As student’s across MCPS begin their spring break, many juniors, seniors, and maybe some sophomores and freshmen will start what is affectionately termed the AP crunch. AP courses are opportunities for students to get a head start on challenging, college-level courses.
In past years, the majority of AP examinees were mostly juniors and seniors. However, more and more freshmen and sophomores are who joined the troop. For example, at Wootton High School, many freshmen start the AP program with one AP course: AP NSL.
Claire Chen, a Wootton freshmen, believes that “many parents are aware of the intense academic competition, especially in our area.” Thus, they push their children to register for multiple exams. As a student myself, I have often seen peers who will take an AP exam without taking the course, in hopes of making a more attractive application for prospective colleges.
Different schools have different deadlines for signing up; most charge late fees for late applications. While signing up and writing up the check looked easy, the studying may not be a walk in the ball park. When asked if stressed about AP exams, freshman Mimi Li replied with; “Yes…but I don’t want to spend my spring break studying for it either…”
To prepare for the advent of exam season, students have organized programs amongst themselves. At Richard Montgomery High School, many teachers have offered lunch AP review sessions.
If you do plan on self-studying for AP exams, here’s a site that can help guide you in purchasing review books and other studying materials for different subjects: http://www.apreviewbooks.com/