For many high school students, AP exams are one of the most stressful parts of their high school journey as they have to balance work, sports, clubs, and studying for countless hours, all while also trying to have a social life. With these factors in mind, AP season can feel more than overwhelming. Even those students who complain about the pressure of an AP exam, they are still extremely important because they help students prepare for college, challenge themselves academically, and build responsibility as well as good time management skills.
The term AP itself stands for Advanced Placement, meaning that a student to take a college-level class while being in high school. These classes are usually much harder than regular classes and have more workload, including having to independently study even more than your normal high school class. It also requires the student to think more critically for themselves, instead of a teacher giving them a timeline and basics of their curriculum. When preparing for the AP exam, it takes a lot of discipline and responsibility with your time because it could take weeks and countless hours of studying to get a perfect score on the test. With taking these classes in high school, students gain life skills that will help them in college and will guide them through adulthood as well.
When students take these AP exams, if they pass them, they earn college credit. This credit could transfer for when the student goes to college, and they will no longer have to take that general education class. This not only can save time for the student, but it can also save money as well. Due to students having the AP credit, they are able to graduate college a little early because they already have attained the credit.
Taking an AP course can also help the students see what they are capable of as well as what they are interested in doing in the future for their major in college. Usually when a student is done with their AP course and has completed all of the classwork, assignments as well as acing the test, they gain confidence in their education and intelligence level because they fulfilled a hard course.
When the time has come to study for the AP exams, it can lead to unhealthy schedules with staying up late to study and comparing scores with other peers and seeing who got the better score. If a student did not give the score that they intended to get, they could feel as if they are not smart enough or feel disappointed in themselves. When it is AP test season, it is important to remember that scores do not determine who they are as long as they know they put in hard work and effort.
AP exams are extremely important because they prepare students for future problems in college and in adulthood. It teaches responsibility and improves students’ habits at a young age and will also give students opportunities that will be beneficial towards them in college and later on in life.
