The Benefits of AP Courses and How to Succeed in Them
Students who take advanced placement (AP) courses during high school have a real advantage in experiencing higher-level coursework before college. There are a number of benefits that come to students who excel in these challenging classes. So, how can we support our AP clients to help them achieve their academic goals?
The Benefits of Taking AP Coursework
First, let’s look at the perks of taking AP classes:
Expand Knowledge. AP courses are challenging for a reason; they delve deep into subject matter, allowing students to experience a broader scope of concepts and work with more complex content. Through AP courses, students gain more meaningful perspectives and insight into subjects that would otherwise only receive a cursory glance.
Strengthen Skills. The demands of AP courses strengthen valuable soft skills that are essential for success not only in education, but in all aspects of life. Students must have strong organization, time-management, work ethic, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and flexibility skills in order to excel with higher-level coursework, and strengthening these skills will undoubtedly pay off moving forward.
Boost GPA. Many high schools give more weight to AP classes due to the more rigorous coursework. Achieving success in these courses could provide a huge upswing for a student’s GPA.
Demonstrate College Readiness. The courses that college-bound students take in high school matter. Higher-level courses help students show prospective colleges a willingness to challenge themselves and a true desire to learn. Students who excel in AP classes display clear evidence of college readiness.
Prepare for College-Level Coursework. While regular-level classes lay the foundation for higher-education coursework, it’s no secret that higher-level classes better prepare college-bound students for the academic demands they’ll soon face after high school. Having an early experience with more challenging work will only serve to strengthen their knowledge and skills before college.
Save time. Starting college having already achieved success with AP coursework can save students a lot of time. The early years of college are often plagued by dreaded general education courses. Most students are chomping at the bit to dive into their chosen majors, but are hampered by entry-level courses. AP coursework in high school can help college freshmen skip those required introductory and general education courses, and even boost students to more advanced placement coursework.
Save money. When students are able to skip entry-level college coursework, they’re able to save a lot of money. They can jump right to the classes that will help them strengthen their academic prowess and start taking the courses that interest them and their chosen majors.
On top of that, many colleges award merit-based scholarships to incoming freshmen for academic achievement—another way for students to save a ton of cash on their higher education!
How to Support Your Clients Taking AP Classes
Like all academic challenges, there are ways in which we can support our students taking AP coursework and help them to succeed.
Find the Right Learning Strategies. There isn’t a playbook for how to succeed in AP courses. Every student has to find the strategies that work best for them, and those strategies will vary based on the content of their coursework.
Our job is to help them navigate the coursework by building a learning toolbox full of effective tools that students can choose from to help them obtain and retain the information from their courses. These tools can be audio recordings of notes, written or digital flashcards, practice sheets, one-on-one or small group discussions; finding a set of useful strategies can be invaluable to our students—particularly with challenging content.
Foster Soft Skills. We’ve touched on this subject before, and cannot emphasize enough how beneficial these skills are to all students, but especially those who are taking higher-level courses. If your students are struggling with any of these skills: organization, time-management, work ethic, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, or flexibility, take the time to teach these invaluable skills now!
Teach Good Note Taking. The most important information that students receive comes from their time in class. They need to be paying attention and taking notes. Good notes are essential in supplementing the lessons and any additional materials they are given. They will be able to turn back to their notes time and again to help them build on key concepts and study for upcoming exams.
Create A Practical Study Plan. The end goal is, of course, to get a solid grade at the end of the course. But the best way to reach that goal is to stay focused and balance the work. AP coursework is rigorous and can easily become overwhelming. To avoid burnout and keep on track, advise your students to divide their AP course workload into manageable chunks that they can more easily tackle. Students need to pace themselves by focusing their attention on short-term goals, choosing to chip away at assignments rather than allow the work to build up and cause them to fall behind in class.
Preparing Students for AP Classes
Ask a School Counselor. Before enrolling in any AP courses, advise your clients to first meet with their school counselors. School counselors can give them sound advice as to what to expect from each of the courses, what AP courses are available, and even how many AP courses they recommend taking per semester/school year.
Struggling versus Challenging. We want to encourage our students to push themselves academically, but not if it would be detrimental to their overall academic performance. We noted that AP courses are often given more weight than regular-level courses; which is fantastic if a student is able to succeed, but not so great for a student who struggles. There is a huge difference between struggling and challenging; advise your students who are considering AP courses to make sure that they’re prepared for the demanding higher-level coursework.
AP Course Alternatives. Not all schools offer AP courses, so it is important for students to understand their options. Alternatives to in-house AP courses may look like honors classes, local college courses, or online AP courses. Help your clients review their possible options to make the best choice for their educational needs and goals.
Whether they’re studying AP courses, looking to raise their GPA, or working to increase their test scores, in order to achieve successful test prep, you need an individualized test-prep plan that will maximize student progress and provide top-notch client satisfaction.
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