AP classes offer college credit to students allowing them to take less classes and save money. An advanced placement (AP) is a course that is at the college-level offered by the College Board, the same institution that administers the SAT exam.
Each course has varying levels of difficulty, with a final exam in May that determines whether or not the student passed.
“If a student passes an AP course, there are 29 different statewide school systems that are required by law to give you a credit for a 3 or higher,” said AP Biology teacher Sue Remshak.
With course recommendations looming overhead as the semester ends, deciding to take an AP course is at the front of students’ minds.
“I knew that I was going to have to pay for my own college education. I wanted to minimize the time I was going to be in college, so I can save as much money as I can,” said AP student Lizbeth Gutierrez.
Gutierrez now has two years worth of college credit for the colleges she’s applying to and can graduate college in two years. For students who know that college expenses will be difficult to pay, taking AP courses could help diminish the costs.
“I think it would be good for everyone to try an AP class if they are planning to go to college. At least one, it really depends on your tentative area of study,” Remshak said.
An AP course can help students develop skills that can be used in college. Even if the exam was too challenging, they get to see the standards they are held to, Gutierrez believes.
“A lot of people think that because you’re in a lot of AP classes, means that you’re smart. I don’t think there is a correlation. It’s whether or not you’re willing to put in the work,” Gutierrez said.
With a college level course, the amount of homework is different from the typical amount of homework. This is what students seem to struggle with the most.
“It honestly depends on the day. It feels like the teachers sometimes plan against you and assign the homework all in one day, so sometimes it’s like four hours of homework and other days like today I didn’t have any homework at all. They aren’t for the weak minded. You have to be very determined at school and have a good work ethic,” Gutierrez said.