What are some of the easy and not so hard APs and Honors classes to take during your high school years?Answered
I'm a freshman and I haven't taken any honors or AP classes yet, but I am planning to during my sophomore year. I need some recommendations for some of the easiest APs and Honors classes to take that will look good once I actually start applying for colleges. Please tell me about 10th-grade level AP and Honors Level classes, so that I will know what APs and Honors to take for 10th grade only. Thank You!
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4 answers
Hi there!
First of all, it's great that you're well aware of the importance of AP classes. Colleges find it really impressive when your course work is rigorous but you need to keep in mind that whatever class you attend, you should genuinely enjoy that class and not only join it for the sake of getting into a college of your choice. Also, just an additional note, an AP class is bit more tricky and tougher than your regular class so choose it wisely! With that, here's certain classes that are relatively easier in comparison to the other AP classes:
1. AP Art and Design, AP Art History
2. AP Music Theory
3. AP English Language and Composition, AP Lit. and Composition (LOTS of reading.)
4. AP Comparative Govt. and Politics
5. AP European History
6. AP Human Geography
7. AP Psychology
8. AP US Govt. and Politics
9. AP US History, AP World History Modern
10. AP Environmental Science
11. AP World Languages and Cultures
Once again, go with what you are genuinely interested in so that your grades showcase your hard work.
Thank you!
In my experience here's how "Honors" classes generally differ from on-level
Math- same content, just moves faster. Good for if you pick up on concepts quickly.
Science- similar content, but more math based. Sometimes you must be in advanced math to take Honors science. Good for people who enjoy math and their applications.
History- similar content, moves quicker, more advanced readings. Good if you enjoy history and have strong reading/writing skills.
English- loosely similar content, read longer and harder materials, write more and faster. Good if you want more in-depth content.
I recommend you take some honors classes before taking on a lot of AP classes to see how you handle the workload and faster pace. Jumping from on level sophomore english to AP Lang & Comp would be a massive leap! Best of luck to you my friend.
I can't say for sure since I am in the same situation as you. However, I have heard that AP Computer Science Principles and AP Environmental Science are very easy. Good luck with scheduling!
Please don't take the arts like Music Theory and Art and Design if you don't have any background in them, they aren't as technical as other courses and you may struggle, especially with making a portfolio. It's a bigger project than it seems, but if you like art and are willing to dedicate/manage your time, it might be great for you. All course descriptions are on CollegeBoard's website, so you should look at them there and possibly at your school (because they might teach US history over two years instead of one, for example) before picking courses. You don't need to take certain pairs like both AP US and World history, unless you won't take both exams, since you will probably only get credit for one exam depending on your college and major. Another unnecessary pair is AP Lang and Lit, Lit is like lang but harder/more poetry, so unless you need it for your major I would just take lang or lang + lit with no exam. I've heard psych, human geography, and envi sci are all relatively easy. If you're good at the world language you're taking, you can take AP as an upperclassman. And I don't really see people say this, but considering that I took micro and macro together as a one-year course, and have found it pretty easy, you can definitely take at least one of them in the same time.
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Hi! Just to add on to what @ancsman said, as for honors classes, usually (all the schools I've been to follow this) the CP and honors math courses aren't all that different. You just learn a few additional things than CP classes and grading might differ, but other than that if you're into math, honors might be a fun challenge (especially if you're in the starting levels like algebra, geometry, etc). Good luck!