For years, the science track for an honors student at South has been clear: Biology Honors, then Chemistry Honors, followed by a choice between AP Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, or Physics in the following two years. Starting next year, though, students may take AP Biology as freshmen and AP Chemistry as sophomores. When considered for an AP recommendation, students will be evaluated based on their academic performance in current science classes, work ethic, and approach to learning. By expanding AP access to underclassmen, science department chairperson Ms. Courtney Knacke hopes to foster an environment built on growth, curiosity, and academic exploration; underclassmen taking these APs can build a strong foundation early on and free up room to take additional AP classes later on.
Many students seize the chance to stack up on AP courses early in hopes of bolstering their college apps. We’re told that we have to take the hardest courses offered and demonstrate “academic rigor,” or expect rejection. As competition for top colleges intensifies, students fixate on getting accepted and view grades as a measure of intellectual ability. Students feel pressured to take the same courses as their peers, even when they are uncertain about their academic readiness. Some do it because they don’t want to be viewed as not “smart enough” to handle the academic pressure. This highly competitive environment fosters the illusion that more is always better, resulting in course overload and escalated feelings of anxiety and inadequacy.
While we tend to view AP stacking as crucial to success, we often overlook the detrimental impact. Unprepared AP students quickly fall behind and have a significantly harder time catching up than they would in regular or honors classes. Eventually, these students are left with two options: drop or continue suffering in AP. The former option guarantees a quick escape from the fast-paced, work-intensive AP courses: Your previous quarter grades in the class are wiped clean, except for your course list, which suggests that you swapped courses mid-year and dropped from AP. Students that are fearful of leaving a bad impression on admissions officers with that indication often choose the latter path. Those who continue with AP despite repeatedly failing must watch as their poor grades drag down their GPA.
Instead of pushing yourself to enroll in AP, consider trying honors first. By maintaining awareness of our limitations and skill set, we can avoid feeling overwhelmed and build a solid foundation as we take AP courses in future years. Although honors and AP courses are similar, AP courses are faster-paced and more demanding. Honors classes allow students to move beyond the “regular track” without being overwhelmed by a college-level course and a standardized year-end AP exam. When students constantly push themselves to take challenging courses to match their peers, it can trigger a toxic cycle of burnout. If there is limited interest in biology and chemistry honors, these courses could be removed, similar to the removal of Social Studies 9 Honors when AP Human Geography was introduced. Not only would the removal of honors force students who drop out of APs to take regular classes, but it would also force future students to choose between regular and AP. Due to South’s academically driven environment, students are inclined to take AP courses.
While many students are capable of succeeding in AP-level courses, this expectation does not apply to everyone. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to take regular or honors instead of AP, despite how much we fear being judged for doing so. For those still unsure of which course to choose, have faith that your teacher will place you appropriately. Try to understand that if they recommend you for honors instead of AP, they have your best interests in mind.
