Advanced Placement (AP) classes are known for their fast-paced, challenging, and college-preparatory curriculum, which can be intimidating for those who wonder if they should take an AP class or not. Ayala offers a variety of AP classes, but among those, which ones are truly the hardest?
AP courses are college-level classes that can count for college credit. Ayala offers 26 AP classes, some of them being AP Statistics, AP European History, and AP Chemistry, among others.
Many students are worried about taking AP classes because they are college-level classes, and they are concerned that they will be too difficult for them to keep up with. What makes a class truly hard is not just the curriculum, but also the pacing of the class, the amount of homework and classwork students get, and the overall environment of the class.
“My impression of each AP class is different because many upperclassmen tell me whether an AP class is easy or hard. I think, as long as I study hard and stay motivated, I can ace an AP class. However, I still doubt myself if I can take on the rigors, especially the AP exams,” Lucky Zeng (9) said.
While all AP classes are considered “harder” than typical high school courses, there are some AP courses that are most generally agreed on as being the hardest by students all over the country.
Every person has their own individual strengths and weaknesses, which can lead to different students having different opinions on which AP class is the hardest. According to US News, however, among most teenagers, most agree that the three hardest AP classes that are offered in high school are AP Physics, AP United States History, and AP United States Government and Politics.
Most AP science classes are difficult for students because of the various formulas and additional information that must be memorized, and the AP exam is considered very challenging and difficult for most students, with challenging questions and need for complex understanding of the class material. The average pass rate of the AP Physics exam is 47.3%.
AP Government and history classes are also considered very strenuous on students because of the extensive materials and information given and the need for memorization in the entirety of the class. These AP classes require students to have excellent writing skills, and a constant need for complex thinking regarding the content of the class. Collegeboard reported the pass rate for the AP US History class is an average of 72.2% and for AP United States Government and Politics, the average passing rate for the AP exam is 73%.
Hearing that AP classes are typically more challenging than an average high school class, many current freshmen have doubts about taking AP courses. Furthermore, freshman, and other students of different grade levels believe that taking AP classes will impact their other classes and extracurricular activities.
“One concern I would have if I were to take AP classes is definitely that they would interfere with my extracurriculars, since I play a few sports and I’m in some clubs. I would still take one, but it would just take a lot of time and effort,” Sierra Pye (9) said.
Although many underclassmen may be worried about the strenuous effort it takes to be in an AP class, the numbers of people taking AP classes in high school has actually increased over the past few years. From 2013 to 2023, the amount of graduates from high schools who took AP classes rose from 31.5% to 34.7% of students.
Other freshmen believe that taking harder classes such as some of the most commonly known harder AP classes, will help them get a better chance of getting into college.
“I think that AP classes are a good prep for true college classes and I think they’re a positive impact on your GPA and college resume,” Farima Tavana (9) said.
Overall, it is generally agreed upon that AP classes are tough, but that doesn’t stop underclassmen and other students from taking them.
“I see AP classes as an advantage, it does take more work, but I believe the rewards are worth it because if you [choose] your AP classes wisely, it can bring more positive outcomes than negatives,” Zeng said.
