AP testing is taking place this month, as I’m sure you’re aware. In light of this, I’ve decided to interview some students with APs to give you some more information about what these classes are like.
My first interview was with Ronny Yun. Ronny Yun is a senior and he takes AP Calc. and AP Econ. According to Ronny, the difference between AP classes and regular classes is, “AP classes are college level classes and generally have a more fast-paced/difficult curriculum compared to CP or honors classes.”
Additionally, when asked how APs compare in terms of the difficulty and amount of work Ronny said, “It really depends on the class, but most tend to have a much heavier workload and difficulty than regular classes.”
My other interview was with myself, Zephania Rothstein. I am also a senior, and I’m taking AP Physics. I agree with Ronny about the pace and workload, but there’s more to AP classes than that. AP classes differ from regular classes because if you do well enough in an AP class it can count as credits for college. While regular classes contribute just to graduating high school, doing well enough on the final exam for an AP class counts for both high school and college. Furthermore, AP classes have their final tests online through the same website that SATs are taken.
Besides work for Ms. Pascual, all the work I do outside of class is for AP Physics. Students are told to spend an hour a day studying and doing work for each of their AP classes. While I only have one AP, my classmate in AP Physics has multiple AP classes and thus spends hours after school on AP classwork before he even gets to the work for non-AP classes.
When asked about taking the AP tests, Ronny and I expressed completely different thoughts on the matter.
Ronny said, “I’m a little nervous for them, but I think I should be fine when it comes to taking the actual test. I’ve been studying a lot and my expectations aren’t extremely high so I think I should be fine.”
Meanwhile, I’m very nervous, especially because our class rushed through unit 7 so we could get to unit 8, and I don’t really know the unit 7 material.
So there you have it. If you have any more questions about AP classes make sure to reach out to your teachers.
