You’ve all heard about them before: Advanced Placement, or AP, classes. These classes are designed by the College Board with the intention of exposing high school students to college-level work and allowing for the students to potentially earn college credits.
Teachers and administrators both sing the praises of these courses, claiming that they prepare students for college, and they very well might, but it is essential to consider the toll that an excessive amount of AP courses could take on students’ mental health.
While students are not directly pressured into taking an excessive amount of AP classes, there are many indirect factors that often influence students when picking classes. When teachers discuss their class recommendations with students, it often impacts their decision of whether they should take a more advanced class.
Sometimes, they might be pushed into taking advanced classes that they are not prepared for, which could cause a student to lose confidence in themselves and their abilities. Peer pressure often influences these decisions, especially if students want to be in class with their friends.
From the start of an AP class, the idea that their score on the AP exam in the spring is essential to their future success is drilled into a student’s mind. This can put extreme amounts of pressure on the students to perform well and cause them to tie their self worth onto their academic success.
Since AP classes are designed to push students, their grades, although weighted, will sometimes be lower which negatively impacts their mental health. The high amounts of pressure placed upon these students can lead to anxiety, depression and insomnia for students. AP courses often have heavy workloads, and if students take multiple AP classes, the amount of homework and studying will pile up, resulting in late nights and a lack of adequate sleep, which then negatively impacts their performance in classes.
As academics become more competitive, more and more students are pressured into taking more AP classes, whether it is to get more college credits or attempt to maintain a standing for the top 25 for their class. The combination of heavy workloads, academic pressure to succeed and competitive nature for a high class rank can result in mental health struggles and burnout for students.
By no means am I saying that other classes do not cause stress upon students, and I am not saying that taking AP classes is a bad decision, I personally think that if chosen carefully, AP classes can be extremely beneficial to students and can help them find their passions.
However it comes down to personal reflection on what you are able to manage as a student. Balance is key to approaching AP classes, and if approached correctly, can allow for you to push yourself without burning out.
