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which AP courses would you consider to be "lite" , meaning that colleges would almost look down upon that a student took this particular class? For instance some would consider AP Envo Sci to be lite when compared to say takng AP Phsyics or Bio!! Also is AP ARt History a good course to take?

By Sar (Sar) on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 06:04 pm: Edit

depends on what you claim u want to major in while you are in college. a science major will not really need a course in ap studio art (yes there is such a class), and might be better off spending that time on an ap science, while an art major will not be expected to excel in an ap science or math but will be expected to have plenty of recognition in the field of the arts.

a liberal arts school might have a different perspective... but again it depends on what u say on ur app that u are interested in concentrating ur college studies on. they want to assess ur chances of success in their schools.

By Nkemdilim on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 05:11 pm: Edit

My AP Physics class is an awesome load of BS. We get to play around in class about 75% of the time. I guess that explains the 2 5'5 and 1 4 on the AP's out of 40 people.

AP English was pretty lite for me with the exception of 2 term papers in each course.

By sdaf on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 05:15 pm: Edit

I think she's talking about which AP courses are considered easier or less ligit. I'd say Envi Sci and Studio Art really, but collges will just look to see that you did take AP courses because that demonstrates initiative. However, some colleges won't give credit for those courses either, so just pick what's ebst for you!

By - on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 05:27 pm: Edit

art history is a good ap...not that easy.

By rockstar on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 03:06 am: Edit

art history is definitely not easy, but it's really interesting

By unc07 on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 03:52 pm: Edit

In my experience, the most "lite" AP courses are env sci, psych and stats. However, as was said above, the fact that you're taking APs at all is a plus for colleges- they won't say, "Well, so-and-so only took AP Stats instead of AP Calc BC, so let's reject her,"... at least, I hope...

By John on Friday, February 14, 2003 - 10:24 pm: Edit

AP Psychology is EXTREMELY lite! It shouldn't even be allowed to be in a category of AP.

By roller on Friday, February 14, 2003 - 10:39 pm: Edit

I take AP envi sci. it's super lite. no tests, other then semester finals. and we just read nature literature, and debate social and ecological issues. but i really like the class, it's interesting. but there was no need for the textbook, so far. i took ap enviro to add to junior chem, which is required, ap bio was full, and i'm afraid of ap chem and ap phys, (ans they're for seniors at my school anyway...small private school)

By Incognito (Incognito) on Friday, February 14, 2003 - 10:51 pm: Edit

roller, you havent used the text?
Are you conversant w/the following areas?:

Population dynamics, eutrophication, ground water depletion, soil erosion, biodiversity reduction and causes, threats to the ocean, Air quality and the Clean Air Act, sewage treatment, water diversion projects, etc...etc...?

We get a lot of work in APES. It's considered a lite class. But dont forget that this is only the second year that the ETS gives an AP exam on env. sci.

By tamwitch on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 10:03 am: Edit

My daughter has gone to a very small school with no AP classes. There are a couple of Honors classes though. Don't you think that it is difficult for colleges to compare kids from different schools, even by un weighting the GPA. It sounds like all these classes differ between schools anyway as far as level of difficulty.

By roller on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 11:42 am: Edit

"...Population dynamics, eutrophication, ground water depletion, soil erosion, biodiversity reduction and causes, threats to the ocean, Air quality and the Clean Air Act, sewage treatment, water diversion projects, etc...etc...? "

yes, i am. we do deal with the material, but readings are not required. we have short answer papers, and lecture, and alot of nature reading, but no tests.

By katey on Sunday, February 16, 2003 - 12:22 am: Edit

First of all I think that it depends what school you go to. How is it ranked? I mean, if you're attending a HS known for its rigorous coursework, I think the best thing to do is just take the class that interests you most. =)Ugh, my APES class it KILLING me w/ the heavy-ass workload. Who says senior year is all about fun?! lol

By Mmdd (Mmdd) on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 10:30 pm: Edit

Yea, my senior year is my hardest yet too.
My school offers the most APs (I think) in North America (or close to it), at least 27 subjects, so it actually can hurt us because of the pressure to take so many in comparison to kids at schools with fewer and the competition between ourselves.

I have 5 APs now:
Bio
Calc AB
English Lit.
Psych
Government

I've also taken:
Physics
English Language
US History
European History

I'm having to work my butt off & am freaking while waiting for my decisions. Good luck to everyone!!!

By Jimmywrest (Jimmywrest) on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 04:24 am: Edit

AP studio art is not that light. You need about 30 works on slides, and five quality works to actually send in. It's not very easy.

By Dferraro (Dferraro) on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 12:46 pm: Edit

The course load of an AP really depends on a school...a more sophisticated school will accentuate certain topics that they feel are more significant and take out more trivial information---In fact a kid at one school is taking AP Us history and I can clearly see a huge difference in our knowledge of the subject matter (he didn't have a good AP curriculum.)

By Fish3715 (Fish3715) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 10:48 am: Edit

Thanks Jimmywrest. I'm taking 5 AP courses (Chemistry, Spanish Language, Econ, English, Studio Art) this year (and six tests, because of Macro/Micro) and Studio Art is BY FAR my most stressful class!

By Tenisghs (Tenisghs) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 02:12 pm: Edit

I'm also taking Studio Art. It is very stressful. you must have time and committment in that class!