AP Classes: Yes or No?

For our fellow high-achieving students who are struggling to choose classes for the upcoming school year, this article is made for you! We asked our beloved rising seniors about their experience and opinions on a few AP courses offered through VHS and in class, with a few tips and tricks that you can pick up as well.

1. AP PSYCHOLOGY (VHS)

Halena; course rating: 9/10

AP Psychology is one of the best classes I've taken mainly because of the content that's covered in the class. You study how the body and mind interacts in order to influence behaviors, thoughts, and personalities.You learn a lot about the mind and you also learn about yourself and the people around you. But because it was a VHS course, there was a ton of work weekly and it was a little overwhelming at times. Despite this I did not regret taking the course, I just wish I managed my time better prior to the exam. Overall, I had a great experience with this class and my VHS teacher was also extremely kind and lenient which made the class do-able. I'm not sure if it's because I truly love this subject no matter the workload, so take my experience with a grain of salt.

Mr. Barrett will be teaching this class next year and to be quite honest I think anyone who takes this class will do much better than I did with my VHS course. VHS is a great option, but there's A TON of homework and discussions. I feel like I would've been able to learn better if my class was more hands-on and activity-based. So if you guys are taking this course next year, I think you'll do wonderful!

PS: you also study different functions involving the naming of the different areas of the brain, ears, eyes, etc. so it's not just the study of the mind 

ADVICE

• Go over the AP course overview before you start the course to get an idea of what you're gonna study
• Apply different concepts and relate it to your life; it lets you remember those things more when you associate it with yourself(relatively easy to do in ap psych)
• Label your materials and organize them into specific drives and folders so you can easily go back to look at them for tests and the AP exam
• Take it from someone who used to sleep around 3-4am everyday, SLEEP. Your brain will not allow you to process information and form new memories if it's shutting down. So instead of staying up all night while dozing off, sleep first and wake up early to do your assignments. (Hint hint: something you'll learn in AP Psych!!)
• AP Psych Wiki notes on google for an easier outline of the course content(way better than reading the Myers textbook)
• You need to know your terms, psychological perspectives, and psychologists so definitely do not overlook that part of the course.

2. AP CHINESE LANGUAGE (IN CLASS)

Dani; course rating: 9/10

I love the class in general, 老师 is one of the best teachers when it comes to learning languages. The only problem is that you really have to apply yourself when it comes to the homework because it is an official ap course and any language class is already full of homework and revisions. The first semester is about learning new vocabulary and structural info, the second semester is a lot harder as you need to apply all this knowledge. You start learning how to write stories, emails, read comprehension, how to keep a conversation going for minutes on end, and learning how to prepare for a presentation in 4 min and then speaking for 2.

The exam is done on college board but you'll have multiple practice tests before so you don't have to worry about what is going to be in the exam.

ADVICE

• Google translate may be your friend at first but it causes a habit to rely on it and can lead to not being able to do the exam.
• 老师 is really strict on hw so put all your effort in. Even if it's one small assignment.

Yikyu; course rating: 9/10

I think if you've had past experiences with Chinese-besides the lessons offered in Logos-then you're likely going to do well in the exam. AP Chinese is both information based and skill based. In essence, the exam tests your knowledge about the Chinese culture in general and also your Chinese skills. Luckily for my AP Chinese class, we've had a lot of practice in and out of class, but that meant there was a lot of homework too. I think the workload is also much heavier and lengthy compared to past Chinese classes. For me, I tend to rush assignments and turn in whatever I have without double-checking them, and it was negatively affecting my grade because the grading is much harsher. I recommend this course to people who are willing to challenge their Chinese skills and people who are responsible for their learning.

ADVICE

• Get your assignments done on time and don't rush them.
• Speak loudly on the exam and don't be nervous.
• Expose yourselves to the culture-watch movies, read the news, etc.
• Try your best to expand your vocabulary through textbooks or Quizlet. There are many unfamiliar and hard words in AP Chinese; the more you know, the better you will do.
• Like Dani said, don't rely on Google translate too often because it won't be there with you on the exam.

3. AP ECONOMICS (VHS)

Kalyana; course rating: 8/10

It is a good class to learn. Some units may be a bit hard to understand, but as you look into them and try to understand them, it is easy. The class really helps you understand money from a more in-depth perspective. The class teaches you about taxes, the government, and personal finance in general. It teaches you about the scarcity of resources and what society wants. There are two parts to economics which are macroeconomics and microeconomics. There are a lot of formulas and graphs you need to memorize/remember for your exams like the PPC, aggregate demand/supply, etc... It is a good class, but with VHS, there is a lot of work to do and no breaks at all. There are discussions every week about an article or a statement for you to rate between 1-10 if you agree or not. 

There are two exams, macro, and micro. Each exam consists of 60 MCQ questions, 1 long FRQ, and 2 short ones. Before the exam, there are always practice exams given by CollegeBoard, which will help you.

