The Advanced Placement program, better known as “AP,” are a list of classes that work side by side with the College Board. It helps to expose kids to the opportunity of a college level course so by the time college comes around, they will be better prepared. Students who are enrolled in AP classes are subject to more reading, writing and critical thinking such as problem solving.

 Characteristics like this in a class will require much more time studying, and doing homework. At the end of the course, an AP exam is given across the nation in which students are encouraged to take. If the exam is passed, colleges may award academic credit.

 “I’ve taken a total of nine AP classes in high school because I’ve wanted to challenge and better prepare myself for college,” said senior Marisa Lemma who is currently in five APs and will be attending William and Mary in the fall. There are many benefits to taking an Advanced Placement course such as developing the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous course work.  

 “I usually spend about three hours on homework on a regular night but sometimes it can be about five hours if there is a test or something important to study for,” said junior Victoria Birks who is in four AP classes.

 On the other hand, junior Josh Legarda says that he spends just as much time doing homework every night as many other AP students, even though he is enrolled in no AP classes.

 “I spend close to three hours on homework every night, so I feel like I’m putting just as much effort and time spent studying as any other student who may be taking multiple APs,” said Legarda. This leaves many questions unanswered. Is the stress of Advanced Placement classes really worth it? Are APs not challenging kids anymore? More importantly, do APs improve learning at high schools, and how do they influence students’ college paths?

 “The APs are different from honors because they are a lot more work and your teachers expect you to learn more material in a shorter period of time. The material is also more complex, in depth and confusing,” said Birks. This year as a junior she is taking AP Psychology, AP Calculus AB, AP Language, and AP US History. She called it the “worst decision ever,” because of the overwhelming work load that multiple APs entail.

  “I think the APs I took have prepared me for college, because they’ve given me an idea of what to expect in terms of workload. Some of them have also given me an idea of how college professors teach, because they are more interested in the subject and teach the classes like college classes,” said Lemma. Well is it the class itself that prepares students for college level courses? Or is it the kind of school the person is being taught at?

 Many high school kids today are overwhelmingly stressed with the amount of studying, homework and tests that an advanced class entails and it is finally coming to the surface about how unnecessary it is for all the worrying. People claim that it’s the class that helps prepare students for a college level course, but other people believe that it is the type of school the student is being taught at, or the type of teacher that is teaching the class.

 “I definitely feel like my APs are preparing me for college, but at the same time when I’m in college, I will be taught by professors whose whole life revolves around this certain class. Not by a teacher who is teaching two or three other subjects and was just randomly assigned an AP course,” said Birks. This is where Advanced Placement equality comes into play. Many students are found without the proper preparation in college solely because they did not have the knowledge of APs or a suitable teacher when they were in high school.

 “Without some of my upperclassmen friends, I would have no idea about half of the AP classes Potomac Falls offers,” said sophomore Sarah Aber.

 Other students were just put in a class where the teacher may not be as interested in the class they’re teaching as others may be, therefore not being given the right education and preparation for a college level course.

 Many schools, especially the ones that benefit from the AP system, have worked out a way to teach AP and academic classes with the same curriculum, yet the Advanced Placement classes are given more rigorous coursework. On the other hand, some schools put their AP students in a school within a school, completely isolated from the rigor from any other class that the school offers. This takes away from the diversity of different level students being put in the same classroom, challenging themselves. At the same time, it isn’t properly preparing the advanced students for a college level course.

 “Academic classes are certainly much easier while AP is responsible for more higher level thinking as it is a college course, yet I still feel challenged in some of my academic classes just because they have the same curriculum as an AP class, they just don’t go into as much depth,” said Legarda.

 “No matter if it’s an AP or academic, I believe that if you’re put in a good environment with classmates and teachers that will challenge you, you will most definitely benefit from the kind of class you are taking in the long run. It will help you with test taking, with studying or with preparing you for a college level course, as long as you put in the time necessary for studying and all your work,” said Lemma.