AP English (the class, not exam)- is it possible?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Hello all. I'm been lurking at these forums for a while and finally decided to make an account. </p>

<p>First of all, let me make something clear: By your peoples' standards, I am a complete underachiever. I'm a sophomore, play the triangle in the school band (go ahead, laugh..) have no sports/extracurriculars/etc. and I'm from "the dark side"- college prep. That's not to say I'm entirely stupid; I get mostly straight A's in my classes. But I'm not in a single honors/accelerated course.</p>

<p>English has always been my favorite subject, and I took English I Honors freshman year. Admittedly, I kind of slacked off in that class (completely SparkNote-ed The Odyssey- UGH!), but it wasn't really too much of a problem and I ended up with B's all year (weighted as 4.0's and 4.3's on my GPA). I was reccomended for English II Honors for this year.</p>

<p>But the problem is that History honors is a co-requisite to English honors sophomore year, and since I absolutely despise history (plus, I heard the teacher was a nightmare), I decided to just suck it up and take college prep for both instead of honors. My guidance counselor said it wouldn't be a problem to take CP this year and get back into honors (well, AP) junior year.</p>

<p>Well, we just had scheduling, and even though I've been acing CP English, I wasn't recommended for AP. When I asked her for the waiver so I could take AP, she cringed and said, "Are you really sure you want to take AP? It's a really difficult class- why don't you think about it first?"</p>

<p>I talked to my English teacher, and she wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea either. Like my guidance counselor, she emphasized how difficult the class is, and said college prep might be a "better idea". </p>

<p>I'm very confused. I did fine in English honors last year and was recommended for it again, I'm getting straight A+'s in CP this year, and my essays are always "Wonderful! =)" and "Great!" What am I doing wrong so that I shouldn't take AP? Is there some huge problem with my English ability that I'm completely unaware of?</p>

<p>What do you guys think I should do? I don't want to take a CP class if I <em>can</em> take AP, but at the same time, I don't want to be the dumbest kid in the class and/or fail (or get a D). </p>

<p>My guidance counselor and English teacher aren't very approachable nor are they very helpful, so that's why I'm here :P</p>

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<p>if you slack you will still probably get and A or B in the class, but get a 1 on the AP test...</p>

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<p>If you're sure you won't slack, why shouldn't you try and challenge yourself? I have several classmates in my AP Lit class who didn't take AP Lang, just came up from honors, and they do well. It's a stretch, but they're learning a lot.</p>

<p>Your GC and teacher know the class, but they might not know you. If you have the drive to better yourself, by all means--take the class. If you're looking over your transcript and thinking you need an AP or two, that might not be enough to overcome bad habits.</p>

<p>Best of luck, whatever your choice!</p>

4

<p>I'm not laughing, but the triangle? Our percussion players had to be able to play the snare drum, bass drum, timpani, bells, etc. I guess your school might do it differently, though.</p>

<p>Are sure exactly what you're getting into? I don't want to discourage you, but you'll probably have to read some books a lot more boring than The Odyssey. I'm sure you <em>can</em> do fine in AP English; the question is <em>will</em> you do well in English? If you're willing to put the time and effort into reading and understanding novels you may not like, by all means go for it. If you think you'll be tempted to slack or rely on condensed versions (Cliffs, Sparknotes, whatever), it might not be the best choice. </p>

<p>If you're worried about the English language exam, don't be. It's very similar to the Verbal section of the SAT. If you can do well on that, you'll be fine for the AP exam.</p>

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<p>Um...go for it. English isn't too hard. I did honors all three years and jumped to AP senior year (Lit). It wasn't that bad. There are a ton of boring books, but with wonderful things such as sparknotes and if you learn how to scrim read through books, you'll be fine. I say go for it. If it doesn't work, you can always drop down but at least by trying you know the results rather than sitting around and wondering.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, everyone. I guess the most logical decision would be to at least try AP and drop down if it's too difficult- it would be much harder to move up in the middle of the year. And like lykos said, at least I'd know the results; I certainly don't want to sit in my rocking chair at 80 and wonder what AP would have been like. :P </p>

<p>I'm still a slacker at heart, but I'm gradually becoming more diligent. Freshman year I had at least one homework zero a day (I'm hardly exaggerating), and this year I've only had 2 in total. I know there are probably a bunch of you here who've never gotten a homework zero in their life, but for me, this is an accomplishment. :P </p>

<p>Warblers: Long, depressing story about how I ended up on triangle.. <em>sigh</em> I'm not going to bore you with the whole thing, but basically, I quit band in 7th grade and rejoined this year, and, well, I'm not very good. I had to play something though, so it was either that or the cowbell... pathetic, I know...</p>

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<p>i still remember my one and only homework zero throughout all of high school but i think the teacher forgot to put it into my grade because i did well, but it was in sophomore honors history. the assignment was like 50 terms w/ significance and B.S. i knew and didn't feel like writing...sigh...lots of kids get bio 0s though because she puts worksheets and the desks and just says quietly while kids arent paying attention to grab one. but yeah, take ap. i heard its the easiest ap at my school.........sparknotes rock the tests!</p>