<p>Do you take AP's because the subject really interests you, or because you want colleges to see that you challenge yourself?</p>
<p>Im currently a freshman and next year I want to take an AP course. At my school the only AP allowed for sophomores to take is AP World History. I am very good in History A's and B+'s but I get bored of it easily. My teacher told me that I am capable of taking the course but I should only take it if I am really interested in History. She also said that some colleges don't even count it as a college course because its a 10th grade class, is that true?</p>
<p>The course is also very difficult. every night you are assigned 35-40 pages in a college textbook to read, and then you will have a quiz everyday on the material. From friends in WP World History I have heard that it is VERY boring and VERY hard...</p>
<p>So what do you think? Is it worth taking AP not for personal interest but for grades/college/etc...?</p>
<p>Your post really illustrates the sad state of modern high school life. Back in my day, high school was a blast and none of us worked as hard as you guys…and most of us got accepted into the colleges that we applied to. Now high school seem more like junior college, and I don’t think that is such a good thing.</p>
<p>But that is not really answering your question. My daughter decided to AP World History in soph year not because she was a history buff, but more to just get away from the slackers who are not that serious about their education. Being with a group of smart, motivated kids can make all the difference when you study history (assuming the teacher is good too).</p>
<p>It’s like that at my school too–sophomores are only offered one AP class and that is AP U.S. Government and Politics. I took it because I am interested in government and because I wanted to get a feel of an AP course and I think in that respect, it is DEFINITELY worth it. I feel like the sophomores who took this AP course will be so much more prepared to jump into numerous AP courses in junior year. Since you’re not taking any other APs, you can spend more time focusing on that one AP and learning strategies for handling AP classes in general. </p>
<p>World History is probably quite interesting and even if you’re not interested in it, I would definitely recommend that you take it sophomore year because it is an AP.</p>
<p>I completely second what wolfpackmom said about her daughter moving to AP World History to get away from slackers. The few students in my sophomore year AP class are definitely very motivated and that creates a lot of healthy competition. It’s definitely awful and discouraging to be surrounded by a bunch of noisy slackers who are more concerned with spitballs than their futures.</p>
<p>I have to agree that I will be taking some AP’s because I want to show that I challenge myself, but as others have said, it’s also because I don’t want to be surrounded by people who don’t take their classes seriously or don’t try in them at all.</p>
<p>Actually I thought I was really interested in bio so I took it. Now having gone through so much, I realized I don’t want anything to do with it in college which is a good thing because I could have wasted thousands of dollars in college to realize this course wasn’t for me. I’m pretty sure no matter how much interest you have in a particular subject, you’re going to hit a point you really hate but the good thing about AP is you learn so much whether it be the material itself or how to prepare for future college level courses.</p>
<p>That’s the main reason I take higher-level classes, because I didn’t have them until high school and had gotten really sick of the slackers. I rarely see them because I avoid the classes where they congregate. </p>
<p>School sucks enough without having to deal with immature disrespectful brats everyday. I understand the concept of trying to enjoy school enough to get it to pass for a social activity, but the way most of them act is just unbelievable.</p>
<p>So, I pretty much take AP’s to escape the slackers. I mean, the challenges are good and all, but they don’t really make school any more exciting. It’s still the same old.</p>
<p>I’d never do an AP just for the weight or credit though. It’s bad enough having to take core classes you dislike, but upping the level of a class you have no interest in is not a smart move.</p>
<p>I take APs based on interest. This year I’m taking 6, ALL of which I chose (and therefore eliminated classes such at math) because of my interest and because it’s my last year in HS. I wanted my HS experience to be MINE and not driven by requirements or what “looks good” to colleges.</p>
