Mapping out a student’s high school courses over the entirety of their academic period is complicated. Balancing requirements with AP classes requires careful planning. Planning out which history classes to take is especially crucial as AP history classes are often the first opportunity for a student to take an AP class. Many students start their freshman year with an Ethnic Studies course. This class helps students get a taste of the critical thinking skills and in-depth analysis needed for history classes in later years, especially if they decide pursue advanced level history classes.
What to Expect in Sophomore Year
Sophomore year often marks the ramp up period for students, especially those enrolled in advanced history courses like AP US History, AP World History, or AP European History, three of the most common AP history courses offered to high schoolers. While students can have strong preparation from their Ethnic Studies courses, the course load, content material, and pace of AP History courses demand more from the student compared to their freshman year.
This is where academic and test prep support can make a difference in supporting a student through this jump. Weekly support from tutors, learning note-taking skills, to focused multiple choice exam strategies, can help a student master these tricky courses. Once AP Exam season rolls around, students can benefit from the focused AP test preparation in the spring, providing the means for students to master the demands and rigors of the end of year 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
After completing APUSH And AP World, seniors often wonder what’s next for them in history? The most popular option is taking two separate AP courses in one academic year: AP US Government in the fall and AP Economics in the spring semester. Some schools offer other course options like AP Comparative Government, AP Human Geography, AP Art History, and even AP African American Studies.
As a high school senior, balancing their course load, college applications, and SAT / ACT testing can be a heavy juggle. A little extra support during senior year can go a long way, with tailored academic tutoring, it helps students stay on top of their workload, feel less overwhelmed, and finish their high school history courses feeling confident and prepared.
