Taft offers a lot of AP courses from AP Gov, Art, Spanish, Psychology and more. AP courses are college freshman level courses, and they often help give more weight to a person’s GPA more than regular or even honor level classes would.
After taking an AP class you start AP testing (typically in the month of May). If you score high on an AP test, such as a 5, you can even gain college credit. But that gain comes with a lot of stress, so are they worth it?
Individuals and Societies teacher Abigail Cozariuc not only teaches AP Government, but also took eight AP classes throughout her sophomore and senior years of high school. She recalled feeling anxious and overwhelmed at first, but was also excited for the challenge.
As a teacher she often sees students come in with a mindset of taking AP classes for college, but tend to miss the bigger picture of the skills gained such as studying habits, time management, and effort building.
She stated, “Success in an AP class doesn’t necessarily mean getting an A, or a 4 or 5 on the AP test. It’s about growth, even if you get a C or D, you increase your skills just through taking the class.”
When I asked if AP classes were for everyone, she replied with, “AP classes can be for everyone, AP is not about natural intelligence, it’s about effort and what you are willing to put into the work.”
Personally, as an AP and IB student, I think it definitely depends on if the student wants to receive a higher level of education. Since I want to go to college, Taking AP classes can provide college credits, which can save me money in the long run.
I also like how I find myself becoming more independent through taking AP classes, while increasing my skills in managing my workload (in all my classes). I currently take AP Gov and an IB English class and I’m planning on taking different AP and IB classes for my senior year.
Magaly Macias-Suarez, junior, is taking AP Gov and AP Spanish. She reported her experience by stating, “AP classes are worth it because you get to experience a college level course and you walk away with amazing knowledge about the course and yourself.”
She went on to include an example with her AP Gov class by stating, “As an individual this course will test my critical thinking skills and help build a better understanding on how the US government works, I will also build better essay writing skills as this class requires me to write a lot.”
Last but not least, I interviewed Camie Laporte, a Student Counselor at Taft who manages schedules, empathizes with students, and discusses AP classes which can have an impact on your future. When asked what colleges think about students who take higher level classes, she stated, “ Colleges very much care about the rigor of the classes a student takes!”
She continued, “Taft counselors send a school profile along with other supporting documents to every school to which a Taft student applies. The very first question that is asked of school counselors on the Common App School Report is ‘Is this student an IB Diploma student?’ Which to me indicates they care very much.”
Additionally, she said, “ If a college or university sees a student getting straight A’s, or all A’s and B’s in standard leveled classes at a large public high school like Taft where they had the opportunity to choose from 62 different college leveled classes but they just chose to coast by getting A’s at a standard level, that is going to be a red flag to those colleges.”
Overall, even though AP classes are very challenging it is recommended that students should branch out in their education. Whether that be jumping from regular classes to honors or honors classes to AP/IB level classes. It’s important to take these risks and AP classes can really help mentally prepare you for college and life experiences in general.
Of course, only you can make that decision for yourself. If you think AP classes are in your best interest, then definitely look into the ones offered at Taft and see if you can find one that relates to your own personal interests. I definitely recommend it, and see it as worthwhile.
