<p>I have to disagree. It seems less like you guys are targeting APs and more like you’re tired of rigorous classes in general.</p>
<p>^That’s not the case. There are other rigorous classes than just AP classes. Organic Chemistry, Government, Sports Medicine (Anatomy and Physiology) and etc. By the way, those are just little side conversations. Overall it’s about how students who think AP classes will guarantee them a spot in college and losing sight about what AP is really meant for.</p>
<p>There are so many pros to AP classes. It’s not even all about how it looks impressive to colleges and gets you away from the kids that don’t care about anything (although those are huge pluses), it’s that you’re learning a college level class in a small classroom environment and then that’s one less class you have to worry about in college. I’m probably going to end up going to a huge public college with massive lecture halls. WHY would I wait to take classes in there when I could get them out of the way in high school and get more help? All juniors at my school are required to take US History, so why not take AP? Sure, it’s a lot of work, but it’s not like it’s seriously hard to learn like Calculus or Physics (for some people). I do see why you think it’s ridiculous that some people take like 6 in one year, but hey, if they can handle it, good for them, they’re saving a ton of money and time.</p>
<p>^Okay I see what you mean. But my opinion will probably never change. Oh forgot~ silly me, I forgot that everyone is super smart on this site, and can take 6 AP’s in one year or 9-12 AP classes. Thanks for pointing that out, I feel so dumb, duh~ I just think that AP classes are for students that show interest in a subject. Some students do take AP classes to knock out the requirement in college, that’s fine. It just annoys me to see students do it to impress colleges all the time.</p>
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<p>but why does it matter? students will always take the most rigorous classes to get into college, because college decisions do rely heavily on course rigor. If they got AP, there would still be Honors, IB, etc. And classes do need labels, otherwise someone can take a remedial class and someone can take a hard class and colleges won’t know the difference. That wouldn’t be fair in admissions. Unless you just want us to get something like the British system, where every student takes the same test, but that’s a different story. I don’t see why AP is specifically being targeted here.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with rigor. I’m not saying get rid of “hard” classes, I’m saying that students are just taking AP classes ~willy nilly~. You know, it’s seems like a waste when a students take a WHOLE bunch of AP classes just to impress colleges and not use the credits. The only reason these obsessive students are doing it is to be on top. (I’m about to brag, but this relates lol) Our school and other high schools schools in my county were placed as one of the best school in America because of our AP scores. The average AP classes taken by students in my school are three. Yes three and these kids get get good scores. Let me tell you about acceptance rates lol. Many of our seniors enter top institutions around the country and excellent state schools. AP classes are very good, don’t get me wrong, the students think multiple AP classes mean “The Ultimate Gateway to Success” which is not true at all. The story about the girl getting accepted into W&M and Wake Forest with only 2 AP classes is really inspiring and helped me realize that tons of AP classes =/= Success.</p>
<p>So, I’m a little confused. Do you think it is wrong for a dedicated student to take numerous AP classes because those are the most rigorous courses available in order to get into a good school?</p>
<p>Of course there a ton of other factors that go into college admissions/success, but in my case, I have few ECs and I doubt I’ll get that great of an SAT score, so the rigor of AP classes and the GPA boost really helps me.</p>
<p>Good question, I don’t care if the students is dedicated or not, It’s about students taking multiple classes to impress all the time, when the students don’t need it. There are other ways to get into a good school without 12 AP classes such as: SAT/ACT scores, EC’s, Leadership, Subject Tests et cetera. Sure if students want to take as many AP classes to impress and get on top, go for it. I can see if students want to go to Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, et cetera. But most of us… no I’m wrong, apparently all of us on CC want to go to an Ivy, so they spit fire at me because they take tons of AP courses and think I’m putting them down. That’s not the case. I should have never posted this because I forgot that everyone on here are geniuses and think top school and Ivies are the only way to go. Sorry for the misunderstanding.</p>
<p>@FollowTheReaper If you think that way, go ahead. Personally I’m not going to risk my GPA to impress. Whatever floats your boat, go for it. If you think tons AP classes is your way of getting into college, fine. :)</p>
