AP, or Advanced Placement classes, are crafted to challenge high school students that are in search of a faster-paced and more difficult curriculum. That being said, there are definitely classes that are notoriously viewed as more strenuous than others. From AP chemistry to AP Seminar, several students were interviewed to get a general opinion of the most difficult AP classes offered at Mission Hills High School.
Isabela Paucar is a dedicated AP student, having taken several AP classes throughout her high school career. She stated that the most difficult class she has taken at Mission Hills was AP Calculus AB. When asked why, she stated it was because “it went extremely fast.” She also said the difficulty came from little motivation to study for the tests.
The second AP student featured is Charlize Corona. Corona’s answer was close to immediate when she stated the most difficult class for her was AP World History. Her explanation was, “Because of the large amount of information we had to go through.” AP World is a difficult class for many sophomores, covering so much content over a multitude of years. Memorization is a large factor in AP World History, from rulers to vocabulary terms.
Hannah Litchfield also offered her opinion regarding her experience of taking numerous AP classes. Being a senior has exposed her to many classes throughout her years at Mission Hills, which makes her a viable candidate to interview. Litchfield stated, “AP Calc because I don’t naturally enjoy learning math and I took it sophomore year so it was my first really challenging class.” Litchfield also shared, “It taught me that I had to really work for my grade if I wanted to do well in that class, and now it doesn’t seem as worth it since I’m not majoring in STEM.” Litchfield took AP Calculus her sophomore year, a year before the typical pathway for math.
The last AP student featured is Isabella Cooper. Cooper is a beyond dedicated AP student who has taken AP classes in many different subjects at Mission Hills. Cooper shared, “AP Biology was probably the hardest and most enjoyable I’ve taken only because I think the difficulty with AP classes comes down to how much you’re willing to apply yourself to the concepts and learning. There’s also more content and systems in AP Bio compared to others in my opinion.”
Overall, AP classes serve the purpose of challenging students who attempt to earn college credit through AP tests in May. However, there are differences in the classes, ranging from difficulty to workload. STEM based AP classes are more commonly found difficult among AP students, while English based AP classes are found to be more of a workload.