LEXI WEINGARDT It isn’t until you are preparing for an AP Test that you truly understand what it’s like to study for a test for days, even weeks beforehand. On Thursday I took a Calculus test that I spent five weeks studying for inside and outside of class. I attended study sessions with my teacher and separate ones with my friends, as well as studied for hours on end by myself. I did as many as 50 FRQ questions and answered hundreds of multiple choice questions all to pass a test that I will take one time and then forget almost everything I learned in the class by the Fourth of July.

The truth of AP classes is that most of us take them, not to challenge ourselves, but rather in the hopes that it will save us thousands of dollars in college classes. Other than college credit, AP classes allow students to have a GPA over 4.00 which is also very important if you are looking into more prestigious colleges, especially Ivy Leagues.

The benefits of AP classes are clear, however we also have a price to pay in taking these classes. Said price includes stress, anxiety and lack of sleep which leaves students weaker and more exhausted. The carefree high school years our parents always talk about are foreign to us because we are seemingly always overworked and frantic.

We work our butts off all year in AP classes, fight through all the stress and mental breakdowns to ultimately make it to the test in May. Depending on how many AP classes students take, they may miss several days of school in May only adding to the stress they feel about Finals and the rest of their classes.

Suddenly the test is here and you find yourself sitting in a room with your anxious peers, all of you praying you’ve done enough to pass.