After coming home from an exhausting day at school, barely finishing piles of homework and studying for multiple tests, you collapse at 2 a.m. from your daily routine, hoping that tomorrow will bring good grades and less homework. If you’re a prospective or current AP student, ask yourself this question: should I really be filling my schedule with APs?
The question itself is hard to answer. Some people may be comfortable cramming advanced classes into their schedules, while others will barely be able to keep up with the material. I’m sure that “intellectual challenge” is part of the reasoning for enrollment into honors and AP classes, but the desire to compete with peers is the most influential factor in students’ decision to fill their schedules.
Sure, competition is good in most cases, as it motivates people to improve. However, in high school, it may cause students to make decisions that are based solely on the need to “stand out.” When I talk to my friends about school, the conversation always gravitates towards the number of APs we’re taking. After we share our schedules, there’s always the comment “yeah, but I heard so and so is taking more.”
This frequent response doesn’t surprise me. As an AP student myself, I find it difficult not to compare myself to my peers. I’ll admit to the shameful times when I got mad or discouraged after hearing about someone’s academic or extracurricular achievements that made that person more “qualified” than I.
However, people need to step back and remind themselves to focus on their own high school careers. So what if your friend is acing five AP classes? If you’re struggling with your classes, AP or not, you should focus on your own education. Keep the positive aspects of competition, like the motivation to improve yourself and work as hard as you can, but toss away the self-doubt and other detrimental feelings. You can’t make your competitors weaker, but you can keep a positive and diligent attitude in order to be the best that you can be.
The good news for competitive students is that APs won’t be weighted anymore. No matter how many APs or honors classes you take, you can’t exceed a 4.0 at school. This is a positive change for students because it levels the playing field to a more realistic level. However, the lack of “weighted” courses also means that there’s no safety net for students who don’t receive an A in their AP courses anymore.
Instead of loading up on APs, there are so many other things students can spend their time on that can catch their dream school’s attention. Starting a club, being amazing at a sport, interning for companies, researching or working in the field that you’re interested in will definitely impress admissions officers. For example, with three advanced classes on my schedule, I also find time to shadow doctors in preparation, something that universities value over basic hospital volunteering and a high GPA.
In the end, I encourage people to enroll in AP courses. They are great ways for people to prepare for college-level classes, and they show admissions officers that students are serious about their education. However, I want to extinguish the idea that AP classes mean everything. With the SAT, volunteering and workload from each class, high school can be a drag if you’re spending hours on end after school in front of textbooks and papers. Students need to be able to balance a schedule that they are challenged but not overwhelmed by as well as realize that standing out is still possible without a transcript filled with APs.
TCHS School Newspaper