How Many is Too Many (AP Classes)?
Editorials, Tech News — By Andy Mai on April 21, 2010 at 10:31 pmBY ANDY MAI
EDITED BY CHIYEUNG LAU
For freshmen, sophomores and juniors, we have come to a point in the school year where we will have to select our classes for the following year. To aid us with our selection, Brooklyn Tech has created an online database system called Daedalus for students to use. Although not luxurious in design, Daedalus keep tracks of one’s transcript, one’s report card grades, one’s attendance and allows oneself to sign up for classes. However it is not important to know how you sign up for these classes, it is important to know what situation you are getting yourself into when you get into these classes. In an academically rigorous school like Brooklyn Tech, everyone wants to boast about what advanced classes they’re in, but how many of these people know what they are getting themselves into?
Advanced Placement classes are considered the most difficult courses offered in high school. These classes allow for high school students to experience what a college class is like before they take it in college. Aside from this what is another reason that so many students apply for such classes? Well colleges like to see it on one’s transcript- well at least that is what most students think! Students tend to think that taking a AP course will prepare them for a college course. No. In fact, it will make you look like you’re ready for a college course. When in reality the AP course is nothing like the college course. But don’t get me wrong, I believe AP courses are a good thing, but just keep in mind the situation you are getting yourself into when you apply and assess how many of these courses you can actually juggle. Hopefully this article will make you ask yourself “How many is too many?”
Taking a AP class will not be as simple as signing up for it. With a click of a mouse, you can sign up for an AP class but only with studying and hard work will one do well in such a class. These classes are designed for people who are ready and interested in the next level of education. Expect stacks of homework each night and constant quizzing and testing. So with this in mind, imagine a person who applies for 3 or even 4 of these Advanced Placement classes. Then top off those courses with possible extracurricular activities, social time with friends and SAT preparation- you will have a vision of a dreadful school year.
One mistake I see frequently among sophomores applying for junior year classes is that sophomores forget about other junior year responsibilities and overload themselves with classes. Junior year is the introductory year of your Brooklyn Tech major which may already offer Advanced Placement classes. In addition to these major classes, the AP English course is available as well, along with a AP Math class such as Calculus AB and AP American History. Some incoming juniors will apply for ALL of these classes on top of their major. BUT WAIT! Don’t must juniors also take the SATs? They do! So add the SATs to the mountain of work that one will receive from their AP courses.
I personally have friends that have 3 and even 4 AP class, and they are deprived of sleep. I either see them sleep in the late night or in the early mornings. They give up on extracurricular activities and as well as their social time. Now think, Is it really worth sacrificing your health for these colleges that don’t even know your name yet? No it is not. Personally I do not believe anything over 2 Advanced Placement classes a year is safe for any person’s health. Advanced Placement classes should be courses that interest you; not classes that you think will make colleges like you. In reality, if you are not interested in the course, you will burn out before the finish line. So think your decisions though. Do not be afraid to revise your Daedalus selections. My only hope is that I have made you more aware.
Replies from the forums:
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NickC
says:
3 is the healthy number. Anything above that in my opinion is not worth it. If you guys are that "concerned" about college, then you are concerned for the wrong reasons if you think that taking 5 APs and getting 75s in each is going to work out.
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Well I hear that some AP's are more easier than others, like AP American. So does this mean you can basically consider some of these AP's as regular classes and the rest as AP classes?
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No. APs are taught to the requirements of the college board.
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What I mean to say is that some regular classes (non-AP, non-honors) are about as hard as an AP Course, depending on the subject and teacher. Wouldn't hurt to make it an AP, right?
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Noldi, on , said:
What I mean to say is that some regular classes (non-AP, non-honors) are about as hard as an AP Course, depending on the subject and teacher. Wouldn't hurt to make it an AP, right?
You cant just "make it an AP." Like Nicky said, the courses are taught following the College Board requirements and curriculum.
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Quite frankly, AP courses may replicate the first year college curriculum but they don't mimic how colleges treat these courses. What makes AP courses tough is that you constantly assessed and dumped with work everyday, whereas in college, there is more down time between classes and you are given the opportunity on your own to process the material. A single semester course may just have one to three exams with a final and no more.
During my time in Tech, I took AP US History, AP Eng Lit, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics B, AP Physics C, and AP Chemistry. It was a mountain load of work and yes my health suffered. (I had to get my GI tract checked out because of stomach problems.) But the shocking thing is if I had to do it all over again, I'd still take all of them. I had great teachers in all my AP classes and learned a lot from them. My excess AP credits afforded me the flexibility to start in the 2nd year sequence in chemistry, go study abroad, and complete an applied math minor. In addition, I racked up enough math and physics electives to make me a serious candidate for the transition to chemical engineering. (My school does not have an engineering program.)
I realized that Tech is a hypercompetitive environment and it does not help that most of us end up applying to the same colleges and essentially take spots away from each other. I had to take all those courses to distinguish myself from my peers and yet college admissions time was rough. It also looks very bad when your school offers all this opportunity to take APs and you do not avail them. I was rejected by most of my schools and I was lucky that Colgate accepted me. (A 97 average and 5s on most of my APs was not good enough.) I also regret not branching out more in my college choices though I did apply to a few on the west coast.
