The AP system feels like a massive toll on teen burnout. On one hand, the meritocracy argument makes sense: you take a rigorous course, pass a standardized exam, and supposedly save thousands in college tuition. It’s basically a shortcut to proving you’re “college-ready” before or during your senior year.

If you actually look at the data, there’s a serious disconnect. The stress isn’t just an academic challenge. When you’re taking three or four AP classes, you’re not just learning Calculus or World History; you’re managing a high-stakes workload that honestly rivals what some adults do at their 9-to-5s. Research shows that test anxiety affects nearly a third of students, and when your entire year’s worth of effort is boiled down to a single three-hour window in May.

Taking an AP in a subject you love can actually kill your interest in it. When a class is just a race to cover a massive syllabus before the exam date, you lose the “deep dive” for the sake of “memorize and dump.”

I think AP classes can be a great tool if you’re strategic about it, like taking one or two in subjects you’re actually passionate about, but the culture of “more is always better” is a trap. Students are told these tests prepare them for the future, but if the future is just more sleep deprivation and anxiety, maybe we should be questioning the curriculum instead of our own work ethic.