Sierra Dellenbaugh Blog 16: APs Aren't All That
Week 16
(APs Aren’t All That) - 5/11 [5:53]
Note: I am going to apologize in advance; this might be a lengthy one, but I think this topic should be discussed. Please note that this is just my personal opinion, and my intent is not to offend anyone or make anyone feel bad.
APs aren’t all that. Yes, they’ll weight your GPA, yes, you’ll get college credit if you pass the exam, and they do have a lot of benefits. I personally can’t talk that bad about them since I’ll be taking my fourth AP class next year; however, I don’t think it’s a flex or a display of intelligence to take all the AP classes available. What especially gets on my nerves is when people take four or more AP classes at once and have the audacity to complain about their workload, screwed up sleep schedule, and the hours of studying they have to do; they brought it on themselves. I do hold a high level of respect for those who have a lot of APs and make an effort not to make it their entire personality. I believe that a person can get the most out of an AP class if the subject is something they are truly interested in, and therefore they will be more willing to do the rigorous work required, and more likely to maintain a good grade in the class. When colleges look at courses a student has taken, they’ll be more likely to value a student that took two or three AP classes subjects they might want to major in, rather than year after year of AP classes just for the credit. I think a lot of people forget the value of hobbies, service hours and extra curriculars for college applications; they show a lot more about a student’s character and how they might benefit society than a bunch of letters and numbers. On a related, but mostly unrelated note, the amount of paper, ink and plastic CollegeBoard uses for AP exams is insane (they should really move them online). It seems as though people have lost sight of the real reason we take AP classes, and it’s become something to brag about. Hopefully that’ll change soon.
I know that doesn’t really relate to the topic of memory, but in light of AP exam season, it needed to be said. My view on AP classes most likely stems from the way I was raised, as my dad barely graduated high school and my mom had to deal with plenty of overworked teenagers when she was a high school counselor. I can imagine most of you have a different view, so let me know what you think.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I totally agree with your blog post. A lot of people, especially those who take multiple APs (myself included), oftentimes view AP exams as the most important thing in their high school career. Instead of going out, socializing, and learning about the world, they opt to spend hours and hours on their desk studying to get that perfect 5. However, now that APs are over, I realize that I wasted a lot of time studying that I could've instead used to pursue my passions. After all, getting a 4 won't ruin my future.
Sincerely,
Krish
I never really put that much actual weight into the idea of APs. It is just a choice that I made because I know that if the class was not titled AP, I wouldn't take it seriously. I think it serves as a baseline for how busy I have to be. I noticed that the few days following the exams, I felt more empty than I felt stress from studying the days prior. It was honestly miserable. So to the students debating about taking these classes, I would say do it—take them if you don't have friends to fill your time or if you don't have other obligations that tie you down because they really aren't anything. I realized that it often isn't about the GPA but rather an expectation for yourself. If you lower that expectation, associate with different people, and let that stress go there won't be much to worry about.
ReplyDeleteHey Sierra!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your view of APs. I hate when people take AP classes simply to say that they did and I think people like that are the reason we live in such a competitive area. I hate that mentality because not only does it affect the person themselves but also affects those around them. I personally only take APs that I am either interested in or are related to my major. Otherwise I think they are a huge waste of time. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point of view! Although I take three AP classes, it seems that I took them just to get sucked into the cycle of constantly doing work and complaining about it, then taking a test and repeating the cycle all over again. In addition, the AP exams are really expensive, and for people who take four, it's more than $400! It really annoys me how CollegeBoard is able to profit so much on students that are just trying to get into college. The competition is especially worse where we live.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI for sure failed my 5 AP exams this year. I think that being in a school with people this stacked has caused my expectations to rise to unrealistic levels. It’s quite often that I forget my performance is above average on a national scale, even though my peers don’t think so. What you said is very true though; it’s important to keep a level mind and strive forward with positive intentions. Cheers.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the original reason for taking APs has changed. When deciding if I wanted to actually take the APES exam or not, I had to wonder what the up-sides of taking the exam was. On one hand, it would give me credits if I decide I want to go to community college if I passed. On another hand, if I failed, that would be $100 down the drain. My reason for taking APES was not to look impressive to colleges because I knew I didn't want to pursue a career in science. I took APES because I wanted to avoid physics no matter what. My thought process was interesting, indeed but I do not regret it. I feel as if some kids decide to take so many APs not because they want to flaunt them, but to fit in with the expectations of their parents and the norms of this insane school. By the way, other schools average 2-3 AP classes per student.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI agree that AP exams are not as important as we think, but they do have some importance as a slight competitive advantage in college admissions (although the extent is certainly debated upon). There are definitely more effective uses of the time, especially for schools that weigh extracurricular achievement and activities more heavily. The preference for AP exams, however, I believe is due to a preplanned route and the ease in its schedule. With AP exams, most things are planned out and it is a guaranteed way to achieve some results. Other activities may have much more risk involved on whether it will produce results or not, and require much more creativity in determining a productive use of time.
Sincerely,
Raymond Yu
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI always had believed that AP classes was n to really a flex of your intelligence, in fact, I think GPA does not reflect your intelligence level at all. To be honest, I have such a bad GPA right now, and I think it is really stupid that Colleges look at GPAs instead of actually looking at who you really are. Most classes have tests weighted heavily, however, Me and my AP Calculus BC teacher believe that it is homework and classwork that show your intelligence, not tests. I have ranted about this a lot: I do well on homework and classwork, and I bomb the tests.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI feel like all of the content in your blog is absolutely correct. However, there is one massive key point that I feel essentially justifies people who just grind year after year of AP courses. Many people (you know what type of people I'm talking about) look at high school simply as a way to pad your college resume. Not only do they grind AP courses, the spam extracurriculars and other things that colleges look for. In their defense, I feel like this isn't a completely absurd point of view. I feel that, especially in a public school, you can't really take a course and expect to get proper and in depth understanding of the topic, it feels more like a regurgitation of the textbook. If we look at it this way, high school courses are a way to passively aggressively communicate to colleges your ability to keep up with a high workload. For this reason, I feel like people who take five or six APs aren't all that petty after all.
Yi-Kuan C.