“Next year I plan on taking two AP classes,” Del Vecchio said. The answer that most colleges will give you is that it’s better to get an A in the Honors/AP class. There are some exceptions- like its much easier to get a passing grade on the AP Calc BC exam than to pass Calc 2 at many universities. AP classes are not standardized, but the point is to provide college-level coursework and grading -- the reason AP classes can earn students college credit if they go well on the exam. AP courses are more widespread than IB courses. “Just be sure to keep a balance; it’s a good idea to talk to your counselor to see if you are ready and to help get a realistic picture of what you are taking altogether.”. And most highly-selective schools will expect that you do. Another way to make your time in college easier is to avoid taking multiple challenging classes during the same semester. Usually, you will find that it will be easy for you to do well on the homework provided that you put in the time to learn the material before doing it. This can help with time management and makes sure that students won’t fall apart due to the amount of work they have. How much more difficult college classes are than AP classes will depend largely on the professor that is teaching the class. AP Calculus is a difficult class if you’re not the best at math, whereas AP Statistics involves actual real world problems that also have math incorporated into the course. Whereas, 300 and 400 level classes will tend to be structured so that you have to give your own written response. With that being said, while it is important to get help when you get stuck it is also important to try to figure out the solution yourself beforehand. Thank you very much, I appreciate it lots! Another thing that you can do to make your college classes much easier especially at the 300 and 400 levels is to study the class before taking it. Type above and press Enter to search. Also, the overall material is a factor that goes into whether an AP class could be considered hard. Some of the classes will be required and some of them will be options that you can choose from. Read RateMyProfessors.com – Find and rate your professor or campus. This means that it will likely take more effort to understand the material taught in college classes. In college, you get to decide on your major which dictates the classes that you will need to take in order to graduate. Data from the NCES shows that 35% of students that choose a STEM major switch to a different major before graduating with 50% of those that major in Mathematics switching to a different one before graduating. Depending on the major and college, 100 and 200 levels will normally have a similar difficulty level as AP classes and 200 and 400 classes will usually be harder. This means that it will be necessary for you to manage your time more effectively than with AP classes in high school. Of course not all college classes have the same level of difficulty. nrchhabra: The answer to this depends on the institution you apply to. You will often find that 100 and 200 level classes are multiple-choice. This means that you should be taking classes, in college, that are more interesting to you. “I want to get a head start on college, but it isn’t necessary to worry too much about it right now. Planning ahead will likely help you a lot in reducing how difficult college is for you. This post will show you how college can be harder than AP classes as well as a number of things that you can do to make it easier for yourself. “Receiving the AICE Diploma will get you the highest level of Bright Futures Scholarship in the state of Florida,” Fineis said. Both show that a student was ambitious and willing to work harder than other students. Based on pass rates for AP Exams, some of the easier AP classes are AP Spanish, AP French, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP Microeconomics, and AP Computer Science just to name a few. This year—wait, no, is it last year now? By doing this you will find that it will be much easier to understand what the professor is teaching and it will be easier for you to understand why they are teaching it. Colleges consider both AP and Honors classes when considering applicants. By planning out when the homework will be due and when the exams will be you will be able to avoid missing out on deadlines and you will be able to spot weeks where multiple exams and assignments will be due. Philosophy vs Business Administration Degree. “I know that I’m prepared because I am currently able to keep my grades up and still have time to do other things,” freshman Aurora Del Vecchio said. Honors classes and AP classes are completely different from one another in several aspects. The same can’t be said about other states and private schools. Reply AP courses should be harder than an honors course in the same subject. The major that you choose can also have a large impact on the difficulty of the classes that you take in college. Here are some ways that you can reduce the difficulty of college by planning a head. Look at your major requirements and try to fit your schedule so that you are not taking all of the difficult classes at the same time. Stay up to date with the latest information on test dates, AP online review, and what this means for you with our AP COVID-19 FAQ article. So, is college harder than AP classes? You might think that this would be too much effort and unnecessary. This is why, if you want to do well in college, it is important to always do as well as you can on the homework. AP Calculus looks better on a college application than AP Statistics but Statistics is a considerably easier. Many classes, especially in STEM, will also have teaching assistants that you can also get help from who are usually also very knowledgeable on the subject. Taking the route of the AICE courses is a completely different ballgame. Calc BC, AP Chem, and a bunch of other classes are being cut due to budget deficets. I’ll probably take more AP classes junior year, but I want to make sure that I’ll be able to keep up with the work before deciding to do too many.”. The professor will usually have office hours where you can go and speak to them about parts of the material that you are stuck on. A better option would be to take the time as early as possible to plan out your entire degree so that you are able to avoid taking multiple difficult classes concurrently. AP classes are meant to be about as hard as introductory-level college classes. They are the representation of the quote “quality over quantity”, and due to the small size of the class, getting accepted into these classes is harder. Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, AP tests will now be held remotely, and information about how that will work is still evolving. The reason that students tend to switch out of STEM majors more is likely to be that they tend to be more difficult. The AP courses count as college credits, so if students complete six or more courses, they can go straight to sophomore year of college. The number of AP classes you take can help make your admissions profile more competitive. “Stay focused on your goal, but keep a balance with the courses you are taking in addition to your AICE and AP courses,” Fineis said. This will usually be a mistake because it will be much more difficult to do the questions since they will be based on what is in the chapter. High school students can earn college credit by taking AP classes, because the course material meets college standards. This means that it should be easier for them to explain the material in an understandable way and to answer any questions. Whether dual enrollment is harder than AP classes or not wildly depends on the subject, teacher, and college administering the dual enrollment course. Take the time, at the start of the semester, to plan out when your exams and assignments will be so that you can foresee any difficulties in advance and avoid last minute cramming. You can do this with an academic advisor from the major department and you’ll likely find that the recommended class schedule, on the degree sheet, will be structured to be optimal anyway. In addition, the other students will also want to be there so they will be less disruptive than your high school classmates. I will mention a number of things that you can do below. These classes are smaller, assuring the student the best possible attention, given by the best specialist in the area. If you go to a college with a low acceptance rate and you study a STEM subject then you will likely find the classes to be much harder than AP classes even at the 100 level. “To make sure I don’t overwork myself, I won’t take too many classes,” Del Vecchio said. There are also many things that you can do to make your time in college much easier. Many of them will not take the time, at the start of the semester, to plan their schedule out and it results in them going into tests unprepared, needing to cram information in at the last minute and missing out on assignments. This should help you to enjoy your time in college more, to find it easier to learn the material and to study. Make sure to pick your classes as soon as registration opens so that you can get into the ones that you want before they become full. If you are thinking of going to college then you might be wondering whether or not it will be harder than AP classes. Depending on the major and college, 100 and 200 levels will normally have a similar difficulty level as AP classes and 200 and 400 classes will usually be harder. Taking seven courses in a matter of three years can be difficult, so not overworking yourself is key. While it is possible to take multiple difficult classes concurrently, you will likely find that it will be very challenging and stressful and it could hurt your GPA. While the exams will tend to have a higher rating the homework will still usually have a significant portion of the grade attributed to it. The general guideline is that in-state colleges weigh honors classes more than out-of-state universities. Through AP courses, students can get a better advantage in college. Even if you have satisfied all of the prerequisites you might find that you will have forgotten the material or you might not have learned it very well in the first place. You can also look online to see if there are any self-study books that you can get that have good reviews from other people that have used them. It will also be expected that you will take the time to revise the material that was taught in class, to read the textbook and to do any other assignments given to you by the professor. However, this also means that you will get through more material, in class, which is one reason it will be necessary for you to study more outside of class. How much harder college is than AP classes will depend on a number of factors. Dual enrollment classes have no standardization nationwide which results in various degrees of quality and rigor among the courses. Understanding the difference and advantages of both of these classes can help you make a more informed decision about which one is better for you. “If you plan well, it’s only two courses per year,” counselor Michele Fineis said. “Next year I plan on taking two AP classes,” Del Vecchio said. “I’d rather have good grades with only a couple of classes than overload my schedule with them and be flooded with work.”. Through AP courses, students can get a better advantage in college. In college, the classes will usually be taught by professors that are experts on the subject. Your score on the exam will affect whether you can get college credit for the class. “I want to get a head start on college, but it isn’t necessary to worry too much about it right now. If you satisfy all of the prerequisites then you will have an easier time in the classes. The other issue is that you will often find that the professor won’t teach you everything from the book during class time and will expect you to read the book anyway. Typically, you should go with the harder level class if you think you can earn a B or higher because generally, most colleges would rather see a B in an Honors or AP course than a set of straight A's in college prep classes. Earning credits from these classes can help students prepare earlier for college, which can help them get a head start on their future. It’s less expensive to take an AP exam than an IB exam. The most significant difference between the two is associated with college credit. Another reason that college classes can be more difficult than AP classes is that the tests will normally have a high weighting. nearly the entire class scores 4/5 on both AP physics C exams and class was very difficult - not necessarily because the material is intrinsically that much harder than AP, but because the professor teaches like the class already knows what's going on. By getting help you will be able to improve your homework grade, do better on exams and show the professor that you are putting an effort into the class. Both the AP courses and AICE diploma have their pros and cons, but involving yourself with the program proves more beneficial in the end. AP courses are offered at a single level, though there are certain subjects, such as calculus and physics, that have different course options. “Don’t overwork yourself.”, © Naples High School Talon Tribune 2016-2020, AP vs AICE- pros and cons of the hardest classes on campus, The Plant-Based Club- healthy living and free food, Masks: Rules, Effectiveness, and People’s Thoughts, How can students balance schoolwork and sports, Senators Rubio and Scott work to solve major issues in Florida. How AP Classes Impact Your College Chances. In college, the professor will dictate the pace of the class, what goes on the exams and the scope of the exams. But there's so many factors involved its hard to generalize. There are two factors to consider when deciding how hard an AP subject is: the difficulty of the AP exam itself, and how the AP class is taught at your high school. Top universities care more about concepts and essay writing. 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