So I was hoping to fit more classes into my schedule and also to get a bit ahead with APs, so I am thinking about either taking AP Lang or French III over the summer. I am a sophomore so taking AP Lang would allow be to be a little ahead and take AP Lit next year, while taking French III will allow me to be on track to taking AP French senior year so I don’t know which to pick. I’m also really worried that if I take AP Lang over the summer, I’ll have forgotten everything by the time AP exams come around in May. Which would be a better idea?
Btw I am planning on taking one of these through Apex Learning. Does anyone know about the time commitment expected for these summer classes?
My son took both AP Lang and AP Lit in high school and felt that studying was hard for both of tests. He either knew it or didn’t at that point. Others may have other perspectives—and there may be other reasons not to take Lang over the summer—but I think you’d be fine with waiting to do the test.
1 Like
Why do you need to be ahead with APs?
Unless you need more classes to graduate (and it doesn’t sound like you do), enjoy your summers. No need to take more AP classes. Take them during the school year.
Good luck.
2 Likes
I’ve taken many AP classes over the summer, and i’ve never found this to be an issue if you watch the AP review videos in the week leading up to the exam.
I agree with other posters that you don’t have to do this. Most of the time, if you have credit for both AP Englishs only one will transfer. However, if all you would be doing this summer is sitting around your house (like I would have been doing) I don’t see a reason not to. It does make the transition back into the school year much easier in my experience.
There are 2 points that I’d consider when thinking about this (in addition to why I’d spend summer self-studying for an AP at all).
First, will taking both be an advantage to you? Are you trying to increase the number of AP classes or is there a college where you need both to get credit? At some of my kid’s schools, they gave the same credit for either test and there was no benefit to both. At one school, a 5 on either got you out of 2 semesters and a 3 or 4 on both did the same, so once you got a 5 there was no benefit to taking the other.
Second, a number of homeschool kids in my orbit have taken the AP Lang test and passed (I know of at least 3 5s) on it without taking an AP class. They take well-taught English classes, do well, and then do some review before the test. My own kid watched the prep videos and took a practice test to see how they allocate points on free response questions and got a 5.
I don’t know where you are planning on going to college or what your goals are, but in our experience there was more benefit from taking a selected set of AP classes and doing really well than there would have been on earning 3s on a bunch of them. A 5 let you skip a 2-course sequence, while a 3 would sometimes let you skip the first course but, depending on what you actually learned and why you got a 3, you’d likely be better off taking both of them rather than counting on only having missed things in the second class.
1 Like