Once a year, students are asked to sign up for classes they want to take the following year.

There are many classes to choose from and the process of doing so takes a lot of thinking.

Students must pick between Advanced Placement classes or regular classes, but which ones should students take? Are AP classes worth taking?

There are many pros and cons to academically challenging yourself in an AP class.

One pro is the GPA multiplier of 1.1, which can help boost students’ GPAs over a 4.0.

This can help them jump to the top of their class; hopefully, even earning the title of valedictorian or salutatorian.

But if that is too much of a jump for certain students to make, this class will at least raise their GPAs quicker than being in regular classes, if they earn high grades in them.

This multiplier can also help offset lower grades they earned in other classes.

Another benefit is the ability of earning college credit for taking AP exams at the end of the year that these classes prepare students for.

Instead of paying for that class, or classes, in college, students could simply just take the AP classes offered at school for free and only pay to take the exam.

And, depending on how they do on the exam, students could earn college credit for it.

Senior Shelby Coates enjoys being challenged in AP Calculus.

“I love math, and it was my goal to get to calculus in high school,” Coates said. “And since I had the opportunity to take it, I signed up.”

Not to mention, most colleges tell prospective students to take AP classes because it makes them more competitive for admission. The more academically rigorous students’ transcripts are, the more colleges will want those students.

Although, there are some negative aspects to taking AP classes.

For example, if the class is too hard for students to handle, it could simply just hurt their grades instead of helping them.

Even with the GPA multiplier, regular courses may be better for students to take who struggle in harder classes.

The GPA multiplier will still raise students’ final grades in those classes regardless of what they earned, but if someone finished the class with an E, the multiplier is not going to benefit much.

Those students would be better off taking an easier class and, in turn, earning a higher grade.

Not to mention, advanced classes go hand-in-hand with extra work.

Sometimes balancing a busy schedule with homework from other classes and homework from AP classes can be difficult.

This could end up getting students behind on their schoolwork, overwhelming them with stress, and ultimately resulting in earning low grades in the AP classes they are taking.

Nick Niles, junior, decided not to take any AP classes this school year.

“Between basketball and DECA, I have a pretty busy schedule,” Niles said. “I decided not to take any AP classes this year because I did not want to overwhelm myself and end up doing bad in that class.”

If students are not planning to take the AP exam at the end of the year, no credits will be earned toward the college class it counts for.

Even if students take the exam, credits are not always guaranteed.

Depending on where students attend college, some may only accept certain scores.

For example, if a student attends Michigan State University and took an AP exam, scoring a 2, MSU may not accept that score and ultimately award no credits for it.

Therefore, taking that exam was just a waste of time and money.

These classes may be beneficial to some, but these possible disadvantages may drive some people away, including Niles.

“I also did not take AP classes because I did not want homework to be taking over all of my time,” Niles said. “I want to enjoy high school, not be stuck in my room studying all of the time.”

Students should consider all of these factors before deciding which classes to take because it is hard to drop AP classes once signed up for them.

In order to do so, students must hold a meeting with Principal Brian Wiskur about dropping the classes. He has the right to deny students the ability to switch out of them.

If wanting the perks of an AP class, or to be academically challenged, take the risk; if wanting to avoid the stress those classes come with, students should not waste their time in them.

But no matter what, students should focus on doing what they believe is the best for themselves, whether it is taking all advanced classes, regular classes, or a mix of both.