Are AP courses a hoax?
The vast majority of colleges admit on the basis of GPA and test scores. And a great many scholarships are granted on the basis of GPA and test scores. Why take AP classes and risk obtaining a lower grade, thereby reducing your chance for admission and scholarships? Also, as for college credit, why not just take the course in college and get a good grade to raise and/keep your college GPA high for jobs and/or graduate school?
Finally, most AP courses are taught by teachers that are unqualified to teach those courses. You may think your high school is an exception, but it is not.
AP is a hoax. Look at prevalent it has become over the past 10 to 15 years.
Answer:
Actually in my day, AP classes were not counted when it came to evaluating your GPA for college...it was seen strictly as ability to take on college level courses.
In addition to that, many states have higher learning standards for high school teachers than they do for college professors. Enough years of experience and anyone with or without a degree can teach on a college level.
Even if you are rich, AP credit saves you money. If you're rich to the point that you don't care about money or time, then go ahead and skip AP's. Otherwise, AP's save you time in college by getting basics out of the way and save you money for those classes.
Who cares... You take AP courses because colleges like to see it on your application. And being poor is another big thing.. You cant just exclude every positive thing that AP courses have and call it a hoax.
AP courses *can* save you money. If you choose to attend a college and it accepts your credit, you can graduate in three years, possibly. I know people who have come to college with 30 credits, which equates to two semesters.
I do agree with you in a way, though. I took two courses without knowing my college's policy on credit, and one of those classes didn't apply. So, yeah, it was a waste.
Just make sure you are aware of your college's policy on AP credit.
most ap classes are weighted [at my highschool anyway,] and so even if you dont get an A, you can still come off with a 4.0
or just to help prepare for college homework load?
For me the AP courses were no joke.
At my school I took pretty much every one of them and it got me into the college of my choice. Colleges look at the difficulty of the classes you take to help them make a admission decision. Although they might be harder and it may lower your GPA some when a college looks at your transcript they will see that you challenged yourself and are more likely to admit someone with a 94 GPA who took many AP classes then a person with a 98 GPA and no AP classes. This is actually a real life situation. I have the 94 GPA and got into the University of Michigan while the salutitorian of my class, with a 98, is going to SUNY Albany. This shows that taking the AP classes will help you get into a better college and therefore are not a hoax!
The course itself could be a hoax if the teacher isn't qualified, but some students like being able to start college as sophomores due to taking so many AP courses.
And many schools weigh AP courses more than standard or honors courses. For example, in my high school, it was near-impossible to get a quarter average higher than 93 in our AP English course. But GPA-wise, it didn't hurt us.
advanced placement courses are a good way of being able to get started on your college career faster. You can knock 2 to 3 years off your college education. Besides the money that would be saved. If you are focused you wont have to worry about your GPA.
this is kind of a response to the answer above, but i took ap tons of ap classes in high school (i'm not done yet, i'm a senior this year) and it hasn't prepped me for a homework load at all. i was able to get all my homework for every class done in one 49 minute off period and the only thing i ever did at home was essays. nothing in high school can prepare you for a big homework load in college unless you are one of those people that just makes stress for themselves...
I don't know about you, but for me, taking AP courses isn't just about college. I take them because they are challenging. If you are an accelerated student, then you should take AP classes regardless of your college plans, because regular classes will bore you and you are not very likely to get anything out of them. Yes, your GPA will probably be higher, but what's the point of taking a class because you know you will get an A? Where I come from, we call that being lazy. If you are so worried about getting a bad grade in these classes and "ruining your GPA", maybe you're just not AP material.
AP scores helped me out a lot. I got 9 college credits out of them, and as a result I get to register for classes before a lot of people and I get preference in room draw.
Credits determine a lot of things - and the more credits you have, the better advantage you have. My roommate came in with 19 credits and I have another friend who came in with 22.
You have a lot more flexibility if you plan on studying abroad as well. Take AP's!
The vast majority of colleges admit based on GPA, Courses Completed, SAT1, SAT2, Extracurriculars, Essay, and what you choose for your major (occasionally if many people choose a certain major, you might not be accepted). When talking about the AP, you must also realize that some schools provide more AP Courses than others.
I took 7 APs during my highschool career... Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Psychology, Environmental Science, US History, and Statistics. I recieved 5's on all of them except Environmental Science and Psychology (I recieved 4's on those two). I am going to be a 2nd year in Fall, yet I am in 3rd year standing because of the credits I recieved.
Taking the harder classes have also allowed me to do better in college as most of the classes I have retaken, such as math and psychology, have become "GPA Boosters."
I think as the education standards change, AP courses will become the norm. I know in my district, many highschoolers take AP courses regardless of whether its hard or not.
I would definitely suggest taking AP courses. Whether you receive credit or use the credit or not they help to prepare you for college. I took many AP classes and found that I was much more prepared than people who did not take AP classes. You can always choose not to use the credit if you don't feel comfortable with a subject or if you want an 'easy A'. However, if you do use the credit it gives you more flexibility to do a dual major, a minor, or graduate early.
AP classes are often weighted (on a 5.0 scale) to help compensate for the extra work vs. the grade you receive.
In my opinion, AP classes that are unrelated to what you want to major in in college can actually really help you out. It often helps satisfy some of the pesky "required but useless" courses you have to take to be "well rounded."
Say if you want to go into a science or technology field, take AP English in high school. Liberal art majors, take AP math or science, and fulfill those before you even get to college. Taking these classes in h.s. will be far easier, and will open up your options to taking the classes you really want to.
In my personal experience (I majored in engineering) my AP calculus and chemistry classes in h.s. only qualitied for miscelleous math and science credits, which didn't fulfill the college courses i was required to take. AP English, on the otherhand, gave the green light and I got to skip Freshman English. I suppose the AP classes gave me a better knowledge basis, but had I known, I would have skipped taking the AP exams.
Ap courses aren't a hoax. Ap courses save money and give you college credit so you wont have to take the beginners course in your freshma year. I took Ap Biology already and i'm planning on taking 2-3 more Ap courses. Trust me, take as much Ap courses as you can because in each AP course you can get 2-3 college credits, and you dont have to take the Ap exam in that subject in college, and in the long run, you'll be glad you did it.
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