So, the school year is getting ready to start, you are looking at your course options, and you see the letters "AP" before a course title. You think to yourself "no way!" and keep looking. I understand, why would you want to do more work when you are so close to getting out on your own?
Well, I want you to finish reading this article, think about it, then go and look at your class list again. Put a check next to those AP classes. That's right, I want you to do something uncomfortable. "But why?" you might ask. Well, lets start with three words: time, money, and opportunity.
Time
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, graduates from high school enrolling in college during the fall of 2016 was 67% for men and even higher for women at 72%. So chances are pretty good that college is in your future, especially if you are a woman. So, why are we talking about this?
"AP"stands for Advanced Placement. When you take an AP course, at the end of the course you'll take an AP exam. When you pass an AP exam, you can earn college credit, and depending on the course, even advanced placement in college.
In other words, you go to college ahead of the game! You possibly even have a year or two cut off. Who doesn't want that?
Money
Another thought is money. Everyone wants/needs money, but not everyone is smart with it. Here is an opportunity for you to be smarter than your friends, and not just because you are taking AP classes. Let me explain.
The average cost for one college credit is $594.46. You can expect for the most part to have 1-3 credits in a college course. If one class is worth three credits and just one credit costs $594.46, you can expect a college class to cost an average of $1,783.38 (talk about a hit on the bank account!). To take one AP exam is $94, and depending on how you do on the exam, can equal the same amount of credits as its college counterpart. Are you seeing the money yet?
Let's finish the word problem we just went over. What is the difference in cost between an AP class and a College class? $1,783.38 - $94 = $1,689.38. Not only are you saving yourself some time in college, but a LOT of money! What's not smart about that?
Opportunity
It's time to talk about my favorite word: Opportunity. Google's definition of opportunity is "a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something". In this case, some of the opportunity has already been discussed between finances and occasion, but also in standing out! The real world is a bitter cold place, especially for someone who is just trying to scrap by in high school and has no ideas for their future. These are the kids that end up with a chip on their shoulder and hate life if they don't straighten up and figure themselves out. For them, life becomes a prison. Don't become a prisoner, become a champion!
When you take control of your education, you become an agent for change in your own life. There, you will find success! Think about how taking opportunities for advanced placement or finishing college early will look on a resume. There is something to be said about creating momentum, even in education, but that is a topic for a different post.
