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San Marin High School offers 22 Advanced Placement (AP) classes to students and many more college courses are available online. These courses offer different learning opportunities for students, which may help prepare students for college classes and even earn them college credits for passing AP exams. They all offer unique difficulties, workloads, AP exam pass rates and college credits. Although a lot of information is available about those classes, it can become overwhelming for students to try and determine what classes are best for them.
Out of all of the AP classes available, a select few such as AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, and AP Calculus BC are ranked as the most difficult classes one can take because they are conceptually difficult and have large workloads. However, these classes may provide a unique learning experience and many benefits to students who are interested in these topics. San Marin Counselor Karla Lopez has assisted many students in making their class schedules.
“I think students should focus more on what they’re interested in, not taking all the AP classes that are available to them,” Lopez said. “If people are interested in particular subjects, those AP classes will feel easier for them.”
Junior Ella Coopersmith is a Biotechnology student who has taken six AP classes so far. She describes AP Calculus as one of the most challenging classes she has taken.
“AP Calculus involves at least an hour of homework after every class period, and that doesn’t involve studying,” Coopersmith said.
Other AP classes may appear popular but have unexpected difficulties. Senior Monika Choeun has taken nine AP classes. She describes AP micro-economics as a challenging subject, with many new concepts that she found unfamiliar.
“AP Economics is very conceptually difficult, it’s a lot of other things which is very difficult,” Choeun said. “You’ll hear seniors saying how they failed that class.”
Although choosing from the long list of AP courses can be difficult, students can factor in their strengths, interests, and work ethics to make the best decision for their schedules.
“I think students should factor in workloads,” Coopersmith said. “Some APs require a lot more homework than others. Also what you plan to major in during college, and see if they might want to earn certain credits, or appear more competitive for the classes they might want to take.”
Tools and help are available to all students on campus, and visiting a counselor can be very beneficial for students who are struggling to decide on their future schedules. Each year during the beginning of the spring semester, every student has a minute-long meeting with their counselor. These “minute meetings” help students decide on their schedules, but may leave some students with additional questions.
“Every January we do minute meetings,” Lopez said. “If [students] are still concerned or stuck on what classes to take, always start with us.”
One of the main reasons students may choose to take AP exams is because passing AP tests can earn a student college credits, allowing them to save time and tuition costs in college. However, this does not always work, even if students score a 4 or a 5 on their AP exams. Depending on what college major students choose, they may be unable to save time with certain AP class credits. Some AP class credits count towards the same credits that other classes offer, meaning that only one of those classes will end up counting towards your college credit. Additionally, some colleges will accept AP class credits, while other colleges may not.
For students who have certain colleges that they would like to attend in their futures, they can check what AP credits the college accepts at AP Credit Policy Search Tool. Some colleges will accept AP test scores of a three, while some colleges may only accept scores of a 4 or a 5. AP credits will count towards different general education courses or elective credits, depending on the college that a student attends.
Aside from taking AP classes at San Marin, students can earn some of their general education requirements by taking classes at community colleges. Colleges close by such as College of Marin and Santa Rosa Junior College offer in-person classes that students can take during the summer months as well as during the school year. Other colleges such as Lake Tahoe Community College offer online college courses that students can take during their spring or fall semesters. These colleges are solid options for students who are looking to fulfill their college credits early with classes not offered at San Marin.
Although the wide array of AP classes offered at San Marin may seem overwhelming to students, they can use information about the classes and what credits they count towards to make the most informed and fitting decisions on what AP classes they will be taking.
