We’ve only been talking pros, but what about the cons?
They suck the life out of you.
Depends on the teacher. Some think this is AP and they load you up with a ton of busy work because they feel they are supposed to do that, because you know, college. Two of my kids have been through the AP circuit, one with 9 APs the other with 11. It only happened to one of them once, so not a real reason to say no.
Suck the life out of you? Not really, both kids were extremely active and not once did they not do an activity because of AP course load. Now if your definition of life is “chill time” or “destress time” or “fortnite time,” then maybe. They both were very busy, but rarely did they stay up late and when they did they were able to get their work done before midnight.
I think the biggest disadvantage is that if one thinks they do well in an AP class and get a 5 on the test, then college will be easy. My oldest has found that not to be the case and that college classes can be and usually are much tougher than anything you see in an AP class.
For someone who keeps posting that they are struggling with grades and stress, AP is probably not the right choice.
I heard that lot of colleges don’t care as much as they used to about AP courses or scores. Many of the elite prep high schools don’t offer them anymore.
less time for so many things, like sleep, social life, extracurricular activities
more stress
more work
although there are a lot of downsides to taking APs, I love them because I like how challenging they are and how I learn a lot from them. I’m a current sophomore and will take 4 APs next year not for college admissions, but because I want to challenge myself and learn more. I sometimes find honors classes for certain topics too simple. School already sucks a lot; the least I can do is actually get something out of it by learning and growing.
For some people the need/desire to get the highest gpa may have them take AP classes as electives in place of other classes even though they may have more interest in the other electives.
There is no benefit to taking an AP class if it results in a poor grade.
It depends on your aptitude. If you are able to quickly grasp things it won’t take much of your time. If you are a slow learner, it will not be fun.
If you take an AP you are not ready for and get a poor grade.
if you take too many APs and get a poor grade.
If it stresses you out.
I’d have to say that:
• APs can be stressful if you are not academically ready for it
• People load up on APs because it „looks good“ (Colleges don’t care as much)
• AP classes are intended to match intro college classes. However, while I feel content is accurate, college classes create a different experience compared to AP (For example, AP Chem is a whole year at most high schools but in college it’s a semester)
•AP exams cost a lot depending on the financial policies of each school/county