Trying to decide which type of class is best for you can sometimes be challenging. With so many to choose from, students can get confused with what kind of classes they should take. 

Advanced placement classes popular because of the opportunity to gain college credit, but taking an AP class can be incredibly challenging, but there are also immense benefits that come with it. 

AP classes in high school can help students stand out to colleges and get a jumpstart on their careers if they earn credit for the classes that they take. This is a very promising aspect of taking an AP class, but in order to gain credit and save time and money, students must pass the AP exam first. 

The exams are graded on a scale from one to five and students must score at least a three to earn college credit for the course. Statistically, students struggle on these exams. According to the College Board, only 22.5% of public school students passed the exams with a score of three or higher. At the high school, the passing percentage is higher than average at about 50%. 

These odds may seem great to some students, but the $97 cost of the exam itself may make students turn away from taking the class because of the risk of not passing and missing out on earning college credit.

“I think we should get the college credit for doing well in the class,” junior David Villegas said. “It seems like what’s more important is passing the exam rather than learning the material.” 

This opinion seems to be common amongst students who feel that studying for the exam takes away from actually learning the material in the classes. 

“I think it’s more important to learn the skills than scrambling to learn the topics,” senior Emily VanPelt said. 

Another one of the main complaints among students about AP classes is the grading scale. Our school does not have a weighted grade scale, which means that the grades do not take the difficulty of the class into consideration when determining grades. 

Some classes do have a weighted grade scale, which makes it easier to get better grades than a regular class. This system still does not account for the fact that AP classes are harder than regular classes.

“There are kids here who have taken gym all throughout high school and get A’s who have a better GPA than the people who take more challenging courses like AP classes,” senior Bailey Bartrum said. 

Grades are an important factor for getting into college, so this is a serious issue for those who take AP classes. The learning material is much harder as a college-level course, and students may have lower grades than they usually earn.

“I would have over a 4.0 GPA if the AP classes were weighted,” VanPelt said. “I would be salutatorian and would have been offered better scholarship opportunities.”

Although there are many difficult and demanding sides to an AP class, there are also many benefits. Gaining college credit in high school provides a good foundation for a student’s college career and provides lots of life skills that can help them later on. 

“You learn about your own learning style,” AP Calculus Lisa Avis said. “You are doing college level material, but in a supported way, so you get time to figure out what in terms of a student. It provides this opportunity where you’re seeing the teacher every single day, you’re working in small teams, you’re trying to figure out how you learn best.”

The cost of the exam is also significantly cheaper than any class you can take at a college. 

According to educationaldata.org, the average cost of a class at a local community college is $423 in 2023. This price only gets higher when factoring in room and board, the kind of college students can attend and whether the student chooses to stay in state. The school also offers reduced prices for exams as low as $5 for students from low income families, which can factor in the decision on whether or not to take an AP class. 

Succeeding in AP classes requires discipline which is necessary for the rigorous day-to-day schedules students receive to work towards passing the exams. It also gives an insight into what kind of coursework they will have when working towards a degree while still being in a familiar classroom environment.

“There are more opportunities geared towards the experience of taking an AP class,” principal Jeff Trapp said. “There’s a huge benefit to going through a college level curriculum in a high school setting. It’s preparing students for that next step.”

Though they might seem appealing to some students, AP classes are hard work. Advanced placement classes are more difficult than normal classes; it is college work for a reason. Students who are looking to gain college credit through these classes should have the expectation that they will be challenged more than usual, but will gain the experience and skills to thrive after high school.