From the start of their high school experience, most students clamor to obtain the highest grades and be involved in many extra-curricular activities to appeal to top-notch colleges. One of the most important factors in college admissions is the number of AP classes a student has taken. Taking an AP class is supposed to show the college that the student has studied a subject at the college level and is eligible to opt out of this class in college. High schools and parents push AP courses as a way to promote higher learning. However, the obsession with taking AP courses has caused many honors students to stress out unnecessarily.

I don’t know if this is just an incorrect assumption of mine, but I thought high school was about developing talents and figuring out what career path to follow. Colleges seem to only care about grades and AP classes which causes students to take classes they don’t really want to take. The College Board focuses mainly on academic subjects, but the electives a student takes truly define him or her. It is unfair if a student wants to take drama or band or choir but chooses not to simply because these aren’t AP courses.

West weights AP classes, which means that those who take them have a higher GPA than those who don’t, regardless of the actual grade earned in the class. Someone can get straight-A’s in non-AP classes and his GPA won’t be as high as someone who is getting C’s in AP classes. This unfair grade weighting can also affect college applications because colleges consider a student’s GPA also.

It seems that schools should remove the extra credits earned from taking AP classes. Not only is it unfair to those who don’t take them and have a lower GPA, it’s unfair for those who are forced into them instead of being able to take classes they actually want to.