Honors classes and AP classes, Whats the difference?

Question

Okay so i will be a freshman in high school in the beginning of next month (terrified!!!) and i have been readin around and noticed AP classes.
Im taking three honor classes (english, biology and geography)and i was wondering what is the difference between AP and honors?
Which has more benefits?
Are honors course really that tough?

Also, (sorry its kind of random) but how difficult is german? It'll be my first forgein language and im concered if german is too difficult. Also my mom is worried that i might be laying it on a little thick with honors and german?
Your advice, please?

Answer 1

I took honors English, geometry and biology as a freshman. And I just finished taking AP European History as a sophomore and I'm taking AP English Language as a junior.

Simply speaking, honors courses are like one step above regular college-prep courses and AP (Advanced Placement) courses are one step above honors. AP courses are college level courses.

Definitely, AP courses have more benefits. You can take an exam at the end of the course ($83) and if you get a score of 3, 4, or 5 you may obtain college credit for the course!

Are you talking about a regular German course or AP German. Because most people who take AP German are native speakers (at least the ones I know) and it's very difficult. But if it's a regular German course, and you can catch onto foreign language easily, it will be no harder than learning any other language.

I don't think you're laying it on too hard. I took similar courses you did, except I took Spanish as a foreign language, and I did perfectly fine. It's a bit of a challenge though. With AP courses, you should make *sure* you are actually interested in the subject matter. Like for instance, if you are more of a English/History person than a math/science person (like me) then you should only take AP courses in those subjects because you don't want to overload yourself.

And honors courses are really nothing compared to AP. Good luck in high school:) It's good to be taking the classes you are taking. Colleges like that.

For more info on AP courses, visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement_Program

and College Board (the company that administers the AP program)
>http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html


Also, if you plan on taking AP courses, here are the released AP Exams from 2001-2007.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/prep_free.html

Answer 2

Don't worry, High School isn't that scary. Just don't be lazy and you'll do fine. Honors Classes and AP classes in my opinion are basically the same thing, however, teachers will lead you to believe AP classes are much more difficult. The plus with AP classes are that at the end of the year you can take an exam, which btw if you pass, will give you college credit. Unless, you know what you want to major in, your probably better off just taking Calculus and an English AP class, you can take a History, Social Science, Physical Science AP class, if it is offered, since that falls under College General Education. But don't over work yourself, your still a kid, enjoy life. Also, doing a sport or joining a club is also a Great thing, you'll find out many things in High School, enjoy it while you can't don't work yourself too hard.

On the matter of German, it's not very difficult to understand, since English is a Germanic language, but because of how long it's been since the disconnect, they are two very different language, still, they use the same Subject Verb Object (SVO) sentence structure, so it won't be confusing like having a SOV language like Japanese, which btw uses a different alphabet. BOO! But learning a different language is hard no matter what, unless you are surrounded by it to practice.

Good luck with you and enjoy High School, it was some of the best years of my life. Now my current college years are the best years of my life, so far...

Take Care

Answer 3

At my school, "honors" was the equivalent of "pre-AP". You can't generally take AP classes freshman year, but you can prepare for them. They stopped calling most of them "honors" around where I'm from because they decided, basically, that it wasn't politically correct. Having "smart classes" that only some of the kids are in might offend/hurt the feelings of the not-smart kids. Look and see if you;re school has an AP program. Chances are if they do, then your "honors" classes are pre-AP. I took Pre-AP English, Biology, and Geometry, and History as a freshman.
Honors classes aren't that tough, especially if you've been in higher-level classes in middle school. They will be more work, though.
AP classes can be very difficult, and tend to require a lot of studying. The purpose of an AP class it to get students ready for the AP exams in May. Many colleges and universities grant college credit hours for passing scores on AP exams.
I don't think you'll have too much trouble with German, either. Most kids, especially the honors kids, take some sort of foreign language in high school. I took Latin freshman and sophomore years, and then French and Latin both my junior and senior years. A few of my friends took German. All first-year language classes cover very basic grammar and a good deal of basic vocabulary, and aren't that hard.
Good luck!

Answer 4

An AP course is a college level course taught in a high school setting. These courses are designed to prepare students to take the College Board sponsored Advanced Placement (AP) exam. These national curricula are developed by both high school and college teachers under the auspices of the College Board. Most universities award college credit based on AP exam scores of 3, 4, or 5. Check with the specific university for more information about acceptance of AP courses.

Honors courses are developed locally by district teachers to meet the needs of talented students. An Honors class parallels the curriculum offered in the corresponding regular class, but may cover additional topics or some topics in greater depth. Honors courses may be organized as separate classes, or as extra projects or seminars supplementing a regular course.

Answer 5

Honors classes are based on an attempt to teach a subject commensurate with the ability of the students taking it. In theory, honors classes are the most demanding on the student. In practice, the reason why merit classes aren't is because there are more disruptive or bored students in these classes. AP classes are for "advanced placement", and many colleges accept the credit earned for a course in high school in lieu of taking the course at college. Obviously, the cost of an AP class is much less than that of taking the course at college, so everyone is happy. You must take the regular courses first. For example, you can take AP Physics or Chemistry, but you must first take regular high school physics or chemistry.

German is a gool language to take, since it is the precursor to much of the English language. I think you will enjoy it.

Good luck in high school. With the internet you have a much broader support group you can tap into.

Answer 6

In AP classes you take an exam at the end of the year. If you pass the exam you earn college credit.