15
May 2019
by Olivia Wyland ’19 (Seton House)
May. It’s the month that all AP students anticipate, the month we take the exams which allow us to reflect a year’s worth of work in just a few hours. Today marks one week until the exam! Did you buy a review book? How are you guys studying for the test? The test is how many hours long?! These are just a couple of AP students’ thoughts in the weeks preceding their exams. As someone who is taking five AP classes during my senior year, trust me. I’ve had those thoughts already, and many more.
AP tests are in early May, and they basically act like a final exam. The exams are around three hours long, and they normally consist of multiple choice and various styles of short answer/essay questions. The scoring is simple: students earn a score of 1 through 5, with 5 being the best score. High scores can earn college credit at some institutions!
I am currently taking AP courses in: English, European History, French, U.S. Government, and Physics. Although I struggle with the latter class, I have a deep interest in all of my AP classes. For example, AP French allows me to dive into the French language and culture, whether I am reading Le Petit Prince or painting Nymphéas in the impressionist style. In English, I am able to expand upon my writing skills, as we compose essays about classic novels, short stories, and even famous plays such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Government taught me about the inner workings of how the U.S. runs itself. Mr. Geisel prepares us very well for the AP exam, which covers everything from the three branches of government to economics to bureaucracies. I also like my European history class, as it is a discussion-based class where we create a nice dialogue with each other about philosophical thinkers, wars and revolutions, and so on. We even did a project where we acted in full character of different philosophes from the 19th century! I actually took physics online via the Virtual High School (VHS). Online, I enjoyed meeting people from different countries while participating in weekly online discussions. I was even provided with my own lab kit so that I was able to perform experiments to go along with the lesson of the week!
AP classes/tests seem intimidating, but they have a lot of perks. By taking AP classes, I can earn college credits cheaply, enhance my transcript, and majorly boost my GPA! Don’t get me wrong, AP classes aren’t a breeze. I like that AP classes stretch out a semester’s worth of college-level information into an entire year at Trinity. This allows me to learn about all aspects of the subject and become familiar with the material and test style before I take the AP exam. I assure you that upon completing an AP class and exam, you will feel as if you learned something that you will truly remember in your future college career.