360 Degrees: The AP Test

There are a few different kinds of testing: short answer, essay, multiple choice, classroom, and standardized are just a few. And then, there are the monsters, the tests that seem to make or break your future and your sanity. Those are the ACT, the SAT and the AP. These big three can have a huge impact on your future education and career, and honestly, I'm terrified even thinking of them now. I would like to think about the pros and cons of these tests, including the prices, stress, structure, etc; focusing specifically on the ghastly ogre lurking in my immediate path of life: the World History Advanced Placement Exam. Sounds horrendous, but it can also be amusingly abbreviated to WHAP. Hah. Just because you call something cute, like "Little Boy" for example, it doesn't mean it can't blow up and cause utter destruction to your world (or Hiroshima).

Colleges love for student to take AP exams, because they show the intelligence of the student as well as their desire to be perceived as intelligent. Unlike standardized testing and even the ACT or SAT, AP's are not required. So when taken, they show the eagerness and dedication of the student to increasing their knowledge. However, not all colleges accept AP credit for certain classes; they might only accept certain scores or they might offer elective credit, rather than core course credit. Most colleges would prefer to not lose money by letting you skip classes, so they could also just strongly encourage higher level classes.

But are tests like the AP's, SAT and ACT too strongly weighted for college acceptance? For students unsure of their future profession, it is important to have a decently strong background in multiple subjects, but for those, for example, planning to be an accountant or a make-up artist, do they really need to know much about Latin roots or geometry? (respectively) I'm not sure exactly how admissions are dealt with, but I definitely think that test scores should be held equally, if not less than as important as things like interviews, references and personal essays.

The ACT costs start at $31 without a writing portion, and $46 with writing. The SAT begins at $49. Both of these come with a multitude of "a la carte" items, including late registration fees, international testing fees, college reporting and many other options that add on the dollars. Each AP test costs $86. The first two seem pretty reasonable, if you register on time and don't rack up any additional fees, but the AP is a bit expensive. And taking all three types multiple times can ring you up a few hundred dollars at the book store. Most students usually end up taking the ACT and SAT a few times, to improve their scores, and some take many AP classes. I don't know why the price of the AP's are so precipitous, but what if there was some sort of system for the other two, where the cost was lowered after taking it multiple times? That would definitely ease of some of the pressure to get perfect scores after just a few tests.

These tests are an extreme cause of stress. I'm especially feeling the pressure right now. I feel like there is so much information that needs to be covered, and a sinking sense of hopelessness is descending upon me. I am not prepared and I feel bad wasting my parents money on this test. Many students are just giving up, trying not to worry and planning on disregarding however they do on the test. Maybe I'm just an overachiever, but regardless of how much preparation I do, I know I'll still feel horrible if I get a low score. So speaking of preparation, I'm going to go traverse the treacherous pages of my AP World book and try to cram about 10,000 years of history into my mind. Wish me luck.