When my siblings were in high school, they did not have an opportunity to take any AP classes. One of the reasons why I chose to take AP classes was because of my sister, who pressured me into taking classes that were not available for her. Although Harriton offers the IB Program, I chose not to apply to it because I did not like rigidness of the courses IB requires. For example, IB requires students to take a foreign language class for their junior and senior years. I did not want to do this because I was not planning on pursuing a career involving foreign language. I liked the idea of taking AP classes more because it allowed me to take AP Chemistry without taking AP English. Hence, there is more flexibility in an AP schedule.

When I was choosing which AP classes I would take in my junior year, I chose the subject I did not mind learning more about: science. By doing this, it made studying for the AP classes I was taking feel like less of a chore. When I finally began to take AP classes, I really enjoyed it because the classes were very efficient with their given time during the school day. Overall, the AP class format and syllabus I think is well thought out. However, I have found that there are some minor drawbacks I experienced with taking AP classes. For instance, as a junior, I found that the transition from taking honors classes to taking AP classes was very difficult. Once I got used to the different class expectations, the AP classes became more manageable.