AP verses honors

[ShatteredWings]

I know AP classes have a test at the end of the year that you can get college credits for + you have to pay for the test.

But in all honesty, is the AP class really *that* much harder than honors?


thanks :)

[Underground_Network]

YES...

In most cases.

It really depends on the subject and how strong you are at the subject; but in most cases AP level courses are a MAJOR STEP UP from honors courses. But they're worth the effort.

[ShatteredWings]

Well, i was bored in honors history this year, and earlier today helped a girl with her homework (who's in amercian history 3 [i took amer.hist.2])

Haha. Nice to know there IS a chance for learning something next year

[Nihilus]

Yes. I am not in a AP class yet but I've seen what AP Biology students have to do and it is
really hard looking(of course I'm a freshman and it is a junior or senoir class soooo.)

[vector]

Is it really that hard? Im going to be a freshman next year and they put me in AP Human Geography and AP Biology.

[ShatteredWings]

i have NO idea about freshman AP courses, my school doesn't offer any AP until sophremore.. and only the one i want to take

[Underground_Network]

You can get into AP courses as a freshman if you pass certain tests/prerequisites to get there.

That and certain AP courses don't deserve the title of "AP."

[ShatteredWings]

If the school offers it, mine didn't.

YEah i bet there are ones.. i swear some honors courses are easier than regular ones

[AutumnDae]

At my school, you can't take AP courses until your junior year......Just something that has always been.

Although, I'm assuming Honors=AR for me? (AR is Advanced Regents......)

People I know that are taking AP classes have said they are harder than AR, by a lot, but they aren't impossible. More homework, harder tests, and AP Bio here is double period EVERY DAY. And then a class during Activity Period, and an hour after school sometimes. And AP US History has a class during Activity Period once a week.....

[ShatteredWings]

haha, i know we won't have double-periods.. that would SUCK (3hr class? Yeahhh).

Most classes don't give homework haha this should be a fun class next year.


is 'advanced regents' something like "slightly harder and 'higher work standard expected of students' + weighted GPA"?

[AutumnDae]

;495211']haha, i know we won't have double-periods.. that would SUCK (3hr class? Yeahhh).

Most classes don't give homework haha this should be a fun class next year.


is 'advanced regents' something like "slightly harder and 'higher work standard expected of students' + weighted GPA"?

Well our periods are only 43 minutes long.....so double period isn't very long at all. We don't have block scheduling or anything.

And yes, AR is that. I'm not sure if its weighted GPA, but I'm assuming it is.

[Underground_Network]

Gwyn, AP's are always open to freshmen no matter what.

If you prove that you're damn good in a subject and take special testing, etc. you can get into an AP class.

I know a kid who finished math (took the last possible COLLEGE level math course) his sophomore year in high school.

Anyone can do anything at ANY PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL.

If the school is private, then its a different story; but if its public ANYONE can take an AP class, but its just REALLY, REALLY HARD to get into them if you're a freshman or any other grade level and you don't meet the "standard" grade level requirements.

[ShatteredWings]

No, they're NOT.. It's NOT a course option that's offered at freshman level.
There's AP history 3, 4, and 5 (sophmore, junior, and senior classes) AP English 11 and 12, and AP Chem or Physics (both senior courses.. whichever one's taken depends on what you choose)
no AP math for some reason...*shrug*

This difference might be a state-by-state thing..or my district is fucked up (which is believable)

[Underground_Network]

Lol, it's not something you hear about Gwyn. Every school is set up the way you're describing it. You have to set up a meeting with the school, there is probably no protocol listed anywhere. I GUARANTEE YOU if you were to ask your principal/superintendent/BOE/whatever, they would tell you that if a student displays the proficient skills they can be placed into an AP class even if the class is not at their [grade] level.

[AutumnDae]

Lol, it's not something you hear about Gwyn. Every school is set up the way you're describing it. You have to set up a meeting with the school, there is probably no protocol listed anywhere. I GUARANTEE YOU if you were to ask your principal/superintendent/BOE/whatever, they would tell you that if a student displays the proficient skills they can be placed into an AP class even if the class is not at their [grade] level.

Hm, not mine, at least. I had a meeting with the school and my parents, and they said that I could not take the course. Not because I didn't display the skills, because I was a freshman....So, maybe schools in your state do, but mine certainly do not. I wasn't the first to ask either.....

[ShatteredWings]

Lol, it's not something you hear about Gwyn. Every school is set up the way you're describing it. You have to set up a meeting with the school, there is probably no protocol listed anywhere. I GUARANTEE YOU if you were to ask your principal/superintendent/BOE/whatever, they would tell you that if a student displays the proficient skills they can be placed into an AP class even if the class is not at their [grade] level.

i also transferred into this school after four years of homeschooling.
they will NOT put me into a course i don't have a pre-requisite to (even then.. they so did NOT look at my history, because i should've been in american history 3 or 4 this year (seroiuslly.. BORED in grade-level class since i took it already))

It might be different in jersy.. but yeah when i transfered they told us everything, including what most students didn't know about. They would've mentioned AP.

[Zephyr]

In my school honors was a joke compared to AP.
And even AP was still too easy for me.

