AP or not to AP?  That is the question. Or at least it’s the question most students face when deciding what courses to take next year. While Honors and AP both are challenging and provide GPA boosters, I think the classes can be very different.

Honors and AP classes are definitely the right fit for me with the exception of regular math, as math isn’t really my strongest subject. When taking AP for the first time this year in AP World History, it opened my eyes to how different Honors and AP classes are.

Honors classes are perfect for a student that wants the challenge but doesn’t really want the stress of the fast moving AP curriculum. The pace is moderate and the concepts are interesting and more in-depth compared to Regular classes. As a Freshman I was restricted to taking Honors classes which I thought was a little too constricting at the time but now I see the huge benefit. Honors classes are great stepping stones toward taking an AP classes because the pace and homework load are increased gradually over the year to simulate the AP course.

While Honors proves a challenge to some students, AP presents an even greater challenge. AP is a college level course and is to be taken seriously. AP moves fast and homework can take hours, depending on the class you take. This is a huge jump from the Honors level. Honors level reading is about 5-10 pages usually while AP chapters range from 20-40 pages a night along with an assignment and a reading quiz next class. Also, in my opinion, AP differs from Honors also in teaching styles. In Honors the teacher hands out notes and goes over the content with you, in a faster pace of course. But in AP the content is mainly self-taught with class periods left for you to ask questions and go over key details in reading assignments.

All in all, the jump between Honors and AP is to be taken seriously. They both offer a challenge to students,  but in my opinion AP is the way to go because of the challenge it provides as well as early college credits. Honors is a great stepping stone for freshmen that want to take AP in their other years at Langley, but nevertheless, both classes  appeal to many students.