"ADVANCED PLACEMENT courses are undeniably demanding. Since they are designed to mimic introductory college-level courses, AP classes tend to build on previous knowledge, are fast-paced and require several hours of homework per week.
While there are many reasons to take an AP course – to challenge yourself, earn college credit, explore an area of interest – following through and enrolling is not always the right decision.
From time to time, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed by an AP class and therefore wanting to withdraw from it. But before you make this important decision, consider these three factors:
Whether you can enroll in a comparable, more suitable course.
Whether the root of the problem is fixable.
Whether dropping will affect your college applications." …