Over 1 million students a year enroll in AP classes with the hopes of calming their parents’ college concerns and appealing to college admission officers. The popularity of AP courses exploded over the past decade, causing many people to wonder about the importance of these classes really are for students’ futures. Having information on both the positives and downsides of taking AP courses is crucial when making decisions on what classes to prioritize.

The competitiveness of college has skyrocketed throughout the years, forcing students to do anything they can to make themselves stand out in the sea of applicants. They can do this by extracurriculars, volunteering, clubs, and, you guessed it, piling on AP classes. According to https://blog.prepscholar.com/, “AP classes are useful for showing off a particular academic strength”. These classes are a way applicants communicate to college officers that they are hardworking and can handle the difficult course load that college entails. Another reason students are swarming to take AP classes is the chance to earn college credits at some colleges. When asked why taking APs is so important to her sophomore Jiya Jain states, “Because I want to get college credit… it looks good on applications, and I want to challenge myself.”

However, the issue with AP classes is it can end up being an anxiety-inducing waste of time. According to https://www.collegevine.com/, “It’s better to excel in a few AP classes than to struggle in several”. The difficulty of the classes can cause burn out, and a plummeting GPA. If students do not pass the AP exam with a 3 or higher, then they will not be getting any college credit, bringing all their hard work to waste. Another issue is lots of students are taking classes in subjects that do not align with their own aspirations. Junior Aled Bedi is taking 3 AP courses. He is interested in environmental science and US history, but shares he is not interested in AP lang, and instead is required by his dad to take the course.

The importance of AP courses can vary heavily based on finances, the workload you are willing to handle, and long-term career and academic goals. So, before you sign up for every AP you can, make sure to pause and ensure your class schedule is going to push you to succeed, not to falter under pressure.