By Leanne Khov
Entertainment Editor

Stacked with sports, extracurricular activities, after school jobs, the pressure of a social life and loads of homework, students would be lying if they didn’t think high school isn’t a pile of stress dumped upon their brain. Of course, Advanced Placement classes aren’t any better with adding to this stress.

In this rigorous course, students are expected to be challenged for these college-leveled classes. Students take these classes in order to receive college credit which allows them to save money and time for college. “AP classes are definitely stressful due to tremendous amount of studying and work. It teaches you time management and you have to study a lot more material and pay attention to small details you wouldn’t normally take a second glance at. It’s hard to know what to study and how to prepare yourselves for these tests because you don’t exactly know what’s going to be on it,” sophomore Julianna Mathew stated.

According to College Board, a “moderate” college budget for an in-state public college of the 2013-2014 academic year averaged $22,826. AP classes could save students between $44,000 and $88,000.

Not only that, students has the chance to get a higher GPA that will look good for colleges, so the stress of class rank comes into play as well. The stress of keeping a good grade in these classes cause students to study relentlessly and have sleep deprivation. “It’s a lot to get used to. The teachers of the AP classes are simply there to ‘facilitate your learning.’ It’s hard to balance the reviewing or studying time with other class, especially, if you have an overly constricted schedule, like yours truly. It’s really stressful, especially with marching band, and person/home issues coming into play. So yes. It’s extremely stressful,” sophomore Jessica Souder stated.

In Neshaminy High School, the option of an AP class is shown to be popular among students. Last year, 18 AP courses were offered with 921 students enrolled. Compared to last year, the amount of choices increased to 20 AP classes with 997 students enrolled this time. Sure, college credits are amazing and these courses could bring a student’s GPA up, however, some people have debated whether taking an AP class is worth the risk of sleep deprivation and stressed.