Dear Juniors,
This is a warning. You may be thinking that, as you sign up for classes that you want to sign up for as many APs as possible, DO NOT DO THIS. Though in the past, there have been classes, the honors and AP classes have been virtually the same class; this is not the same for senior year. Unless you are genuinely planning on applying to Ivy League schools, I would say only do AP classes for classes that you are genuinely interested in. Senioritis is very real, and by the end of the year, you will have absolutely no motivation to not only study for AP exams, but you will have no motivation to do any work. This is fine when the only thing affected is your grade, but it isn’t fair to the teachers who have to try and get you a good score on your AP exams. Think long and hard about if you are really willing to commit to a year of suffering and failure, or if you would rather have a nice, peaceful year. This doesn’t mean don’t take any APs, though, it just means that you need to know how much work you are willing to put in at the end of senior year. If you want a challenge, go ahead and take 6, but 3 or 4 tends to be more realistic for most students.
These are the other seniors’ thoughts on APs.
“I don’t think you should take a lot of APs in senior year. Three is a good number, five or six is excessive.”- Sophia Benich
“With application rates higher than ever for college, you are going to need to make yourself stand out in this cutthroat system. You are going to have to up your game. I would recommend 4 or 5 but honestly, there’s not a difference between 5 and 6. It’s also good because it shows that you are continuing to challenge yourself senior year and not just giving it. It also gives you a nice GPA boost.” – Jenna Hallaba.
“ I think you should take a load that you think you can take. It depends on the person and knowing your limits. Either take both AP Macro and AP Gov or take neither.” -Fritz Browning.
“Do not take AP Macroeconomics unless you are actually really ready to lock in.”- Ian Williams.
Overall, the consensus from the Class of 2025 is that you need to know yourself, and know if you are willing to be committed to working hard your entire senior year or if you’d rather be able to relax. It depends on what schools you’re applying to, and how much you want to challenge yourself in your senior year. Look into the schools you’re applying to, see if they accept AP credits, and if you need the GPA boost to be in their range. The message you should get from this article is that only you know how much you should challenge yourself, and it is make-or-break in your senior year to find the right balance of pushing yourself and just making yourself suffer.