I got an A in AP English without even trying,
And a C in AP US History without ever turning anything in and bombing the tests.

The AP credit is worth at least trying the class out though, because you can get college credits for it.

[Antares]

OOH! I love these topics :P Something im good at lol

Okay, AP. Take all of them that you can! Why? Well because colleges are starting to not look at honors classes are the greatest things on the planet anymore. Honors classes are not standardized. AP classes are. AP classes have a set curriculum and a set rigor. Colleges want you to take all of the hardest classes you can. Even if it is not your best suit. That includes IB classes too.
So yea, try to avoid honors classes from now on because they are starting to get easier and more useless to be quite frank.
To directly answer your question, AP allows you to learn more, gives you great oppurtunties to save money and time, and is standardized (just about all colleges recognize it). So take all of the AP classes you can. I think it will really pay off

Yay, end schpiel


EDIT: oh one more thing. A 'C' in an AP class looks a LOT better than an 'A' in an honors class

[Underground_Network]

^^ I disagree with that.

An A in an honors class looks better than a C in an AP class, at least in my school, and the AP classes are damn hard.

I know someone who got into an Ivy League school from my school who took a total of one AP class in the entirety of their high school "career." Said kid got an A in the AP class and aced most of his honors classes as well. I know someone else who took a bunch of AP's and got B's and C's across the board who couldn't get any attention from Ivy League schools. Both of these kids performed similarly on their SATs... I mean, this is just one instance out of many, but still, it shows that sometimes getting a C in an AP class isn't as good as getting an A in an honors class.

[ShatteredWings]

Woudln't that be because of the grade weight?
Like... how getting a B in honors has the same GPA as an A in regular classes
but honors and ap (in my school) have the same grade-weight..so if you're not *great* it's not worth it?

[Underground_Network]

Something I will agree with is that at any school a B in an AP course is better than an A in an honors course.

Something I have been told by both fellow students, my own dad, and teachers though, is that colleges like to look at your classes and make their own "GPA." I've been told countless times HIGH SCHOOL GPA MEANS NOTHING, its the college's own system of formatting your GPA that matters. Most colleges have different systems of weighing your GPA. Some will toss out certain AP courses like AP Studio Art, ignoring them altogether when putting together your GPA. Some schools will look at different AP classes on different levels (i.e. AP Calc BC > AP Calc AB), whereas other schools will treat all AP courses equally... It really depends on the college...

[ShatteredWings]

nice to know (maybe my shit PE grade won't be as much of a scar on the aplicating to places as i worried :P)

Let's all dub adam very knowledable in school coruses :) thank you

[Underground_Network]

Lol, I don't know how knowledgeable I actually am in this stuffz. I might not even go to "college." I'm thinking of taking other routes...

[Antares]

^^ I disagree with that.

An A in an honors class looks better than a C in an AP class, at least in my school, and the AP classes are damn hard.

I know someone who got into an Ivy League school from my school who took a total of one AP class in the entirety of their high school "career." Said kid got an A in the AP class and aced most of his honors classes as well. I know someone else who took a bunch of AP's and got B's and C's across the board who couldn't get any attention from Ivy League schools. Both of these kids performed similarly on their SATs... I mean, this is just one instance out of many, but still, it shows that sometimes getting a C in an AP class isn't as good as getting an A in an honors class.

Yea, an 'average' (C) in a college course looks like you challenged yourself and tried harder rather than getting an 'A' in a high school class.

I think that the person that you are referencing also got Bs and Cs in regular and honors classes rather than just in AP classes. Thats probably what turned the colleges off. And they look at other things other than grades.

Idk, thats what has been said by almost every teacher in my school (and they are pretty smart people). i ahve also heard that from college admission counselors and all of those types of people and it makes complete sense in my head. So idk

[Underground_Network]

I think it really depends on colleges and schools.

You're probably right about the C in an AP course versus the A in an honors course. Its just that there's pretty much a maximum of two AP courses available to sophomores in my school, and I'm in like six honors classes this year, and I want to be happy about my A's and A-'s in said classes, and thinking that someone struggling to get a C in an AP class is doing better than me saddens me. 0.o That and the fact that my AP US I course is easier than my Spanish III-Honors and Chemistry Honors courses bugs me too. 0.o

[random-chibi]

The major differences are that AP classes usually look much better on your transcript IMO, that you have to pay to take the final test, and that they count for college credit at many colleges.

[Antares]

I think it really depends on colleges and schools.

You're probably right about the C in an AP course versus the A in an honors course. Its just that there's pretty much a maximum of two AP courses available to sophomores in my school, and I'm in like six honors classes this year, and I want to be happy about my A's and A-'s in said classes, and thinking that someone struggling to get a C in an AP class is doing better than me saddens me. 0.o That and the fact that my AP US I course is easier than my Spanish III-Honors and Chemistry Honors courses bugs me too. 0.o


I KNOW! We only have APUSH available for sophs at my school and it was very easy. Not very easy...just...easy. I guess we got used to the work but it was NOTHING like I expected.
I am told that AP Euro will be extremely hard (because of the teacher)...but yea
I agree. I like to see As. I don't like to see anyhting below a B- so when I do get them, I like croak. Even if its in an honors class