Early in Learning, End of Line

Story by Aiyanna Sarmiento

Published October 10, 2025

With a new, fresh start of a school year, some students at NWCTA are not necessarily “on track” with all their classes. Whether it be from AP classes, dual enrollment or just classes that are known to be more challenging in general. 

For AP classes, the amount of work and time spent for the class is significantly greater than the regular, average class.

“The workload is definitely very different compared to my other classes,” sophomore Alivia Romero states. “I don’t take any regular classes, the rest of them are all honors. But, it’s still different, but since it’s a college level course, it feels like the workload is very heavy. There's a new assignment every day. And you have to constantly study for it.”

And especially, it can be hard to be on track all the time with double the amount of AP work. Sometimes, it’s just challenging with clear differences between those classes.

“The extra work is really heavy, but the AP Euro teacher goes through the notes and the slideshows, so it’s basically like a high school class because of its formatting. But it’s just that the work is college level,” Alivia remarks. “But for AP Pre-calc, I feel like the teacher gives a lot of lectures. For example, when we’re taking notes for the class, he’s doing it with us but he doesn’t really wait for you.”

But in contrast, some people who are adjusting to the new difficulty of their classes may have a different experience.

“I wouldn't say there's significantly more work,” sophomore Chloe Verry remarks, who went from all normal classes to honor classes this year. “It's just that the material and entire concept is different. It’s a bit faster. I think that's why I find it a bit harder than last year.”

Overall, most students have a good grasp at adjusting and keeping on top of work for the start of the year, but it simply depends on one’s own management and their expectations in their classes. Despite the extra workload that is given by AP and dual enrollment classes, the end results can still be worthwhile.