Pros and Cons of Overrides

Pros

It is that time of year at Greenwich High School. Course recommendations looming in the air. A recommendation to an AP or honors class is often an exciting validation of your academic ability. However, it can be disappointing if your teacher breaks the news that you haven’t been successful in a subject you thought you were good at. I am no stranger to the latter experience.

In my case, this was AP Lang.

From a young age, I had always loved writing. While my structure and grammar needed (and probably still need) a lot of work, I always wrote from my heart. Walking into 113A English, I felt like it would be easy, especially since I had excelled in 8th grade English. I was very wrong.

While getting a B+ in the class wasn’t awful, it wasn’t the result I was looking for. The timed writing and my teacher’s rigorous grading made the class challenging and I felt increased pressure. The step up from middle school ELA to high school English was significant.  Not only did I have to really dive beneath the “iceberg,” (as my ELA teacher used to say) but I also had to do it in a short amount of time. Suddenly, something my 8th grade teacher would have given me a week to complete had to be done in one class period.

In February 2025, I sat down with my English teacher to discuss my course recommendation. While I was hoping to get her recommendation for AP Lang, she said that I would be more successful in Honors instead. I was pretty disappointed by this news, especially because I was one of the only people in the 25-person class to be recommended to honors. I felt like giving up on being a good writer and being in the highest-level English class possible. 

But my sister, Shreya, wouldn’t let me give up so easily. A successful writer herself, she simply said, “Rithik. You are doing AP Lang.” Those 6 words transformed my sophomore year. She told me to override, which I am thankful I did. 

I’m incredibly grateful that this school lets you override easily. Simply by clicking a button in Aspen, you can express your desire for a different level. After a conversation with your teacher and a meeting with the subject's department head, you are free to take the class you desire as long as you meet a very lenient grade requirement. Students shouldn’t have to fight to be able to challenge themselves, and the ease with which we can override classes allows us to do just that. 

There should definitely be some requirement, though, which is why it’s good that we have a C minimum to override. Additionally, while some may say that joining a class that wasn’t recommended to you is a sentence to failure, that is simply not true. Sure, you’ll have to make significant strides to earn good grades, but you will not fail. And so what if you fail? At least you challenged yourself. One year in a class simply doesn’t define a student’s ability in that field. In my case, as a freshman, I believed I would grow between the end of the year and the start of sophomore year. That belief was a key reason I decided to take AP Lang.

My AP Lang story doesn’t end there.

I didn’t just walk into AP Lang and ace it from the start. Our first “quiz” was about our summer reading book. I genuinely read my book and was excited to showcase what I knew. The prompt called on us to “pitch this book to your classmates.” Normally, when you pitch a book, you tell someone why they should read it without spoiling it. That’s exactly what I did.

My teacher, however, took this as a sign that I didn’t know my book and proceeded to give me a 70. “Need far, far, far, far more detail,” he wrote. “Ridiculous. This is an AP level.” Looking back on this now, I can laugh, but in the moment, it shook me. Do I even belong in this class? I asked myself.

But then I learned to be better.

I learned how to frame my essays the way teachers wanted them. I learned how to write a solid thesis, follow the rubric, and provide clear evidence to support my argument. I realized that essay writing is really not as daunting as it seems. It’s actually pretty fun.

I started to succeed in the class, earning steady 5s on essays, followed by 6s, perfect scores. Thinking back to my freshman-year English class, had I blindly followed my teacher’s recommendation, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today (of course, this is in no way the fault of my teacher. She likely largely based her decision on me on grades because I sat in the back and didn’t raise my hand, so she didn’t know me well).

To anyone thinking about taking the higher level, my advice is simple: take it. You will never regret trying your best and putting in the extra work. You don’t want to look back in 20 years and wish you had tried harder.

Overall, overriding your teachers course recommendation can be a positive aspect if done responsibly.

Cons

Although belief in yourself is a key to success, ignoring professional advice can lead us to confuse confidence with unawareness, causing avoidable problems down the road. In high school, counselors and teachers recommend students for classes based on performance, workload, and most importantly, readiness. Students may face increased stress, declining grades, and higher course drop rates when they override these recommendations. 

For example, in Eighth Grade, my ALP English teacher recommended me for 113, instead of 113A. Instead of overriding the recommendation like many others did, I stayed with 113. Initially, I thought that 113A was the class I should be in, but later I realized staying in the class that was recommended to me was much more beneficial. I learned how to manage stress, time management, and writing assignments to be prepared for AP Lang and APUSH the next year. 113A was not an honors class, meaning no grade boost, so I was able to succeed in the class without worrying about the rigor and lack of a boosted GPA. My friends who overrode, and even those who were recommended, struggled in 113A, causing an increased workload, late nights, and the belief that they were incapable in rigorous classes. 

This experience helped me understand that, even though overriding seems important for being in the most advanced classes, sometimes sticking to one’s capabilities and avoiding a “high risk no reward” mentality (especially for 113 to 113A) can be very beneficial long-term. Additionally, at GHS (as of this year), honor courses and AP classes are weighted the same, meaning taking the AP will not boost one’s GPA more than the same grade in the honors class would. 

Beyond GPA and course performance, overriding teacher recommendations can also affect students’ long-term academic habits and work ethic. When students pick classes that are too demanding, they may develop patterns of spreading themselves too thin or poor time management, which could carry into college and future careers. Time management is affected because assignments will take longer to complete, you may need more time to study, and classes are often faster-paced, meaning less time to fall behind. On the other hand, following counselor and teacher guidance aids students in building a stable academic trajectory, balancing sufficient challenge with mastery and capability, and ensuring they develop confidence rooted in genuine ability rather than overambitious choices. 

Ultimately, self-belief alone is not enough to guarantee success. While confidence can motivate students to challenge themselves, it becomes counterproductive when it leads to ignoring the guidance of teachers and counselors who understand and are familiar with their abilities and limits. By following teacher recommendations, students can avoid unnecessary setbacks and build a foundation for long-term academic and personal growth.