The AP course experience 

Carver is a college preparatory school that heavily encourages students to take AP classes in hopes that they will get a head start in college. The big question is whether the courses help current students in their college career. 

“ Taking the AP class in High School really did help me when it comes to college classes. It prepared me for the amount of course work and how fast pace the classes move. When I was in my senior year I took AP micro and then eventually ended up taking regular macro economics in college my first semester. Taking micro in high school definitely prepared me to see the type of material there was in the college class so my transition was easier”

The amount of course work there is in an AP class can be very overwhelming and hard to manage. Sometimes you have to sacrifice important things to be able to complete the work in a timely manner. Of course having a job simultaneously can make things even more difficult. Kam worked while in school but was still able to get the workload done. He learned how to manage his time and work to what was more convenient for him. 

“The work wasn't that stressful, it was just very time consuming and tedious to do. Especially in economics when the majority of it is using formulas to get a specific outcome, it just takes a while to get used to. It is definitely more stressful in college because there is less room for error compared to High School. If you do bad on a couple assignments that's pretty much your whole grade in college.”

Of course for all AP students the final test is the biggest hurdle to jump. As you can see in Josh’s experience it made him question if it was really worth it. Sitting in a testing room for hours on end under fluorescent lighting staring at paragraphs and answer sheets with the fact that how you do on this test determines your credit for the whole year. The AP test is a stressful experience between all AP students. Kameron took the AP microeconomics test and asked himself where does he even start?

“The test was very time consuming. I wouldn't say the material was hard because it went over all the material I learned throughout taking the micro economic class. But it is hard to sit in there for an hour at a time looking at difficult questions and thinking to yourself where do i start? How do I tackle this? You can get very unmotivated really fast to not finish.”

For students who aren't interested in taking AP classes there are still great opportunities to get ahead. Instead of taking AP classes, take more electives to experiment with different subjects. The more well rounded you are, when you get to college you will already have experienced certain subjects. You will be able to rule out what things you like to study and what things you don't. 

"What advice do you have for students taking AP classes next year Kam?"

"pay attention in class and apply yourself."

"Would you say that ap classes are subjective and what you make of it?"

"If you actually care to learn to topic and take your time doing the work you will realize that it is really valuable"