As the year concludes, everybody is starting to sign up or change their classes for next year. When deciding what to take and what would be beneficial to them as well as their grades there is one question that is always asked: Is taking an honors class worth it?

Now, juniors and seniors at WHS have known how AP and honors classes are longer than anyone. “Honors classes can be a challenge, but they push you to be your best,” says Madison Schippel who is an upcoming senior at Wauconda High School. A few benefits of AP and honors classes is that they mentally challenge your brain and make you think about how to figure out your work. AP classes, such as APHuge and APEuropean History, give you a chance to earn college credit, save money for college, and even receive merit-based financial aid for school. 

As a freshman who takes both Honors English I and Honors Physics, some of the classes are difficult; however, they do help with school and getting better grades. The effect of honors classes, positively, is that they boost your GPA to around a 4.4 or a 4.3, depending on how many classes you’re taking. Also, since it’s a higher-weighted class it means that if you have a B- or a C, you would technically have an A- or a B. The downside of honors classes is that it does take a lot of dedication and commitment if you want to do well in the class. It challenges your brain, and you have to turn in assignments and do the work if you want to pass the class which is extremely stressful during finals. Oleksandra Sapdiva, who is a freshman, shares that “honors classes are challenging, but if you really try you can do well in the class.”

Oftentimes, when making the decision to take an AP/honors class, you don’t really know whether or not you will like the class. Luka Gmitrovic, a sophomore who has taken both APHuge and AP-European History, shares that “ApEuro was not worth it, and I wouldn’t take it again,” which shows how you never know what you’re getting into when you take a higher level class. Usually, students just take the class so they can get college credit or a higher GPA for school and not because they find the class interesting.

The stress of honors and AP classes, or even just anything that is weighted heavily, can make or break a student and even their grades.