HONORS and AP classes are not just unnecessary stress. Lancers here at Granger can take AP and Honors classes, which offer an opportunity to help them earn college credits, better grades, and a better GPA. However, every- thing has its disadvantages, too.

Sammy Beauchaine (9) says that she enjoys her honors classes because they’re faster paced, and in her mind, that’s the pace that she’s going, she doesn’t have to deal with much stress, as she usually can handle a lot of work at once and stay on top of her assignments well.

On the other hand, Julia Thomas (9) says she deals with a lot of stress, and she has piles of homework and lots to do. “You know, it’s probably not the best for my mental health, but it’s fun.” Thomas said. She also says that it really depends on what teacher you have, as some give a lot of homework and while others don’t. Overall, it can be difficult to juggle a pile of AP homework on top of homework from other classes.

“Participating in honors courses is important for high school students for many reasons. Some of these reasons involve immediate gains that stay with the student as [he or she] matures and moves on in life. In many cases, students rise to the challenge of harder work with a new spark. Participating in honors courses makes the student more confident and poised.The greater work load allows the student to become more prepared to deal with in- tense situations and to become confident that he is capable of handling difficult tasks,” as stated on the everydayhealth.com web- site. While doing more challenging work may be beneficial in the end, many students still struggle to manage their stress levels and balance school with other aspects of their lives.

Adrianna Pace (9) says that she doesn’t get stressed unless she misses a day of school and must make up work. “Having so much dance plus my honors classes on top is a little much,” Pace said. She has been doing dance for years, and it’s difficult for her to balance all her work and focus on dance as well.

Other students experience more stress than others, which is typically based on the various commitments they have. Dakota Sanchez (11) says that he likes all his honors classes because it makes him more engaged and challenges him more than other classes. “There isn’t much stress because I have always been taking honors classes,” Sanchez said.

Overall, taking more challenging classes such as AP, honors, and concurrent enrollment courses come with benefits as well as inconveniences.

“Taking more honors and AP classes makes you stand out more to colleges because it shows that you’re willing to work hard for a good grade in a hard class. When it shows up on your transcript that you took several honors classes, you are going to have an advantage over the competitors who didn’t take as many AP/Honors classes,” as stated on the path- finder.comwebsite.