult in comparison to a course such as AP Human Geography, so even the particular courses selected should be taken into consideration. Also AP Calc AB under one teacher might be significantly easier/difficult than under another teacher.
Are AP Scores that important for colleges?
There are multiple benefits for taking AP classes. Not only do a number of colleges (including those in the University of California system) count AP courses as college credit if the student gets a 4 or 5 on the exam, but it also shows the validity of the AP courses taken at the student’s high school. Many times, colleges are unable to gauge the quality of the AP courses that the student has taken simply based on the grade, thus AP exams are a way to show this. It is important for students to aim for the highest score (5), as these scores are submitted to colleges when senior year comes around.
Will I be able to handle the specific AP course(s)?
It is hard to determine when a student is ready for a particular AP Course is they have never taken similar courses to the AP class that the student is interested in. During times like this, it is recommended that students actually preview the AP material during summer. By getting an idea of how difficult the particular AP course is, the student can take the initiative and possibly change his or her schedule during the beginning of the school year if the class combination is too difficult.
At Royal Education, we are offering AP preview courses that will involve instruction and examinations to allow students to not only grab an advantage in the AP course, but to also gain an understanding of how difficult the course is and to develop the skills necessary to be successful in the course. We thrive to be the best in bringing the best out of each student that we work with. Feel free to reach out to us through the following outlets if you have any questions about our services, or about anything else:
Website: www.royaled.net
Phone Number: (818)-275-3424
Facebook: www.facebook.com/royaleducationinc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/royaleducation
