Walk through the hallways of any high school, and you’ll hear the one question that reigns supreme: “How many AP courses are you taking?” For many high-achieving students, Advanced Placement courses, more commonly known as APs, are a badge of honor. They show ambition and knowledge. But here’s the simple truth: AP courses are college-level classes, so simply being motivated does not exactly mean being ready. Freshmen and sophomores are not younger versions of juniors. They are still developing the maturity, skills, and perspective necessary to be successful in these courses.
One of the strongest arguments against underclassmen enrolling in APs does not come from opinion, but science instead. Adolescence is a time of major brain development. According to Cornell University, the parts of the brain responsible for our executive functions mature later than the emotional centers. This delay means that younger teens are much more vulnerable to impulsivity and are more likely to have difficulty juggling multiple demands. In other words, their brains are not fully ready to handle the rigor of AP classes.
AP classes are extremely demanding. That is their main purpose. When students are not ready for the academic challenge, the demands of the course become far too overwhelming. According to a study conducted by the University of Southern Florida, students enrolled in AP or IB courses, compared to their peers in regular classes, tended to be under much higher levels of stress, leading to a reduction in happiness.
Burnout is also a huge risk. In a scholarly context, burnout can be defined as a state of cynicism, exhaustion, and feelings of inadequacy. Many students involved in these courses experience these feelings often. If underclassmen are allowed to take AP courses, it will inevitably increase students who dread school, a place that is supposed to be fun and collaborative.
If you were to ask a group of students if they truly enjoyed going to school, you would mostly be met with the same, simple answer. No. This is because school is placing students under more stress now than ever before. Waking up in the morning to attend your third-grade math class seemed much more appealing than waking up now to attend your AP Calculus AB class.
Three of our staff members at Horace Greeley High School who teach AP courses were kind enough to give their opinions on the matter. In the end, all three agreed that these courses should be limited to juniors and seniors.
Mr. May, one of our three AP U.S. History teachers, explained it simply and strongly, claiming, “APs are college-level courses, and students need to genuinely have the skills to take a college-level course. Some students might have that ability younger, but it’s very rare.” He emphasized that soft skills, like responsibility, time management, and deep learning habits, often take years to build. “When humans are overwhelmed,” he stated, “the result is procrastination. For an AP, procrastination creates stress and confusion that’s just not healthy.” He argues that high school, especially freshman and sophomore years, should be focused on learning how to actually learn before adding the hardest courses possible to your transcripts. “If you put the learning first, everything else will follow,” he said.
Dr. DeMarie, who teaches AP Environmental Science, and Ms. Russo, who teaches AP Chemistry, both see the pressure firsthand. “This place is already like a pressure cooker,” Dr. DeMarie explained. “We have lots of stress and mental health problems, and adding more APs for younger students would only make that worse.” They both agreed that while a few exceptional students may be ready early, the majority are not developmentally ready to meet the expectations of an AP course. “Give kids a chance to be kids,” he added, “Freshmen are just getting used to high school. Later on, they’ll be more than ready for AP-level challenges–but not right away.”
There is also a fairness issue involved. If underclassmen flood APs, colleges may begin to expect students to take more courses earlier. If you offer more courses to lower grades, then people will take even more AP courses, and then the bar gets higher for everyone.
Practical concerns about structure and preparedness are also extremely prevalent. Ms Russo explains that AP courses move extremely fast. For example, AP Chemistry covers two semesters of college-level material in a single school year. Unlike some schools that begin their school year in August, Greeley begins in September, putting us at a disadvantage due to less instructional time. Also, the AP policy here allows for any upperclassman to take any AP class that they want to, which leads to more issues. For example, AP Chemistry recommends that the students enrolled have completed the course Enriched Algebra II/Trigonometry, normally a tenth-grade course, upon enrollment. If a freshman or sophomore were to attempt to take the course, they may not have the knowledge necessary to succeed. Ms. Russo said, “We can’t have kids coming in not knowing things they should not already know. Otherwise, we spend the whole time teaching the basics instead of covering AP material.” If we were to allow all students to enroll, then it would not only waste time for the teachers, but also older classmates who already have the knowledge needed.
When the teachers were asked if there was one thing that they would change about our school’s AP policy, Dr. DeMarie and Ms. Russo agreed that we should reinstate minimum prerequisites. Not as a form of gatekeeping, but instead to protect our students from unnecessary stress. They explained that in past years, the school required that students taking AP science courses needed to have gotten at least a 3.0 in Living Environment and Chemistry. If students did not meet them junior year, then they would be allowed to take them senior year. It gave students the chance to mature academically before diving into a college-level course.
Still, some students argue that motivated underclassmen deserve the chance to challenge themselves with these courses. They might say that early exposure boosts college readiness, or that limiting access is unfair.
Three underclassmen members of our student body, who all asked to remain anonymous, gave viewpoints, and all three agreed that they should be given the opportunity to take AP classes in their younger years of high school.
One student said that she feels that she is ready. “I got straight A’s throughout middle school, so if I can handle the material, why should the fact that I’m a freshman stop me?” While motivation is a key factor of success, early enthusiasm does not exactly translate into long-term endurance.
Another argued that restricting APs will discourage ambition. “It feels unfair,” he explained. “If someone wants to challenge themselves, the school should support that.” Yet his reasoning overlooks an extremely important reality: without foundational experience, students may spend more time surviving in the class rather than actually learning deeply, which is the point of these courses.
Finally, the last student views APs as a way to stand out in the college admissions process. “It looks good on applications, and I want to start early so I have more APs by senior year.” Her concerns reflect the intensity of admissions, but admissions officers actually care more about how well you handle the course, not how soon you start them.
According to the Horace Greeley High School Decisions Book for the 25-26 school year, the school offers 24 AP courses. With that being said, if you start taking them as an upperclassman, you still have time to take tons of APs to add to your transcript. And despite popular belief, taking more APs does not necessarily give you an advantage in the admissions process. Admissions officers emphasize context. If a school were to only offer two AP classes and a student takes both, it is usually considered just as impressive as a student who takes ten. What matters is how well you do, not how many you take.
By pacing the opportunities to take them, schools allow students to experience both challenge and balance. If I were able to return to the past and ask my freshman year self if she should be able to take AP courses, the answer would be simple. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly believed that AP courses could not have been that difficult and that I was smart enough to take them. After being in 4 AP classes for the past month of school, I think it is clear that I would not have been able to take them when I first entered high school. A jump from a middle school education to a college one is ginormous, and I definitely did not have the skills to keep up. I firmly believe that the biggest motivating factor for taking APs is competition and the high-stakes nature of the college admissions process. Otherwise, I do not believe as many students would have enrolled in certain courses that they do not truly care for.
Freshman and sophomores are still building the academic and emotional tools that will carry them through their upperclassmen years. Forcing AP-level rigor too early can short-circuit that process. By reserving AP courses for upperclassmen, schools preserve balance and ensure that when students do take on college work, they do it from a place of confidence and not survival.
Our school’s policy does not limit opportunity. It ensures that everything happens at the right time. High school is not a race for college. It is a foundation for it. And every foundation needs time to set.
