AP, No Thanks!

Advanced Placement tests are ever near and as the count down to testing begins students are beginning the cram sessions in an attempt to test out of thousands of dollars worth of college credit hours, but as I sit simultaneously trying to fill my brain with the correct use of subjunctive in French, the context of the Abomination Tariff and pretty much everything that’s happened in chemistry this year, it strikes me. Is this all too much?

True, the idea of AP classes is wonderful, and I’m a huge advocate of taking advantage of every learning opportunity you’re given in high school, but there comes a point where it might be too much. It’s too easy to get swept up in multiple AP level courses and to divide your attention half-heartedly between them rather than pursuing one with the dedication it probably deserves.

But where’s the middle ground? Colleges want you in AP classes challenging yourself, and that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take the tests but still, taking three or four reading and study intensive courses and balancing it with all the extracurricular activities high school students are a part of, a job, and trying to get those eight hours of sleep a night can be a challenge.

What it comes down to is that many an ambitious student may be over-saturating themselves in weighted grades.

There must be a balance to keeping sane and still maintaining that 5.0, but there doesn’t seem to be a solution that can appease all students. A cap on how many AP classes you can take a year seems inappropriate. Who would determine what the right number is?

Perhaps making some of the AP classes available to underclassmen would be beneficial. Students could stagger their tests throughout their four years in high school, rather than cramming them into the upperclassman years, but that would require a reworking of the entire curriculum. I personally think we should just add an extra six hours into the day. I could use an extra three to sleep and another three to get work done, but I suppose NASA and major world leaders would have to back me up on that one, and you’d have to reroute the solar system and all… I’ll write a letter.

As any complex issue in the teenage world, there’s no simple solution. Perhaps we’ll all make it into college and look back on our workload and think how silly we were all being. Perhaps it isn’t that bad, but until I hit that self reflective and admonishing moment I’m sticking to it. There is too much to do and not enough time to do it. So instead I’ll start a petition for the 30 hour world day, and then I’ll get back to that French grammar review.