AP craze and calculus CULTure

With 3,000 students and over 20 AP courses offered, it’s easy for Samo students to feel pressure to pile on APs. College admissions continues to become more competitive each year and the race to get in can often lead students to bulk up their schedules as a coping mechanism to the paranoia. Regardless of the importance of a strong transcript, there is a difference between taking on another elective and enrolling in college-level calculus. Of the 2,774 students at Samo enrolled in a math course for the 2018-19 year, 1,248 are in Honors and AP levels, and underclassmen on accelerated pathways make up a large portion of that number. Students are placing sine over sanity, and the craze to conform has turned Samo’s culture into more of a cult. One question you may be asking yourself is, “well is it really necessary to load your schedule with APs?” The answer depends on what your collegiate goals are.  If you are working towards getting into Ivy League schools or other esteemed colleges like Stanford or UC Berkeley, then yes, it is necessary. Taking high level classes is imperative to remain competitive against other applicants for sought-after spots. However, the reality is that there is a very small group of ambitious students competing to get into these high level schools. According to the US Department of Education, “More than three-quarters of US undergraduates attend colleges that accept at least half of their applicants.  Just four percent attend schools that accept 25 percent or less and well under 1 percent attend schools like Harvard and Yale that accept less than 10 percent.” Therefore all of this worry applies to only one to four percent of the overall undergraduate student population.  “It depends where you want to go to college and how competitive you want to be. Sometimes students do have to take some higher level courses in areas that maybe aren’t their interests just to get from point A to point B,” I House advisor Jessica Garrido said. The pressure to take these classes isn’t just coming from one place. First and foremost, it originates from an inner drive toward excellence. Generally, students know where they want to end up and know what it takes to get there. And students also understand that as time goes on, it is getting more and more competitive to get into top colleges. The cult of excellence pushes kids to do anything (and everything) necessary to increase their odds of acceptance.   Another source of pressure is derived from peers, both indirectly and directly. Indirectly, it is seen in rumors being spread about what is required to get into these schools.  We’ve all heard of the unimaginably stellar student who didn’t get into Stanford. This shared folklore just adds to the pressure students feel.  Directly, in a very small group of students, it is seen as a lazier path when their schedules aren’t loaded with the maximum number of APs. This stigma is only found amongst the small groups of high achieving students.  Specifically, in calculus classes, there is this peer pressure surrounding the pathway students take. The most advanced path is to take Algebra II HP as a freshman, Pre Calc/ Calc A HP as a sophomore, AP Calc BC as a Junior and Multivariable Calculus as a senior. Another slightly less challenging pathway is Algebra II HP as a freshman, Pre Calc/Trig P as a sophomore, AP Calc AB as a junior and AP Stats or AP Calc BC as a senior.  The peer pressure related to these paths takes place in the small group of high achieving math students that follow one of these paths.  Jake Mitchell (’19) commented regarding his opinion as to whether there is peer pressure surrounding these pathways or not. “A little bit. There’s always friendly teasing of like, oh, you’re taking like the easy or the dumb AP class like it’s not as hard. But you know it’s still an AP math class and people respect that in itself...I don’t think that would really be that common,” Mitchell said. Students should take classes that will be tailored to their interests and goals. Ms. Garrido explained that she isn’t aware of a stigma against taking the easier advanced math path. This position seems logical and consistent with the overall statistics involving undergraduate enrollment mentioned above. However, counselors aren’t strictly a part of the student body, and are somewhat removed from this peer pressure, not necessarily factoring it into their recommendations of academic schedules. Students determine the path they want to take ultimately based on their goals and what they can handle. While the majority of students will not feel overwhelming pressure to max out on AP classes, there is that calculus CULTure where the pressure is real, and where drinking the mathematical kool-aid is what’s necessary if you want to be in the top.