<p>I take the AP classes to avoid taking regular classes, like someone mentioned before. At my school, you either take all AP or do regular classes with the kids who are literally smoking weed in class (I don’t attend the best school…) Not only will I learn more, but I will save money in the future. Sure, I have no interest in AP Studio Art, but I will benefit all around from taking it, considering my alternatives. Yes I like the GPA boost, and it is an undeniable factor in college admissions.</p>
<p>I want the full story to everything. World History, US History, Chemistry, Physics, Government, Economics, Human Geography, English Literature, all classes that are AP or regular–I have to take them to graduate. That’s already 8. Add Calculus or Statistics if you started middle school with Algebra 1. In regular, I’m missing half of the history, or important topics and depth. Everything is better interconnected and the course has a bolder meaning.</p>
<p>The other AP classes that are taken are for college credit, GPA, rigor, academic status, etc… I want to learn psychology to see how the mind works. Becoming an Art History geek was quite interesting. There are other electives than those offered by AP, but I’m not willing to sacrifice the benefits of AP–I can handle it!</p>
<p>In my school, the “AP system” is beyond messed up. Students are “given” AP classes only their junior and senior years. However, there are students who argue with the school to get them their sophomore years. This puts other students at a huge disadvantage since they take so many AP’s. For example, a sophomore, took 5 AP’s in school as well as 3 online. (school does not offer online classes till 11th/12th grade) His GPA was higher than everyone in the Sophomore, junior and senior class.</p>
<p>Here are my scores:</p>
<p>Junior Year: 2, 2, 1
Senior Year: 2, 3. I’m ecstatic. My 2 was the highest grade in my class!</p>
<p>@SansSarif Colleges are a lot more competitive these days and graduating with the completion of Algebra 2 isn’t very impressive. Students today are applying to colleges having completed courses such as AP Calculus & AP Statistics before their senior year! But back to the OP, I find that AP classes are sometimes taken for the wrong reasons. I know plenty of students at my school who take them just so they can have the highest GPA and possibly be valedictorian. I’ll admit, I didn’t want to take AP Lang because I have always hated English. However, I figured I could try to get credit for college and perhaps English would grow on me. I ended up learning the most in that class out of all the classes I took junior year. Sometimes it is beneficial to challenge yourself and take an AP class that you may not be completely interested in. APUSH on the other hand… I KNEW I didn’t want to take that from the get go. I’ve always despised history because the were so many dates and I wasn’t the least bit interested. If I took that class, I’d be more than miserable.</p>
<p>@FantasyVesperia, posts #25 and #30</p>
<p>Please don’t act like that; we all know you’re better than that. 
Next time, don’t start out by lambasting AP courses in general. I understand where you’re coming from, being angry about people not needing courses and taking them to look good. But I guess you should know, if you didn’t already, that it certainly doesn’t stop once you get to college, with people doing the reverse and taking easy courses to boost their GPA.</p>
<p>There’s a facebook page for my university, and every week, I’ll see multiple posts asking what easy A courses people recommend. I’m pretty sure most people don’t take African Drumming or Vampire Studies (seriously) for the cultural or intellectual experience. Students also ask who’s the easiest teacher for x, y, or z class, and it goes on and on, with people trying to game the system. Never mind that each course costs them $500 (yes, it’s cheaper up here, but still!), they just want to breeze their way through while getting A’s. I wish that more people would take APs and stop wasting their money and time on useless, costly courses that they have no interest in. But that’s just me… and APs mean next to nothing in admissions up here. 
(Thank goodness!)</p>
<p>Well…I guess you can say I that I will have completed a good amount of AP classes before I graduate…However, I dont just take them to boost my gpa. I take them for mainly 2 reasons. 1.) I am actually interested in them. 2.) I can skip the intro classes in college. ( I plan on majoring in either economics or biology so taking micro/macro econ, physics B, and Bio would greatly help me…</p>
<p>@ TitoMorito </p>
<p>I feel so bad now, I’m sorry, I was just really angry. That’s all. I see what you mean though.</p>
<p>@1017bricksquad</p>
<p>Yeah, I understand. I’m hopeful Biology major myself, and I’m taking only 2 AP sciences this fall.</p>
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<p>Alright, I see what you guys mean, I just wanted to get this off my chest, and I guess next time I’ll just keep my mouth shut lol. Thanks for the responses and arguments. I learned that I shouldn’t really worry about anyone else except myself and focus on my education and how many AP classes I think would be good enough for the college I would want to go into.</p>
<p>@FantasyVesperia</p>
<p>Don’t keep your mouth shut! You’ve got some really great ideas and opinions in that head of yours. Just try to avoid overgeneralizing your point, so that people don’t get angry about the wrong things. :p</p>
<p>You seem to have the right idea about your education, from your last post and others. Keep it up! :D</p>
<p>^Lol thanks</p>