To AP or Not to AP

AP classes are one of the many opportunities given by MHS. Despite the difficulty of more advanced curriculums, they offer a multitude of benefits.

“There are 2 different things to consider when you’re taking an AP class. It can help you with getting college credit, but there’s also the risk of not passing the test. So it’s a little bit risky but if you pass the AP test it will be very rewarding,” Counselor Mrs. Allowitz said.

Madison county is generally proactive when it comes to AP classes.

“Our community is generally high achieving so we have people coming to us. We don’t have to incentivize AP classes at all, in fact we even have to turn people down sometimes,” Mrs. Allowitz said.

Senior Mylie Griffin also claimed that AP classes offer more in-depth and applicable knowledge.

“It’s important to take AP classes and apply yourself. In a normal class you wouldn’t learn as much and they’re not as in-depth but in an AP class you learn a lot and retain the knowledge,” Griffin said.

Junior Michael Pulsipher said the hardest AP class the school offers is AP Government.

“AP Gov is the hardest class because the tests are designed to make you fail,” Griffin said.

Pulsipher said that you can ask him personally if you want to know which AP teachers are easy and which are hard. He also urged students to take AP classes rather than dual-credit.

“AP looks better and you don’t get a transcript,” Pulsipher said.

In general, AP classes are more risky but also have a larger payoff.

“In an AP class if you bomb the test then you don’t have to tell anybody but if you fail a dual-credit class then it’s on your college transcript forever. If somebody’s a good test-taker they should take AP but otherwise they should take dual-credit,” said Griffin.