The AP Arms Race: Balancing Opportunity and Burnout

By: Annie Y. ‘26

Each year, the letters ‘A’ and ‘P’ appear with more and more frequency on the average Bryn Mawrtian’s course schedule. The emergent trend of students taking increasing numbers of advanced placement (AP) courses each year signifies the escalating academic demands and shifting dynamics of the Upper School. 

College Board, the organization that provides AP examinations and curricula, describes taking an AP credit as a “head start in high school.” This claim is not without reason — AP courses can demonstrate an individual’s particular interests to prospective universities and even earn college credit at some. 

Yet, these advantages may come at a steep price. AP classes often demand extensive preparation, dedication, and the maintenance of skills to achieve success. According to UWorld College Prep, students spend a minimum of one to three hours daily studying and completing homework per AP class. Given the substantial time commitments, the practicality of continuously increasing the number of AP courses a student takes comes into question. 

“I was spending several hours each night just doing homework for one of several AP courses,” Michelle Ma ’22 said. “I had to work out a system or schedule to manage everything, especially during junior year when I took three APs and it was half-online because of COVID.” 

Reflecting on her senior year, she added, “It felt a bit more manageable because I only took two APs and had a free period, which I used to catch up on studying.” 

The high demand for AP courses reflects holistic shifts in education. In the mid-20th century, disciplines like computer science and artificial intelligence were either nascent or simply nonexistent; additionally, the pace of math and science courses in the U.S. was slower. Today, students are introduced to increasingly advanced concepts at younger ages — coding in middle school, calculus in high school, and interdisciplinary studies in areas like environmental science and biomedicine.

“When I was in high school, it was normalized to take more and more AP classes as you went on,” Ma shared. “Grades above mine didn’t take as many APs because there just weren’t as many options available back then.”

This academic acceleration has created a sort of scholastic "arms race," where students feel pressure to take on more advanced coursework to remain competitive. This demand has real consequences, with reports of burnout, anxiety, and stress rising among high school and college students. Looking ahead, the rapid expansion of AP courses in many high schools presents a challenge. While these classes prepare students for college by fostering discipline and time management, the push to stack APs onto transcripts often comes at the expense of mental health and personal passions.

Is it sustainable — or fair — to expect students to continually take on more AP courses, often at the expense of their well-being and personal interests? While some students thrive under this pressure, others struggle, turning high school into a relentless treadmill of stress rather than a period of exploration and growth. Non-AP courses, such as those in English, are already enriching and challenging. These should not be neglected in favor of memorization-heavy AP classes simply to keep up with peers.

In today’s age of information, where knowledge and competition grow exponentially alongside one another, we need to consider how to best support young learners and evaluate the effectiveness of our current pedagogy. The goal should be to balance academic rigor with emotional and mental well-being, enabling students to pursue their passions and thrive — both now and in the future.

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/what-is-ap

https://collegeprep.uworld.com/ap/how-to-study-for-ap-exams/

https://transformingeducation.org/student-stress-statistics/

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/ap-data-research/national-state-data

https://collegeprep.uworld.com/ap/how-to-study-for-ap-exams/