+251 Honors and AP classes in high school really aren't as difficult as everyone makes them out to be, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I hope not... I'm going to be taking two next this year

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I had two AP and six honor classes last year. You'll be okay.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah from experience, if you take an honors class in a subject for which there is an AP class, it's treated as the next step down. It really just comes down to top level, second level, etc. AP classes and Honors classes aren't hard, they just keep you busy.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I've always encouraged my friends to take AP classes because they're *easier* than the normal classes.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

APs have less busy work, but I wouldn't say they are easier.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Maybe so. But when people say I.B. is hard, they aren't lying.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Pre-IB is basically the same as honors, though. It's really easy.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

My counselor lied to my class to try and get more people to take IB classes by saying they did the exact same work as AP except they went on more field trips. Bullshit.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm taking all Gifted and two APs this year. Next year make that one Gifted and five APs. If this is suicide, I'm prepared for it.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I took a total of 10 AP classes and 12ish honors classes (when AP wasn't an option) So theoretically survival is possible

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Hahaha. I would totally agree except for AP Calculus. I took it and it really was easy and I understood everything but I didn't pass the AP test. They make the test 100 times harder on purpose because 90% of college freshmen that go straight into Calculus 2 fail.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Well that just means that the teacher didn't prepare you well. I took Calc BC AP and that class was crazy hard and time consuming but I got a 4 on the test so it paid off

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Depends on the teacher. For example, APUSH=suicide but AP bio is basically the same as "Honors Belval" at my school, although "honors Hassler" is easy mode.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

At my school it's the opposite. I took APUSH and AP Bio and APUSH was the easiest thing ever. All we ever did was listen to lectures and do homework packets. It was 10 times easier than standard. But AP Bio was really difficult.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I heard from my friend how much work APUSH was at her school, but at mine we hardly did anything and I still got a 5 on the AP test. It all depends on the class and the teacher

by Anonymous 11 years ago

The 2012 AP test? The APUSH one was ridiculously easy this year.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah APUSH was one of the hardest classes at my high school. But I got a 5 on the 2010 test so it paid off

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I hated history before I took APUSH. Now I love it. That class was awesome, and it was a pleasant surprise when I realized I had a knack for it. Bio was manageable, too (though the in-class tests were harder). They are really similar. Both are a lot of memorization and long chapters. If memorization is your thing, you'll do fine. I got a 5 on both.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Individually, they probably wouldn't be hard, but at my school, every class is an honors class, so taking just one or two AP classes can easily become a pain in the ass. Generally, I found the Math AP classes to be easier while the Social Studies and Science AP courses were difficult. With Math, it's pretty straightforward. You either understand the math and its applications or you don't, so if you're good at Math, no problem whatsoever. With things like History, there's a ton of crap you need to learn and memorize, and that can end up adding a ton to your workload. If you can't keep up with it, you're fucked.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

No.....are you serious? Maybe not as hard as people make them out to be, but still hard!

by Anonymous 11 years ago

AP's are called AP for a reason. In my school, it's way more homework and more critical thinking. Regular classes are pretty brainless compared to them.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

This year I have 2 AP, 1 Honors, 1 Honors Accelerated, and 1 Gifted class...wish me luck :/

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I took two on-level history classes after doing nothing but pre-AP for three years straight. It was literally indistinguishable from elementary school.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

this year i have 3 APs and 5 honors :/

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I didn't find honors hard at all. Most of the time my friends in non-honors classes seemed to be doing the same thing. There was a difference between honors and non-honors English, though. I took five APs in my hs career (2 junior, 3 senior). I'm good with memorization and reading, so I found APUSH and AP Comp and Lang to be very easy. AP Lit was pretty easy, too, but the test was a little harder. Bio is my passion so that was good, but some concepts took a while to grasp (Cell resp, anyone?). I could mostly understand Calculus AB while I was learning it, but that never translated to my test grades which weren't so good.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Well yeah, if you belong there then it isn't difficult.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I don't think they're necessarily more difficult in a learning sense. It's just that AP classes require you to learn most of the material on your own and come to class prepared with a bunch of work. The difference is, at least in my experience, you learn the basics on your own outside of class and then set those ideas in stone during class. That's why they're "harder." Oh and there's always the pressure to remember everything for the AP Test.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Those classes mean more work, but they aren't all that hard if you don't get behind. In a way, I found learning in AP/honors courses to be easier because you got the better teachers, but that may not be the case at all schools.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Has anyone taken AP English 3? I'm taking that this year and I have no idea what to expect.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

The wonderful Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=AP+English+3&sugexp=chrome,mod=8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=how+hard+is+AP+English+3&oq=how+hard+is+AP+English+3&gs_l=serp.3..0.9006.10532.0.10713.12.10.0.0.0.4.124.890.7j3.10.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.ASZxBCWhrkU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=215a8248afbd2d8&biw=1366&bih=643

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think it all depends on your definition of "difficult" and challenging. For someone who has taken honors and AP classes your entire high school career, then the work load is a norm for you. But for someone who has been in a CP level and goes to honors, it might be significantly harder. Speaking for myself, I had to take a CP level chemistry class because of scheduling conflicts and it was WAY easier than the honors level chemistry. It has alot to do with the teacher and also your personal strengths in different subjects.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I agree with you for every class except AP US History. You get 3-4 hours of homework a night for that class, not to mention working from 7 AM to 6 PM every day on the weekend. At least in my school. My other AP classes are a breeze, though.

by Anonymous 11 years ago