AP Classes

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are the heavyweight training of the high school classroom. With them students can round out their transcripts with compelling bulk and prepare to compete formidably in college. An AP course is an ambitious task for a high school student, but of course it offers the opportunity for a great payoff.

Some of the AP classes we can help you with!

Controversy goes on endlessly about where the “fast track” begins in school, but one thing is certain: if it doesn’t begin before AP classes, these courses and exams give a firm and decisive shove in that direction. AP classes require students to perform at the college level — to absorb a great deal of new and difficult information quickly, to compete with their peers not only for grades in the class, but also for scores on the year-end exam. The climactic College Board exam in May forces students outside familiar teaching styles, onto the national playing field of an exam that covers just about everything, even the material their teacher has sacrificed to stay on schedule.

Even without the exam immediately in mind, the day-to-day demands of AP classes may be two or three times as great as those of regular high school classes. Any student is likely to feel discouraged by this, especially if he or she doesn’t understand something but is forced to push onward nonetheless, simply to keep up. It’s like being forced to run while your muscles cramp. Our tutors at the Study Hut have competed in college, some very recently, and many took AP classes in high school. They well remember the shock treatment of adjusting to higher education, when they discovered that what they had thought rigorous in high school was a pleasure cruise by comparison.Of course, one of the great strengths everyone must develop as the challenges pile up (which they inevitably do) is asking for help. Our greatest successes have been with students who are willing to commit to long-term study plans, acknowledging that their battle is about 80% hard work, 20% exam prep. But this isn’t for everyone. Every spring brings an influx of students who need help mostly with that final stage of conditioning necessary to perform well on the exam. Thus we have a tutoring program tailored for such students, a short tour-de-force focused on mastering the mechanics of the exam: how to match wits with the multiple choice portion with a combination of knowledge and exam-specific skills, and how to budget time and structure thought for the open-ended free response questions. Whether you have several months or only several weeks left in your AP class, if you need help, it’s yours for the asking. Our tutors are students, too, who have competed at the caliber and pace of the college course and can share a broader perspective on what the APs are all about.

Helpful Links for AP Classes

Information about AP Classes
List of CollegeBoard’s AP Classes