Hot topic: AP classes

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(Illustration by Leyli Rustamli)
(Illustration by Leyli Rustamli)

Pro By Karen Pegueros

Advanced Placement classes include a little more work than regular classes, but in the long run, it is worth it. Balancing a schedule in high school is difficult, yet compared to the college level, it is nothing.

AP classes help prepare students in several ways. Between having a social life, sleeping at least a couple of hours a night, earning money at a job, and participating in other extracurricular activities, their plates are overflowing when trying to get an education. By taking AP classes in high school, students are cleaning a little room off their plates for college and taking future stress off their backs.

Time is priceless, and AP classes save a lot of time and money. College is very pricy with the cost of books, dorm fees, meal plans, and tuition. AP classes are more affordable in high school than compared to college which helps save money on tuition.

These classes sharpen skills and get teens ready for college by giving students’ minds a tough workout and teaching them how to manage their time better. The rigor in high school is the best predictor of success in college. Students who take AP classes are less likely to drop out of college and triumph instead.

By taking AP classes in high school, more college credits can possibly be earned; therefore, students can skip the intro classes and take more electives once in college. AP classes get peers to learn how things really work and help tackle concepts that will stick to students throughout life.

“Over 2,600 colleges worldwide grant credit for AP scores, and there are more than 30 subjects to take AP classes in. AP classes can transform what once seemed unattainable into something within reach,” according to the College Board.

AP classes get students to set bigger goals for themselves and do things they never thought were possible. Students familiarize themselves with the subject while gaining confidence, developing good study habits, exploring new things, and being able to test and push themselves.

A rigorous course of study in high school helps students take charge of their futures. They can finish a major in less time or have a second major added to their degree. AP classes may seem hard during high school, but in reality, they are making life much easier in the long run.

Getting accepted to college, let alone a good college, is becoming harder and harder. AP classes set peers apart from other students, and show colleges that they are serious about their education. Students want to increase their chances of getting in, not lower them. So dedicating time to AP classes instead of hanging out with friends and watching a football game that won’t even be remembered in a few years would be much more beneficial.

AP classes may not be for all students, but they are a good choice for many. Life is going to hit them like a truck when they get to college, and AP classes help take off a large portion of stress and can lighten that load in the future.

Advanced Placement classes are a lot of work, but hard work pays off.

Con By Kacie Leach

Although Advanced Placement classes can be seen as an advantage to a student’s high school career, they are just the opposite. AP classes include extra work loads and more vigorous studying habits. Yet what the AP Academy does not tell you, is that the classes also come with an abundant amount of stress and anxiety to oversaturate a teenager’s ability to be productive in high school.

When looking back at high school and reminiscing, students should remember all the football games, pep rallies, dances and adventures experienced with good friends. And the great memories made along with them. Unfortunately, for most AP students, that will not be the case. When they take a glance back to the past, they will remember endless nights of staying up till dawn just to complete homework and the amount of stress that came along with it. Not to mention the bags of coffee consumed to go with the bags under their eyes.

Yes, high school is supposed to be a time for learning, but also it should be a fun time. It is the time in which a teenager discovers him or herself. A time when they can express themselves an individual and find meaning in life. AP classes take away from the life experience of high school. Taking AP classes may look good on a college resume, but personal health and well being should come before acceptance to Harvard.

AP classes, or rather college classes, are absurd for a high school student, with the few exceptions, of course. College classes are designated for college, and high school classes are designated for high school. When students get to college, they will take college exams, and courses, and be with college peers. But at the ages of 14 through 18, they are surrounded by other high school students. Save college for college, and be a high school student while that is still possible.

The brutal and underlying truth is many colleges do not accept AP class credits by exam as an actual college credit. Some colleges only accept certain credits or a certain limit of them. UNLV, for example, only allows a student to transfer their high school AP exam credits to the admin board, if the records come directly from the high school, testing service, or reporting agency. UNLV does not accept all AP credits that Coronado offers, such as AP Lang. Also, UNLV and other colleges will only accept AP credits by exam if the score on the exam is a perfect score of 5.

So before enrolling in every AP class available, check the admission board of the college being considered, because it may be that the college does not accept the credit without a perfect score on the exam, or not even at all.

The work load and stress that come along with AP classes is something that no human being should experience. The pressure to do well in high school and get into a good college is eating teenagers alive. So when the idea of taking college classes at a much younger age comes into the picture, many students and even parents feel obligated to take these unnecessary courses because the idea of the future scares them. And what better way to prepare for life, than to over work and miss out on the best years of life?

Many students take AP classes to have the status of “being smart” or “getting ahead.” Most students only take AP classes for the pure bragging right, and not for the knowledge itself.

In life, a person is going to need a lot more skills than just knowing how to test and knowing the proper way to study. Being involved in AP classes takes away a lot of life skills and values that students will need to know. Yet because of the classes requiring an abundant amount of dedication, students begin to neglect other responsibilities that will be required in the adult life.

AP may stand for Advanced Placement, but truly it stands for Absolutely Pointlessness.