Senior year is generally thought of as a time to focus on college applications and be with family and friends before leaving for college the next year. School itself seems to be a second priority behind these two important things, leading many seniors to opt out of taking harder classes during their last year of high school. This creates the question of whether or not it is worth it to take AP classes senior year and to commit to that extra level of work.
One of the main reasons that students choose to take AP classes is because they offer a GPA boost that makes you stand out more from other students, which can be very beneficial when completing college applications. However, by the time you are a senior, most of your applications will be submitted by the time the first semester ends, meaning this increased GPA will not be displayed to colleges. Unless it is a class that you are genuinely interested in taking, AP classes do not offer much benefit to senior students.
When asked if she notices a difference in stress levels between herself and friends who are in AP classes, senior Anna Ansari said, “Yes, my friends are always stressing about the extra homework and tests while I have extra time to focus on myself and other extracurricular activities.”
Between college applications, social events and extracurriculars, it is hard enough already to find time to complete school work for regular classes. AP courses mean you must take on a whole new level of work. Students’ lack of motivation hits its prime during senior year, making it extra difficult to push oneself to complete the amount of work that AP classes require.
Sometimes AP classes are unavoidable due to scheduling conflicts or the advancement of classes that have been taken in the past. If a student has already taken all other possible classes in a subject, they may be led into an AP without another option, or if a different class they want to take does not fit into the rest of their schedule.
“I decided to take AP classes this year just based on my previous workload sophomore and junior year, and it was kind of on par with my workload those years but just a little more advanced since I want to just keep pushing myself a little bit more and more each year,” said senior Annette Henderson.
Overall, taking an AP class as a senior is not worth it unless it is a class that you have a serious interest in. If you want to do it for the GPA boost, it is more beneficial to take them junior year and ease off more as a senior to leave more time for everything else that will be going on.
