AP Classes

Feature

By Allie Wight
Husky Herald Reporter

  There is a wide variety of advanced placement (AP) classes offered at Port Huron Northern High School. Students have the chance to participate in an AP class in just about every subject at Northern.

  There are a few major differences between a regular course and an advanced placement course, though, which is why there are certain steps to be taken to ensure success in these higher level classes.

  First of all, students should expect a significantly larger work load as well as much quicker paced learning. Advanced placement classes are to be treated as college classes. After all, at the end of the course there is an opportunity to take a test and possibly earn college credit depending on the score you earn on that test.

  Secondly, students who decide to enroll in advanced placement classes should be prepared to adjust their schedules a bit outside of school in order to ensure that there is time to complete homework assignments and adequately study for tests. Olivia Coleman (‘19) says “Even on the first day of my first advanced placement class, I noticed that the pace of the class and the workload were going to be much different and more challenging than that of a regular class,”

  Although advanced placement classes are set at a higher pace and consist of material that is more in depth than a regular class, that does not mean AP classes should only be for the top students in the class.

   “I think a lot of kids at Northern are afraid to be in an advanced placement class because they think they’ll lose their 4.0 grade point average,” says Coleman, “but I think in the long run, experiencing college level work before you even start college might prove to be more beneficial than keeping a perfect 4.0, as long as you keep your grades up in the AP classes,”

  Mr. Jamison, an AP mathematics teacher at Northern says, “AP classes give students a great opportunity to challenge themselves from an intellectual and time-management standpoint. Any kid can have success in an AP class as long as they are willing to challenge themselves. Success might not always be an A, but as long as high-level thinking and learning occurs, the class is a success.”

  Taking AP classes is also beneficial to students because colleges notice and better consider students if they see that they challenge themselves with advanced placement courses. Colleges like to see rigorous course work, even if it means having a 3.9 GPA rather than a 4.0.

  Next time you are scheduling your classes, keep in mind that advanced placement courses will help tremendously with your future endeavors.