College admissions is very competitive in general. Even if you are a solid student, you can have a rough time with the admissions process. Regardless, what you end up doing in college is more important than where you go. Of course, you at least need to be at a place that will have the resources for you to succeed.
But I turned out alright and I'm sure you will too if you are serious about your studies and have a good work ethic. ...and don't forget to enjoy life while at it.
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BTHSnews.org, on , said:
BY ANDY MAI
EDITED BY CHIYEUNG LAU
For freshmen, sophomores and juniors, we have come to a point in the school year where we will have to select our classes for the following year. To aid us with our selection, Brooklyn Tech has created an online database system called Daedalus for students to use. Although not luxurious in design, Daedalus keep tracks of one's transcript, one's report card grades, one's attendance and allows oneself to sign up for classes. However it is not important to know how you sign up for these classes, it is important to know what situation you are getting yourself into when you get into these classes. In an academically rigorous school like Brooklyn Tech, everyone wants to boast about what advanced classes theyâÃÂÃÂre in, but how many of these people know what they are getting themselves into?
Advanced Placement classes are considered the most difficult courses offered in high school. These classes allow for high school students to experience what a college class is like before they take it in college. Aside from this what is another reason that so many students apply for such classes? Well colleges like to see it on one's transcript- well at least that is what most students think! Students tend to think that taking a AP course will prepare them for a college course. No. In fact, it will make you look like you're ready for a college course. When in reality the AP course is nothing like the college course. But donâÃÂÃÂt get me wrong, I believe AP courses are a good thing, but just keep in mind the situation you are getting yourself into when you apply and assess how many of these courses you can actually juggle. Hopefully this article will make you ask yourself âÃÂÃÂHow many is too many?âÃÂÃÂ
Taking a AP class will not be as simple as signing up for it. With a click of a mouse, you can sign up for an AP class but only with studying and hard work will one do well in such a class.
These classes are designed for people who are ready and interested in the next level of education. Expect stacks of homework each night and constant quizzing and testing. So with this in mind, imagine a person who applies for 3 or even 4 of these Advanced Placement classes. Then top off those courses with possible extracurricular activities, social time with friends and SAT preparation- you will have a vision of a dreadful school year.
One mistake I see frequently among sophomores applying for junior year classes is that sophomores forget about other junior year responsibilities and overload themselves with classes. Junior year is the introductory year of your Brooklyn Tech major which may already offer Advanced Placement classes. In addition to these major classes, the AP English course is available as well, along with a AP Math class such as Calculus AB and AP American History. Some incoming juniors will apply for ALL of these classes on top of their major. BUT WAIT! DonâÃÂÃÂt must juniors also take the SATs? They do! So add the SATs to the mountain of work that one will receive from their AP courses.
I personally have friends that have 3 and even 4 AP class, and they are deprived of sleep. I either see them sleep in the late night or in the early mornings. They give up on extracurricular activities and as well as their social time. Now think, Is it really worth sacrificing your health for these colleges that donâÃÂÃÂt even know your name yet? No it is not. Personally I do not believe anything over 2 Advanced Placement classes a year is safe for any personâÃÂÃÂs health. Advanced Placement classes should be courses that interest you; not classes that you think will make colleges like you. In reality, if you are not interested in the course, you will burn out before the finish line. So think your decisions though. Do not be afraid to revise your Daedalus selections. My only hope is that I have made you more aware.
<a href='http://www.bthsnews.org/?p=986' target='_blank'><b>View this post on the site!</b></a>
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One aspect of the AP situation that has to be discussed is the fact that the administration allows students to take an extra course in place of lunch provided that their parents agree. This is a very bad idea because it gives students license to wear themselves out even more. Sound mind, sound body and sound nuitrition,they all go together. One part fails, they all fail. It's like terrific athletes who plays school sports and are on outside club teams at the same time. More often than not, they b they wind up burning themselves out. To resolve this situation, it's up to the Tech parents to set boundaries. And by the way, can someone explain to me why Tech students can't take eight periods of classes and still havea lunch period somewhere in between? Afterall, Tech has a ten period day.
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mband1959, on , said:
One aspect of the AP situation that has to be discussed is the fact that the administration allows students to take an extra course in place of lunch provided that their parents agree. This is a very bad idea because it gives students license to wear themselves out even more. Sound mind, sound body and sound nuitrition,they all go together. One part fails, they all fail. It's like terrific athletes who plays school sports and are on outside club teams at the same time. More often than not, they b they wind up burning themselves out. To resolve this situation, it's up to the Tech parents to set boundaries. And by the way, can someone explain to me why Tech students can't take eight periods of classes and still havea lunch period somewhere in between? Afterall, Tech has a ten period day.
Tech is usually 9 periods at most, a very select few classes meet during 10th pd. Lunch is also from 4-8th pd, & you must take things like gym into account. A student can have a 7 pd day of education - 1 pd of gym & 1 pd of lunch. Which is what I have this year. Also, some teachers allow students to eat in class, if this is the case than using your lunch period to study or dropping it for a shorter schedule isn't so bad of an idea. (That is, if you don't eat the school lunch & bring your own). Also, you can drop lunch whether or not you have an AP class/conflicting schedules. You just need parental consent.
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I have 3 APS. I am well prepared for the SAT, have a social life, and in three clubs and a team. I don't find this a problem (and I'm very lazy).
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