<p>My S has taken AP classes partly out of interest and partly to avoid the slackers. He took AP Calc BC and Spanish Language as a sophomore out of interest, and ended up adding on AP Euro History to avoid the slackers. As a junior, he’s now taking AP Physics C and AP English Language out of interest, and AP US History partly out of interest (since he now know he can survive an AP class in social sciences) and partly to avoid the slackers. He also has an on line class in Linear Algebra, Team Aquatics … and a class in photography to meet with UC system requirement for visual/perorming arts. The photography class does have some slackers, but I found he’s spent part of the dark room “down time” tutoring friends in math.</p>
<p>Senior year, it will be AP Chemistry and AP Macroecon/Govt out of interest, AP English Lit (because his AP English Lang teacher said he’d be bored otherwise), an on line class in MC Calc and Team Aquatics. This leaves an open period for college apps and/or continued lab work from his summer gig.</p>
<p>I take AP classes partly out of interest and partly to avoid slackers. All of the APs I’m taking this year I’m taking 100% from interest, but last year I took APUSH even though I really don’t care about American history. In a situation where it’s a choice between the harder or easier version of a choice, I really can’t fathom making it easier for myself. I am however, taking Physics B instead of C next year I think, but that’s because I would fail Physics C.</p>
<p>I also don’t take regular courses because I don’t want to drop in class rank. I considered taking a couple, but even if there were no class rank drop, I doubt I would have taken any of them because I have never had room in my schedule.</p>
<p>Haha, my school is a junior college. It’s defined as a “private college-preparatory institution.”</p>
<p>I took APs either because I was interested in it or because I could handle it. For sequential courses (math, science, history, language), you should take APs if you believe you are smart enough and can handle the workload (just like how you would choose an honors class over a regular-level class). Not doing so would be failing to live up to your potential. On the other hand, you don’t want to take, say, Psych and Environ Sci, just because the 5s would look good on a transcript.</p>
<p>In my school, at least, the general/“regular” classes are such a joke that literally it’s possible, for the decently above average student, to put in about 3~5% of his/her/its effort and end up with an A- ish at least.</p>
<p>And I’m not an intellectual elitist like many on here, but it really gets annoying for me even, when the same simple concept, with the exact same words, are explained for a full period…or when something like the tests are incredibly basic (freshman year was a complete joke with virtually every test).</p>
<p>I took World History AP in 10th grade, and it was the only AP offered to 10th graders. I have almost no interest whatsoever in history, but I do not regret it. I didn’t take it to raise my weighted GPA because, honestly, the importance of GPA never hit me until the first semester of 12th grade. I took it because I thought I could handle it, and a bunch of my friends were taking it. The class had 50-pages reading every other night, and it was a lot of work. I ended up getting a B+ in the class. Not a high grade, but I didn’t care much. </p>
<p>As for AP classes in my junior and senior year, I took the classes I was interested in because we were given wider options. I never signed up for Art History or Euro History; I took chem and physics because I liked those subjects. So out of the 10~ AP’s I took/taking, 4 were taken because I wanted to be in a class with people I know, and the others were out of pure interest. None were for looking good for college.</p>
<p>I took AP Music Theory <em>solely</em> to learn music theory. It was, however, a bit of a drag, because I was the only one there interested in learning music theory. Everyone else was just there to get a 5 on the exam.</p>
<p>I took AP Art History partly because I was interested in it, but it was also a fairly popular class anyways (unlike AP Music Theory).</p>
<p>That’s how APWH is at my school too, only for sophomores, with lots of readings every night…</p>
<p>Honestly don’t worry about college and grades. Only take it if it interests you and you truly want to take it. I was able to get through the class with an A because I found the readings to be interesting, and I enjoy history in general. It’s a lot of work but it’s bearable.</p>
<p>I’ve taken APUSH, AP Lang, and AP Lit. I did so purely because I love those subjects and I wanted to do better in those subjects (know more about history, write better essays, etc.). </p>
<p>I am taking AP Stats next year just to take it. It’s the required math for my major at the college I want to go to, and I don’t want to go senior year without taking any APs.</p>
<p>I originally chose to take an AP class, just because I wanted to reach my potential. But next year, I’m taking 4 of them to feel good about myself and boost my ego (hopefully I won’t get anything below a B though).</p>
<p>My APs next year are all based on interest: Lit, Macroecon and Government. I plan on majoring in political science or economics, so all three would be extremely useful.</p>