ADVICE

• Take notes about the lesson for it will come in handy
• Before the exam, it is best if you draw all graphs so that you can remember them
• Always watch your AP video because it really helps you a lot
• Understand the concept and graph because the exam will ask you
• Know how to explain your graph and calculations
• Watch Jacob Clifford if you still have trouble. He doesn't go in depth, but it is still really helpful

4. AP WORLD HISTORY: MODERN (IN CLASS)

Anneliese; course rating: 7/10

I would say mixed. Starting the year with half days meant a lot less input from the teacher and a lot more self-study, which meant it took a lot of time to complete work and assignments, and it was mentally exhausting. Because we were behind when coming back into Logos, it meant we had to go through 2/3rds of the course at lightning speed - meaning again there was a lot of self-study and hours of research. Despite this, I think we were prepared for the exam. Although I didn't take it, I regret it now and I'm going to take the exam next year. I would recommend this class if you don't mind a lot of writing - there are loads of essays! - and studying by yourself.

ADVICE

• The teachers know what they are doing, so trust them. This was why I didn't take the test - I didn't think I was going to be prepared, but I now realize that the teacher was doing the best thing to prepare us for the exam in the situation we were in. Also, do all the work the teacher recommends you to do. 

Halena; course rating: 7/10

TBH, I don't really know how to describe my experience with AP World. It was really hard to catch on to the concepts because at times, history isn't always a subject that will catch your eye and keep you focused. I would say that you should only take it if you're really interested in it because it might bore you. 

Although it's a lot to do with memorizing key events, it also involves connecting the different events together and highlighting the continuity and changes of the world as it progresses. AP World discusses how different parts of the world came to being, so it doesn't go into too much detail for each nation which is a plus. However, you should also be able to give plenty of examples as that's mainly what the frqs and dbqs circulate. 

Aside from that, I think that the exam was easier than I thought and definitely easier than the practice exams that I had to do. We were able to get a lot of practice with answering frqs, dbqs, and mcqs since the start of the class so if I were you I wouldn't worry about not grasping the techniques of answering those questions. Just make sure you are learning the concepts covered in the course.

ADVICE

• HEIMLER'S UNIT REVIEW VIDEOS AND KIM RHOADE'S UNIT REVIEW VIDEOS  WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. Do not just depend on in-class slides and textbooks
• Manage your time well before the exam so you won't cram everything last minute( I did this don't be like me pls)
• Make sure you know and can demonstrate what AP wants when it comes to FRQs and DBQs; you need to hit all the points to get full score
• There are only 9 units but basically around 3 timeframes with a constant theme for each timeframe. This makes it easier to form connections so make sure can understand and identify all the themes

5. AP BIO (IN CLASS)

Yikyu; course rating: 6/10

AP Bio is a challenging course that requires an in-depth understanding of various processes and information. The first semester was more hands-on and contained more labs compared to the second semester, despite being online. Labs are really important in helping us understand things, but due to having limited resources, we were unable to do many labs that the other AP Bio students did. Honestly, the reason why I think AP Bio was so hard was that it is not only information-based, but you had to apply information from multiple units in to answer questions. Furthermore, the information and content can be difficult to understand and overwhelming at times, as this is an AP course, so it is important to make sure you understand everything. For us, there were times when we had to go over the lessons really fast because we were weeks behind, which meant that we couldn't take our time to slowly process the information.

ADVICE

• You should clear up any misunderstandings you have about the information because it can affect your future understanding of concepts.
• People (including teachers) may tend to rely only on Collegeboard's AP daily videos, but it is important to also rely on other sources such as the Campbell textbook or other textbooks because Collegeboard's daily videos don't really go in-depth, and the exam is usually much harder than what they teach.

• Be really familiar with the processes and its effects

6. AP COMPSCI AND PRINCIPLES (IN CLASS)

Joy S; course rating: 10/10

Not even gonna lie, it's the easiest AP class I've ever taken. The exam is short as well because they only have a MCQ section. There's very little coding knowledge required and all you have to know for the exam is how the internet works and some internet ethics and how to read pseudocode. The practice exams Mr. Skogen gives are very useful and prepare you well for the AP exam. I did little to no preparation for the AP exam besides that. Your AP score will be determined by how well you do for the MCQ and performance task. A performance task is a game or program you coded which you have like a full month to work on and you should get full marks for that as long as you meet the requirements on the rubric.

ADVICE

• Show up to class on days there are practice exams since it's the most important part.
• If you know how to code, work on the performance task by yourself since you'll be doing all the work if you work as a group
• Also the performance task is due about a week or so before the actual exam so remember to turn it in early

7. AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY (VHS)

Soreaksa; course rating: 9/10

I enjoyed the topics covered in this class and was genuinely intrigued by it. I think that this is going to be a very interesting class for those who like social sciences. It covers a range of topics including migration patterns, language origins, urban patterns, and more. This class was very discussion based on VHS, so you can imagine that you would need to be engaging in this course too. It is also subjective and teaches you how to apply and analyze what you learn to the world you are living in. 

There is going to be an AP Human Geography class offered next year, so it would no doubt be better than the experience I had with VHS. It is an AP course that is honestly not that hard-a great choice if you are in need of a social studies credit and want that AP credit too.

ADVICE

• My advice is to always look at things from different perspectives. The materials that were provided for me in the course pushed me to be able to defend my point of view, but to also understand why people see it their way. You have to be able to apply what you learn in real life situations, too. Lastly, engage and participate in class discussions because this is very crucial to your understanding of the topic!!!!

Remember, as much as these classes matter, your overall well being is just as important as well. Remember to also prioritize that part of your life before its too late; highschool isn't all about grades, its also about making memories and spending time with the people around you. Happy learning!

- Halena C.