Being Fallston High School Seniors, we are very well versed in the different AP classes offered here. From the ones that we loved to the ones that can only be described as torturous, these college level classes can be hit or miss. We have taken a total of 11 unique AP classes and feel qualified to rank them. It’s important to remember that these classes all have their pluses; we are simply ranking them by how much we would recommend taking them to underclassmen. Each class has taught us a lot, and the teachers are very passionate and great at teaching the material.
AP English Language and Composition (Kasey’s Review)
Personally, I absolutely loved this class. It taught me how to write essays so much better than I previously could, as well as looking at texts in a new light. I highly recommend it for any Junior, even if you’d say you’re not an “English person.” AP Lang is a very formulaic class; put simply, it’s the STEM of English. I also just found the content refreshing, as we typically spend much time on the characters, setting, theme, etc. in most English classes, but since Lang is based on mostly nonfiction works, we examine it through a different lens. However, if you enjoy creative writing, then this class may be a bit more challenging due to its stricter essay structures, leaving less room for originality.
AP English Literature and Composition (Jenna’s Review)
This is my personal favorite AP class I’ve ever taken. I really like English, and reading important books is entertaining. The course load in this class is pretty moderate; the only outside work done is reading. This class has a little more freedom than AP Lang and allows for more creativity, which is what made it so appealing to me.
AP Statistics (Jenna’s Review)
Despite not enjoying math classes, this one is not too challenging. Mr. Ensminger makes the information pretty easy to understand and as long as you pay attention during the class, it will be nearly impossible to fail the AP test. The instructions he gives are mostly straightforward and leave little room for students to misunderstand. Worksheets are frequently used and provide a lot of extra practice that is very useful for tests. For me, this AP class has probably been the easiest I have ever taken, and I would recommend it to literally anyone who doesn’t despise math. The downside, however, is that the tests are often very difficult if you don’t fully understand the logic behind the math.
AP Psychology (Jenna’s Review)
AP Psych is a difficult class to recommend because it is heavily based on students’ preferences. I think everyone should take it because the information is useful to everyday life; however, the course load is kind of a lot. Mrs. Canatella is an amazing teacher and makes the content super interesting with many hands-on and group activities. I still use information learned in this class to this day, and the AP test is almost all memorization of vocabulary words.
AP German (Kasey’s Review)
I absolutely adore this class. Frau Montero really makes it worthwhile. We engage in many German activities, immersing ourselves in the culture as well as the language. She makes the class very fun while still teaching us at the same time. Though I’m not the best at German, I’d still highly recommend taking it to any underclassmen who are contemplating moving up.
AP Environmental Science (Kasey’s Review)
I’d recommend this class to those who like science, but not as much of the math aspect of it. APES is very hands-on, with many projects, experiments, and adventures that the students experience. It’s a super fun class with a lot of group work opportunities if you prefer that. I’d just warn any AP test takers that the test is very hard as there is so much content to cover, and the graders look for very specific answers.
AP World History (Kasey’s Review)
I would say this class is above average. I personally prefer learning about world history than United States history, so obviously that gives it a few points in my book. I found the content pretty interesting, but there is so much of it that it can be overwhelming. The multiple-choice questions are also difficult at first, but I got the hang of them after practicing for a while.
AP Human Geography (Jenna’s Review)
This is one of the easiest AP history classes offered. The multiple-choice tests are mostly vocab based and if you are alright with memorization, it should be a breeze! The content is super interesting as it is in almost every history class, and having Mr. Grant as a teacher makes it much more fun. I would recommend this class to pretty much anyone; it’s on the easier side and the course load is relatively low.
AP United States History (Kasey’s Review)
I think opinions of history classes are largely based on preference, rather than the actual class itself. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of learning about United States history, but I didn’t mind this class as much as I thought I would. For my class, Mr. Grant made the often-stale material really engaging, creating different games, dressing up as historical figures, and showing us movies and videos that relate to the time period. I would especially recommend this class if you’re a self-proclaimed history buff, as the content would be right up your alley.
AP Chemistry (Jenna’s Review)
If you are a science person, and love math, you should think about taking this class. However, if you are not super interested in Chemistry itself this will certainly be a challenge. Personally, I am an English person. I do not enjoy sciences, nor do I see myself having a career in any scientific field, which makes this class extremely challenging. It is a lot of homework, and currently I have over 130 pages of handwritten homework notes for this class. Testing also occurs almost every week, and there really is no down time. However, all tests are curved quite a bit, which means it is not too challenging to get a good overall grade even if you don’t understand the content well. The labs are pretty fun; however, they aren’t frequent. The course load is a lot, but Mrs. Garfinkel is always willing to help. I would recommend taking this Junior year instead of Senior year because it is very time-consuming and has made it harder to focus on other important things like applying for scholarships.
