<p>I am currently a senior and taking AP Literature. It is impossible to switch courses at my school unless you have some connections to the administrators. I am a straight A student, but I am worried I will not be able to maintain that in AP Lit. So far, it has been horrendous. The difficulty surpasses any class I have ever taken by far. I am confident I can get a B with hardwork. Should I drop this course?</p>
<p>Talk to your teacher first. Ask him or her what it will take to excel in the class--usually he or she will offer to help you with work (eg, review essay drafts). Ask for help on papers and participate in class. English teachers are usually approachable, helpful--and they all love to talk!</p>
<p>I don't know when you started school, but I think you should stick it out at least a little longer. A B really isn't bad (and I'm a straight A student too, so I know where you're coming from), and besides it's your senior year and I'm sure a B won't kill you. No reason to drop a difficult class just to you can maintain a certain GPA! But if you find that it's just too difficult or something then you should drop..though I'm kind of confused since you said it's pretty much impossible to do so.</p>
<p>My AP Lit class had a horrible start as well last year. She gave every person a failing grade (or close) on the Summer essay to shock us into learning to adapt to her way of writing and to see who the hard workers were. We entered the class with 22 people and it ended up being 9 people large. I then got a 100 one semester and a 103 another. Scare tactics...hopefully that is what ur teacher is pulling (and hopefully you can adapt). Drop it if you feel it is best tho (don't overload or overstress yourself too much now...we want you alive for college)</p>
<p>I was a straight A student for about 8 years...once you get that first B (mine was 4th quarter AP Art Studio junior year), you realize that it's not a big deal. If you're confident you can get a B with hard work, stick with it. The A will come when you get a feel for the course, and with a little luck. But, honestly, a B in your senior year won't harm your admissions too much anyway.</p>
<p>This is exactly how I felt during AP Physics and AP Art History. I got B's first quarter in both of them. After that, I got A's for the rest of the year in Physics, and got an A 4th quarter senior year for Art History.</p>
<p>Hmmm... Yeah. I probably will try to tough it out. Trust me, this woman seems approachable and kind, but for some reason I can't help but fear her. From what seniors before me have told me, her class starts out hard and simply progresses in difficulty. I know what Neville feels like when he is around Mcgonagal (obviously incorrect spelling) now.</p>
<p>And what I meant when I said you can't switch courses was that they will not let you switch to a normal literature class usually.</p>
<p>^Nice reference.</p>
<p>hah, that's why I switched out of AP Lit before the year started.. I realized it would be hell and I wouldn't have time for the work. </p>
<p>Now I'm in the "middle" English class for seniors, College Writing (Eng 12 is the lowest level). I must say, I've never had a class so easy. It makes me cringe knowing that some people complain about Eng 12...</p>
<p>I am cringing already.</p>
<p>How many books do you have to read on the year?</p>
<p>Only maybe 12 or so, but the workload is shocking.
Tons of very ambiguous projects all graded subjectively by the teacher. She happens to be from Berkeley. Its not a bad school, but most people who go there love to work extremely hard and I think she is trying to imbue us with that spirit. It is not a class where you can expect less than 2 hours of homework from even for the best students. Although I have a good sat score and straight As, I fear I will lose my straight A status in her class...</p>
<p>That's unfortunate. </p>
<p>I'm sure the class will be quite beneficial to you in the long run, no matter how painful it may be for now. </p>
<p>Are you still trying to switch out?</p>
<p>I want to, but I doubt I will be able to.</p>
<p>You sound like you're being dragged through it. What you want to do is find out the entire course. Then you can take time to prepare early for certain parts and move on. Find what you do throughout the year. You need to be ahead of the course. Read the books that you have to read in it earlier so you're prepared.</p>
<p>Ya AP Lit definitely helped me with writing essays and critical reading & thought...stay if u can</p>
<p>I have a 74...problem is that I haven't spoken in English for a year and I am jumping into this. I just want a B since it isn't my passion and I only want to improve myself...and hey... a B isn't that bad.</p>
<p>I'm staying because I know that I can learn a lot in the class. I don't care if I get an A or not.</p>
<p>Yeah, but I don't want to lose my valedictorian status...</p>
<p>Oh, that valedictorian title is precious, isn't it? I love being able to say,"Yeah, I'm first in my class." </p>
<p>Anyways, wouldn't taking a non-AP class hurt you more than taking an AP class and getting a "B"? I don't know how it's done in other places, but we get +10 points when calculating GPA if a class is AP, and 5 if it's honors, so getting an 85 would be like getting a 95 in a regular class. I think our curve is pretty big, though, since the classes aren't impossibly hard (though I can't compare them to regular classes), and usually it's just tons of relatively easy work. </p>
<p>Anyway, if that's the case for your school, you should stick it out, and maybe ask for a syllabus so you can get ahead. If your curve is alot smaller, then I can't blame you.</p>
<p>I am in one of those lame public schools where there are like 30 valedictorians cause 4.0 unweighted at my school is the highest you go. No weighting which is a bit lame, but then again, I would be only top 5 if we were ranked and weighted.</p>
<p>NO WEIGHTING? That would SUCK. Someone might take all level ones and be ranked the same as u...sucky...</p>