Junior year is when students are finally able to start taking AP classes, instead of regular or honors classes like in sophomore year. But current sophomores and juniors might jump to take too many AP classes that they can not handle. Taking difficult classes in high school appeals to colleges and can push students to their best potential, but the stress of homework and time-consuming commitments is a struggle for lots of students. The amount of APs someone takes could be impacted by their choice of college, and having multiple APs can help students with preparing for college classes and looking impressive to colleges.
“I want to show colleges that I’m committed and also like to challenge myself to take a college level course,” FHS sophomore Joshua Charnota said.
But lots of time-consuming classes can also be major stress inducers. The number of AP classes counselors recommend differs per student, but four classes is where counselors start to become concerned.
“If you’ve signed up for more than four, hopefully you’ve done that time management worksheet,” FHS counselor Sherry Fazzio said. “Hopefully you are really able to commit the amount of time that will be required to be successful in these courses, because we build our schedule based on how many students request things.”
When taking an AP, it is important to learn to manage time, especially when taking multiple. Classes like AP U.S. History require many pages of notes outside of class, a workload that can be difficult to handle with extracurricular activities.
“I’ve seen students who have gotten really good at [time management], especially when they’re committed to lots of activities, they’ve gotten really good at carving out small amounts of time, being productive with their time,” Fazzio said. “Maybe their last class gets out and practice starts and maybe it’s only a little bit of time, but they realize they can knock out one or two quick things during that time, so they have less to do later.”
Teenagers are recommended to sleep for eight to ten hours per night, but with loads of homework, getting good rest can be challenging. When teens don’t get enough sleep, they tend to get moody, depressed and have emotional instability, according to kidshealth.org.
“[As a student’s] amount of sleep suffers, their ability to participate in their other extracurriculars and stay kind of balanced, that suffers,” Fazzo said. “So that’s why I think we try to work with students individually as much as possible, and try to look at what is going to be reasonable for you.”
During the spring, counselors check in with students on how they are feeling with the classes they have chosen for the upcoming school year. At this point, students are able to change their classes. Classes can also be changed early the following school year, but there is no guaranteed free space in every class, so it is recommended to make any changes before the summer.
“I would say up until that first week in April [schedule changes are] pretty flexible in making changes,” Fazzio said.
If students want to make changes to their schedules, they can make appointments to see their guidance counselors. But they can also stick with their APs, and with good time management, hopefully have a successful year.
