Many students of South Windsor High School are spending long nights studying for the upcoming AP exams. March 1st marks the beginning of a very busy week for many of these kids, some of whom will have to take multiple tests.

The AP tests mark a very stressful time for these dedicated students, who have to balance their preparation for the tests with their schoolwork for the rest of their classes. Students are only allowed to miss the school day of their exam, and are expected to be completely caught up on their work the next day. Amir Clato-Day is a junior that takes both AP Lang and AP government, and believes that these AP tests are too much for high school students.

“I think the length of some of these exams is excessive. I don’t see the point of making a student write 3 essays, read 5 passages and answer dozens of multiple choice questions. It seems like too much work for kids that have been working hard all year.”

These tests come at a time where many upperclassmen are focusing on other school events including Prom and spring sports. Junior Lauren Crusha is an AP student that is involved in multiple activities both inside and outside of the school. She agrees that AP tests come at an inconvenient time for students and are another stressor that these students face.

“Right now I have to work outside of school, play lacrosse, and have other homework to do,” Crusha explained. “The AP tests just add to the work that I have and it’s going to be hard to keep up with everything”

While AP tests do present extra work for already busy students, they are very important to do well on. Doing well on many of these tests can be beneficial for them down the road. If a student scores a 4 or maximum score of a 5, the credit that they receive in the class may be transferable to colleges. So, they not only have one less class to take in college, they also save the money for the class in college. AP student Jack Van Horn is aiming to get a good score on the test so he will have the option to transfer his credit to the college that he decides to attend.

“I really want to make sure that I do well and can use it for a college credit,” said Van Horn, “I’ve been studying hard because I know that it will pay off in the long run.”

AP teachers are doing their part to help their students on the test by offering review sessions the week leading up to the tests. Also, they spend class time reviewing for the big test day as well, practicing tests and essays similar to those that will be used on the actual test. So, the majority of South Windsor students feel that they have been very well prepared for the exams.