Entering high school, many students are recommended to try and take Advanced Placement classes for reasons like saving money in college or helping to better their knowledge of certain subjects. Juniors are eligible for more APs, which can help them explore what they want to do in the future.
Triton Times states that junior year is considered to be the hardest year in high school. When applying to colleges, the second semester of senior year is near the top of a transcript. Adding rigorous classes to a transcript shows colleges that the student can handle tough coursework and has the motivation to succeed.
“I am enrolled in AP Psychology and I have learned to apply concepts we learn in the real world,” junior Kaleigh Goodlett said. “I would recommend this class to others because there is no prerequisite. It is interesting and gives you an understanding of what psychology is like in college, which I feel can help others decide if psychology is a major they want to pursue at the college level.”
In the math pathways that are offered, most students end up having to take an AP math class in their junior or senior year. The AP math classes that juniors are steered towards are AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, or AP Calculus BC.
“I am in AP Calculus BC, and there are a lot of real-world application problems, which makes it much different from my previous classes,” junior Keely Cohoon said. “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do when I’m older, but I’ve been thinking about psychology, forensic science, pharmacy, or law. Calculus could give me math credits for college and prevent me from having to take as many math courses as possible. However, this class doesn’t directly apply to what I want to do when I’m older, so looking back on my class registration decisions from last year, I would’ve taken AB instead.”
Along with the AP classes that can help you earn college credit, there is an AP Capstone program to help students learn skills that will be needed outside of the classroom such as critical thinking and the experience of situations from different perspectives. To earn the diploma, a student is required to take AP Seminar and AP Research and score a minimum of three on the AP National exam. Not only that, but they need four other AP classes completed, along with the exam and a minimum score of three.
“In AP Seminar, there is hardly ever any homework outside of class if you are productive with the workdays given,” junior Olivia Kampen said. “Many of the grades in the gradebook are completion scores in the summative category which makes it difficult to not pass with flying colors. This class teaches students how to exercise proper public speaking abilities and collaborate with others to synthesize their findings and ideas.”
The range of AP Classes has been growing here, and the class requirements to take them are now changing. Students appreciate these opportunities and continue to work hard to start their future right.
