Getting a full load of courses during college means late-night stuffing, regular assessments and lots of content to cover. But it can also mean studying in an advanced, less curriculum-driven atmosphere, while experiencing a break from the extracurricular actions that take over the schedule in high school. Scholars who are lucky enough to not have to work, have time each day to research and slack off, since their complete class time is about 15 hours less each week than that of a higher school student. But a good amount of kids are now using up to 10 advanced placement courses during their junior and senior years, balancing three periods of sports, group service, flute training, driving training and applying to college. School directors say advanced placement courses generally require 30 to 60 minutes of preparation per class per evening. And no high school student’s day begins with an 11 am class.
Why are kids placing themselves through this? And why do parents allow and even require this? There are a lot of explanations for your high school student to take advanced placement courses. Learners can generate college credit and may be able to save money by completing college a term or two early. Learners are also able to take electives previously in college, enabling them to try out new subject matter or even move on to more complex courses in their major more quickly. But not every college allows AP credits. And by the time your child finds out where she is going to college, she is mostly done taking courses.
My buddy who works as a college consultant for high school students says students really need to know themselves before signing up for several AP courses. If you think you can manage work and stress, staying up late and if the subject is an area in which you succeed, go for it. But there are other ways to help you take a stand out: Get into and win an essay competition, for example. But, she says, if a scholar’s objective is to get into an Ivy League university, she motivates him or her to take more APs, especially in a selected area, since the scholar’s “weighted” Grade Point Average will be higher than if he would have taken non-AP classes.
