Signing up for Advanced Placement (AP) classes is a difficult and overwhelming process.
When I was handed the green packet freshman year, I had no idea what I needed to pick that would strengthen my college resume. With little knowledge of which AP classes were truly beneficial to my academics, I honestly followed in the footsteps of my peers.
After finishing almost three years filled with AP classes, I am here to showcase the ones that genuinely benefited and furthered my education, as well as my peers’. These classes have helped me and my classmates prepare for the SAT test, college applications and scholarship essays.
AP Language and Composition
I took AP Language and Composition (Lang) my junior year. Up until I took the SAT, I truly had no idea how resourceful the course was for my academic growth. This college-level English course focuses on writing from a nonfiction and argumentative perspective.
“We study three different essays, two of which are argumentative and one is analysis,” AP Language and AP Literature teacher Audra Whetstone said. “We are constantly trying to figure out the rhetoric, which is the best means of persuasion of somebody getting their point across to the intended audience.”
Students who aspire to take AP Lang should highly consider taking it their junior year. This class prepares students for more challenging curriculums in their future schooling, positively contributes to their SAT scores by strengthening a writer’s rhetorical analysis and improves reading and writing skills.
“It is all real life, and it gives students a taste of the skills that they will likely use in the future,” Whetstone said. “Whether it’s in English or not, it will pertain and be relevant in many students’ lives.”
AP Seminar
Although AP Seminar has now recently been added to the list of required classes to graduate, it remains to be an extreme stepping stone for underclassmen in their AP careers. For most sophomores, AP Seminar is the first AP class ever taken.
“AP [Seminar] is a project-based class,” AP Seminar and AP Research teacher Sheli Tabor said. “You have two papers, two presentations, and if you are choosing to take the test, you will have a writing test at the end.”
AP Seminar dives into the nonfiction waters of reading and writing, which encourages critical thinking and collaboration. After taking AP Seminar, I understood that I was capable of taking classes at the AP level and was confident in my decision to take AP Lang.
After finishing AP Seminar, students have the opportunity to earn an AP Capstone Diploma. A Capstone Diploma represents that a student took AP Seminar, completed the test with a score of 3 or higher and is enrolled in AP Research. Earning the honor will build college applications and increase chances of being accepted to rigorous institutions.
“For a highly competitive school or with a school where your SAT scores aren’t that great, [a Capstone Diploma] will help your application and chances of getting in,” Tabor said.
AP Psychology
Although I have not taken AP Psychology, I often hear good conversation around the course. AP Psychology is built around the study of the mental behavior and process of people.
“Included is a consideration of the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology,” AP Psychology teacher Jim Haveman said. “Students also will learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.”
Students who are interested in how the human mind works and desire to perceive themselves on a better level will likely enjoy the course.
“AP [Psychology] prepares you for college in the sense of collaboration with your peers, work deadlines, and using your brain more outside of textbooks,” senior Grace Brennan said.
Even if students haven’t taken the standard psychology class, they are still able to enroll in AP Psychology. Going into the class with a positive and open mindset is important if you want to succeed.
“At first, I was really nervous to take the course because I didn’t take regular psychology,” Brennan said. “But after the first couple weeks, I really got the hang of things and felt comfortable to ask questions.”
AP Research
Students who thrived in AP Seminar will also flourish in AP Research. AP Research is essentially a deeper diving version of AP Seminar. but Students are able to take their research skills to the next level while working at their own pace. Over the yearly course, students enrolled will write one paper and display one oral defense presentation on a topic of their choice.
“You get to research, in depth using the seminar skills, one subject that you really are passionate about,” Tabor said. “You get to develop your own study or look at your data in your own way to further the research in that specific area.”
Even without taking the class myself, I admire the overall structure of the class. Students are given a deadline for projects but the majority of the course is run similar to a college study course.
“It teaches good time management skills, as you have to stay on top of deadlines and stay focused to get data,” senior Chloe Boivin said. “I like most the freedom, how we got to choose our own topic, and we rely on ourselves to get the data.”
AP Research is arguably one of the best classes that can prepare scholars for classes at the higher level.
“It’s the closest thing to a college class that you can get,” Tabor said.
AP Government
Every student is required to take a high school level government class in order to graduate. This prepares students for the political world and develops more of an understanding of American history. However, by taking AP Government, students are able to develop a more well-rounded opinion around political issues and how the government works.
“In the age of the smart-phone, we are constantly exposed to news and stories surrounding government and politics,” social studies and AP Government teacher Robert Nowak said. “ AP [Government] helps students to develop the analytical thinking skills necessary to decode the wide variety of news sources out there and develop their own opinions on political and governmental issues.”
Learning and developing higher knowledge around current and upcoming problems, in my opinion, is a necessity to a more rounded education and essential for real world responsibilities.
“To be a well educated and functioning member of society, as well as a voter, I think it’s important to understand and know how our government works and functions,” senior Easton Denton said. “And AP [Government] teaches exactly that.”
AP Environmental Science
What I love most about AP Environmental Science (APES) is the intense curriculum it provides, the informative information about our earth and the solutions to anthropogenic impacts on the environment.
“AP [Environmental Science] makes students analyze their own consumption habits. It creates a space for students to reflect on our uses as a society and allows you to critically think about the environmental issues present today and the potential or current solutions,” AP Environmental science teacher Charissa Kashian said. “I believe that APES helps make students more well-rounded, informed citizens, especially with so many environmental issues and regulations currently in the political sphere.”
This is the first year students have been able to take APES and as a current enrolled student, it is worth the notoriously hard work. Similar to any AP class, students have an abundance of tasks at hand. However, the impactful knowledge on the environment and how to properly take care of it has broadened my perspective on my use of energy, food and land consumption levels.
“I love how much space it gives students to reflect and analyze anthropogenic effects on the environment,” Kashian said. “This is the only Earth we have; we as a society need to learn how to take care of it better.”
–
Overall, no student should be hesitant to enroll in any AP courses. The classes mentioned above have impacted myself and close peers the most. However, that does not decrease the value of other AP classes offered at Northview. In addition to those described above, Northview also offers AP calculus, AP Physics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Studio Art, AP World History, AP United States history, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science and AP Statistics. All are taught by invested teachers that care about their students.
AP classes help prepare scholars for college-level courses and further their education by using the resources provided by the district. Students should not be frightened to enroll, but rather be confident. Every Wildcat should take at least one AP class throughout their high school career.
