Advanced Placement (AP) classes have become a symbol of academic achievement all around the world. As many students are often juggling several of these courses in preparation for college, there are two important questions that arise. These questions are: which courses are the most popular, and why do some stand out as more enjoyable? Based on interviews with students, AP Lang., AP Gov., and AP Bio. consistently ranked high in preference compared to courses such as AP Chem., AP Stat., and AP Calc. What makes these classes more appealing? Is it the nature of the content, the difficulty level, or something about how students connect with these subjects?
At Cresskill High School, AP classes play a major role in preparing students for college, offering a chance to take college-level courses while still in high school. With a variety of AP subjects available, students are faced with the decision of which ones to take, balancing their personal interests with the challenges each course brings. Interviews were conducted to find out the student’s favorites, revealing interesting patterns in how students view the difficulty and enjoyment of different AP subjects.
When asked about their favorite AP classes, students consistently pointed to the courses AP Lang., AP Gov., and AP Bio. These classes likely stand out because they allow more interactive and creative thinking, compared to the other AP courses. In AP Lang, students are able to express opinions and improve writing skills through essays and discussions. while AP Gov. lets them explore real-world political issues. The last AP class voted as a student favorite was AP Bio, with its blend of hands-on labs, interesting topics, and engaging subjects. When a Cresskill alumni named Hayan Lee was asked whether the teachers affected her opinions of the courses , she stated, “A lot, but they have an impact on how hard the AP exam will be for you, not the class itself. Usually, the harder the class is, the easier the AP exam will feel because you’ll be prepared.” This connection between challenging classes and exam readiness may explain why students value the rigor of the subjects, even if they come with their own difficulties.
When asked about their least favorite classes, students had very similar statements to Hayan, with a mutual disdain for Statistics, Chemistry, and Calculus. Chemistry and Calculus are both classes infamous for their difficulty involving difficult formulas, and large amounts of memorization which likely led to students not enjoying the class. Statistics, although placing high on the tier list difficulty-wise, ended near the bottom for enjoyableness being largely contributed to the class not being very interesting.
Although the students shared a very similar opinion, this shouldn’t be a conclusive guide on what APs to take. Choose which AP classes that you want, whether it be because it seems interesting or it falls in line for what you want to major in for college, it all depends on your own personal interests.
