Mapping out a student’s high school courses over the entirety of their time as a student is complicated. Balancing requirements with AP classes is something that requires careful planning. Planning out which history classes to take is important in particular, because AP history classes can be the first opportunity for a student to take an AP class. Many students start their freshman year with an Ethnic Studies class. This class helps students get a taste of the critical thinking skills and in-depth analysis that they will eventually need for history classes in later years, especially if they decide to take AP level classes in the future.
What to Expect in Sophomore Year
The ramp up really takes place as students head into their sophomore year with most schools providing either AP World History: Modern or AP European History. While some Ethnic Studies courses and teachers will have done an admirable job preparing students to take these courses, mileage will no doubt vary. And even with the best of Ethnic Studies teachers and classes, the course load and sheer volume of content material for either AP World or AP European History, simply put, magnitudes greater than what most any student would have to contend with in their freshman year. This is where the most growing pains will take place and where academic and test prep support will pay the most dividends. Regular weekly support in anything from note-taking skills, to multiple choice strategies, essay-writing go-tos, and even content-review will help a student master these tricky courses. Then focused and dedicated AP test preparation in the spring will provide the means for students to master the demands and rigors of the end of year AP exams.
Junior Year
Junior year AP history is typically AP US history, which, while it is in the same format as AP World and AP Euro, tends to go more in-depth with the content, making an adjustment to a student’s approach to the class necessary. Even if a student did well on their sophomore history AP test, many still find APUSH to be on another level in terms of the details a student needs to retain. Therefore, many APUSH students, regardless of their experience with AP history classes, find regular academic support useful, and also test prep before the AP test. Full practice tests and worksheets to help solidify strategies right before the AP test are resources that students find particularly helpful.
Senior Year
With the challenges of AP World/Euro and APUSH behind them, seniors will frequently find themselves thinking “What’s next?”. The previous years of AP history are the most well known, but senior year history courses much more frequently fly under the radar – this despite them being just as, if not more challenging in some ways, as their sophomore and junior year predecessors. The most common senior year AP history course is AP US Government, often a fall semester course which is paired with an entirely separate AP course in the spring, AP Economics – two AP courses for the price of one. That said, students may find themselves offered other choices as well: AP Comparative Government, AP Human Geography, AP Art History, and even AP African American Studies. Because these courses are less than household names, students and families often underestimate them, a risky prospect during senior year where students are often juggling many other APs, not to mention SAT/ACT retakes and college admission essays. These courses are a different format from the other AP history courses, and typically require memorization of specific vocabulary and sources. So students often need support with this, as they seek to finish out their high school history career.
So all in all, the high school history landscape is a tricky one to navigate, but with proper preparation and enough support, any student, even those much more inclined towards STEM fields, can – and should – strongly consider taking on the AP histories.
