The Class of 2026 officially entered their sophomore year this August, and there has been impressive change in their academic approach trading honors for rigorous Advanced Placement classes. This move has shown their commitment to growth and a willingness to embrace challenges as they continue high school facing new levels of course work.
Sophomore ThienAnh Le said,
“Taking AP classes has strengthened my ability with time management and made me become more open minded with how intense assignments can get.”
Many students feel the same, making these classes popular but challenging.
Cypress Creek High School offers a diverse range of advanced courses, providing students with an extensive selection to enhance their academic experience. The AP program at Cypress Creek offers twenty courses in various branches of study with many popular choices.
Among the favored selection is AP Psychology where students study behaviors and mental processes from a biological perspective and exploration of the effects of the interaction between human biology and our environment. (Credit: College Board)
Le tells, “I chose AP Psychology because I wanted to learn more about how people think. Along with how everyone’s minds develop differently due to their environment and how they were taught.”
Another popular sophomore choice is AP World History: Modern which studies the cultural, economic, and political shifts from the year 1200 to current time. (Credit: College Board)
Sophomore Chloe Becker said “I chose AP World because I wanted to learn more about historic events”
These AP classes allow students to earn college credits while still in high school and achieve a 5.0 GPA, but these classes come with heavy workload and dedication to succeed.
Sophomore Emeley Poblick said,
“Last year I had a lot less work and was a lot less stressed, now my classes are more difficult, and school takes up most of my free time.” Poblick shares opinion based on a schedule consisting of AP World History: Modern.
She added, “Teachers assign a lot more work, my mindset is to get through this year and not put too much stress on myself.”
AP classes contain a high content amount leading to extensive studying and research. Students said that finding a balance between home and school life has been a struggle.
Sophomore Trinity Wilhelm said, “I had to sacrifice a lot of my free time and sleep.”
Wilhelm expanded sharing “I didn’t take any AP’s last year, but now I’m taking two, so the workload has changed from maybe a 2 to a 10.” Wilhelm ranks her workload on a scale of 1-10 telling it drastically increased.
Beyond challenges, many sophomores enjoy the benefits of taking AP courses.
Sophomore Ava Diaz said “I chose to take AP classes because I wanted to challenge myself. It is also a great opportunity to receive college credit while in high school. “
Diaz expressed these classes allow her to branch to learning topics she may want to further her education in
“I get to learn more in depth about the subject and find the content more interesting than I do in other classes.”
