Advanced Placement classes are offered at Leesville for students who wish to challenge themselves more than they would in an honors class. 

There are several advantages to taking these AP classes, including an increased GPA, with the possibility of earning a 5.0 compared to the 4.5 of honors classes, and potentially earning college credit. 

AP classes are supposedly to be more work than taking an academic or honors class. Students taking AP classes should expect to spend at least an hour on homework for each AP class they are taking each night. In order to be eligible for college credit, students will need to take an AP test in May that coordinates with the AP classes they take.

If you take the class first semester, it can be challenging to remember the content for the exam in May. 

Most students take their first AP class in their sophomore year after spending a long time weighing the pros and cons of taking these harder classes. 

Elena Pasquale, junior, has taken different AP and honors classes. This year alone, she is taking AP Language, AP Calculus AB/BC, and APES.

Remember: not all AP classes are for everyone, so you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself if you choose not to take one that your friends are taking.

Pasquale doesn’t think AP classes are that much harder than honors classes. Pasquale said, “Honestly, they’re not that much harder. Maybe the workload is heavier, but the content isn’t bad.”

Natalia Cesky is another junior who takes both AP and honors classes, but for slightly different reasons. 

Cesky said, “You can only take so many APs before you become stressed. It’s also important to go over classes that you would want to take regarding your future, and some of those classes aren’t offered in AP.”

AP classes are harder, in Cesky’s opinion, but she takes them for the boosted GPA, and she likes the challenge. 

Jillian Hamel, junior, has been described by many of her peers as “incredibly smart” and “a genius,” which cannot be denied. Hamel took AP physics as a sophomore and takes every AP course offered.

Hammel thinks the tests in AP classes are harder and the workload is heavier than that of honors classes, but the content itself isn’t harder. 

Hammel is the perfect example of how taking all AP classes might be right for some, but not for others. 

All three of these students believe that taking the AP classes and getting the boosted GPA and college credit is worth the extra time, stress, and effort.

Valerie Ziemba, junior, is taking one AP class this year: AP Environmental Science. Ziemba chose not to take all APs because she knows they are extra work and likes to prioritize her out-of-school activities, which she would not be able to do in all AP classes. 

“I prioritize a lot of my stuff outside of school, and when I talk to other people, AP classes are a lot more work outside of school, and I like to have a good balance,” said Ziemba.

Ziemba thinks that it depends on the class when asked if AP classes are harder than honors. She knows AP precalc is harder than math 4 honors, but she doesn’t think APES is harder than her chemistry honors class from sophomore year. 

When asked whether or not AP classes are worth it, Ziemba thinks that they are only worth it if you think that the class will help you in your future, because there is no use in stressing over a hard class that won’t help you in the long run.

In my opinion, you should take AP classes that you are interested in and/or will help you in the future. 

If you are not planning on being the valedictorian, then you probably don’t need a 5.0 GPA in every class. And if the class doesn’t interest you, then you likely won’t take it in college, so you wouldn’t need the credit.

You should also remember that your decision isn’t final. If you get into a class and decide it’s going to be too easy, then you can transfer into an AP class. This also works the other way around; if you think the class is too hard, then you can transfer into the honors or academic version.

Overall, it is completely up to you which class you want to take. You can talk to your parents and counselor, who could give you advice, but it is entirely your decision.