As many Upper School students know, rigor is one of the most important parts of their transcript. One way to achieve rigor is to take as many AP classes as possible. But are all APs created equal?
AP Environmental Science (APES) is one of the most popular AP classes. It is known for its easy-going curriculum, interactive lessons, and obviously the GPA boost. Many APES students recommend the class to others.
“I really like APES; it’s a very enjoyable class. I like the teacher, and it’s an interesting subject. I would give it 100 out of 10 because it is amazing and Ms. Thornburgh is amazing,” Leilani Galles (‘24) said.
“As long as you follow the resources they give you, it’s not difficult to learn. It builds off the knowledge you most likely already have. I like it, especially since how Ms. Thornburgh runs the class,” Lizzie Boyce (‘23) agreed.
On the opposite side of enjoyable science APs, there is AP Chemistry. Students will concur that AP Chemistry is one of the harder APs. There is even a tomb-shaped sign in AP Chemistry teacher Mr. Dembinski’s class that says “RIP my AP Chemistry Grade,” a fair warning for any prospective students interested in the class.
“AP Chemistry is literally harder than AP Calculus BC. I think it’s just the concepts in chemistry that are a lot harder and unfamiliar,” Alexandra Huynh (‘24) said.
“My least favorite is AP Chemistry. It’s not the class itself; I love the environment, but it’s a lot and very difficult to learn. It has the most concepts, and there is a lot you have to remember in order to be prepared for each test. I’d give it a 6 out of 10,” Ava Levin (‘24) said.
That is a very generous rating. After every test, there is always at least one group of students huddled together, mourning their chemistry grades. The gravestone was not lying.
Surprisingly, a couple of students enjoy or enjoyed AP United States History (APUSH). The course is known to be difficult, so anyone who likes it is a certified academic weapon.
“My favorite AP is probably AP United States History because I like history in general– analyzing history is fun. I would say a 4 out of 5 stars, it is not useful but it was fun and cool,” Ben Shimamoto (‘23) said.
For students wanting to have an in-depth understanding of history, APUSH is a good choice.
“I have taken 9 APs, and the best one is APUSH. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10 only because the tests were hard. I enjoyed US history because it’s more focused; world history was too broad,” Gus Ketchell (‘23) explained. There may be some bias here, though, since his dad, Dr. Ketchell, is Barstow’s U.S. History teacher.
A few honorable mentions for favorite APs are Computer Science, Spanish, and Calculus BC.
“I really liked AP computer science; it was not easy but I liked the class. I would not recommend it though. The hardest AP I’ve taken is AP computer science. For anyone who wants to take it, do not take it,” Cyrus Shaikh (‘24) warned.
Then, for language APs, AP Spanish is the most enjoyable, there is a reason why Spanish has more AP students compared to AP Chinese’s whopping one student.
“My favorite is AP Spanish because she [Profe Marvin] has a lot of activities and cultural elements. I would give it an 8.5 out of 10 because there’s a lot of vocabulary tests,” Ian Koepp (‘23) said.
One surprising answer was AP Calculus BC. From the outside perspective, it seems impossible because it is a high level math course, but the students who take the class really enjoy it in the end.
“My favorite AP is Calculus BC because it teaches you so much more than what you learn in AB and actually learn a lot of cool concepts that are very useful in real life. You learn so much in a day that just blows your mind,” Levin said.
According to student opinion, APES is arguably the best AP class. The course material is enjoyable, and the teacher is great, so there is no reason to not take the class. The only downside is that students have to take the AP exam at the end of the year, but that goes for every AP class.
But the best AP class varies from person to person, so objectively, there is no best AP class. Still, APES comes pretty close to the best.
