Was there a class that helped you develop certain writing skills that helped out in the long run? Time management? Please leave feedback !
I found AP Language and Composition to be really helpful. I really learned how to write well and develop strong arguments in that class - it’s helped in virtually all my humanities classes, and even some of my science classes and clubs. My teacher for this class made it really challenging, made sure to give a lot of feedback on our writing, and gave us a lot of practice. This was WAY more useful than AP Lit because of the type of writing we focused on - the focus was on rhetoric/argumentation rather than literary analysis, which I haven’t used at all in college.
AP Calculus was also beneficial for me. It was the first class where I really struggled, and I learned how to study and seek out help. My other AP classes were challenging, but manageable on my own. Learning how to ask for help is a surprisingly valuable skill.
AP Psych, Gov, Physics, Econ, and Stats were all interesting and worthwhile courses but I don’t think they prepared for college on the same level as the two above.
AP English Literature and Composition. It was the first English class I took where I couldn’t just coast by with minimal effort - my teacher really pushed me to improve my writing by offering brutally honest constructive criticism. I found that my writing improved so much in the course of a year and my ability to analyze texts in order to construct effective and concise arguments matured considerably. My writing became far more nuanced.
AP World History. Lots and lots and lots of work. Endless notes. Multiple chapters to review for exams. I really had to step up my time management which I am very thankful for, because I’ve found that a lot of my humanities and social science courses require large amounts of content to be read and reviewed in short amounts of time. What comes to mind right away is my International Relations course I took in the spring where I had to read 300 pages in a week in order to study for a very detail intensive midterm examination that I ended up acing. I’d probably be stressed out of my mind had my 16 year not already been put through the ringer by WHAP, lol.
Gonna go ahead and say none, really. I took Calc AB and Bio (my school has no science requirements, so useless), Comp Gov (credits didn’t transfer even though an identical class is a gen ed requirement, though I guess it prepared me for the content), and US and Lit (the essays are nothing like what you write in college).
Chem prepared me quite well for my two intro chem classes (retook the subject because I had taken the AP over a year prior). And World and USH got me out of 9 credits of gen eds.
AP Calc AB/BC for me, but I only took seven AP’s throughout HS, and most of my “helpful” classes have been in college so far.
I love having all the AP sciences as life background and having a good understanding of them. Really helps in day to day layman science and tech articles to know what’s actually behind it at some level.
Every social studies AP course.
I really liked my AP classes and the college credit I got from them, but I don’t think they’ve helped me with college work.
APs in general prepared me for the lower division which basically is on the same level of difficulty. They taught me how to handle heavy work loads.
Most useful AP classes (for an engineer)?
- AP Calculus AB/BC. Skip straight to differential equations. This is very important to be able to graduate on time / a whole year early. Most of the engineering courses require differential equations as a prerequisite and without this boost I wouldn't be able to graduate in 3 years.
- AP English Language: Skip to sophomore year English, which is a prerequisite to some Jr. level classes that I took in my 2nd year.
Most important GE completing courses:
AP Art History (no art class required)
AP Biology (no life science course required)
AP US History (no US history class required)
And the many other AP classes that got me out of miscellaneous GE requirements and allowed me to register with very high class standing and get classes when most first years can’t.
AP Lang was a good writing prep course for me, because I have a science brain and can’t write to save my life.
AP Calc made me love calculus.
And that’s kind of its. I self-studied 2-3 of them, and with those classes I learned more from a work ethic point of view instead of an academic one. I’m in the small minority of people who find college to be easier than high school because of this.