As the 2017-18 school year starts to trickle to an end, the choices for next year’s courses rise to the horizon. One important aspect of this hard decision is if students should take advanced placement (AP) classes or not.

“I think AP classes are beneficial in terms of college prep; however, I think students are often overwhelmed by the necessity to impress colleges. I think overall students need to find a balance between the classes they take and the ones they don’t,” said Akhila Durisala, 10

AP classes are offered at many high schools and depending on the college some credits may be given to students if they do well on the AP exams.

“If you pass the AP test at the end of the year you are eligible to receive college credit for that AP test. This can work differently at different colleges – some will grant you actual course credit, allowing you to graduate faster.

“Others will use that AP exam credit to place you into harder classes as a freshman. But either way, AP credit can be very helpful,” according to prepscholar.com.

This means that if you do well on your exam, you may save money in the long run because less college time means a lower tuition payment.

“I think in the overall scheme there is no need to fill your schedule up with AP classes, especially if you can’t handle the AP workload,” said Katherine Shi, 10

Even though the idea of saving some cash seems almighty, there are some negative sides of AP classes.

First of all, due to them being advanced, this also comes with advanced work as well as more homework. It means that even though taking an AP class looks nice on your transcripts, if you begin to do worse in the AP class it will bring your GPA down, which on the other side does not look good.

“I think they are needed. They provide experience for college classes and can shorten the time you are in college,” said Alexandra Rohr, 10

But if you take too many AP classes and do not have time for other activities, that makes the classes less beneficial.

All in all, it is important to weigh in the good and the bad when deciding what classes are meant for you in your following years of high school. Just know that whatever you chose to take as long as you work your hardest you will most likely be successful.