Students all around Glacier Peak have been partaking in AP and honors classes throughout the years. This comes with stress and schedule balancing, but above all, an emphasis on college preparation. As seniors finish up college applications, they begin to reflect on all the influential ways these advanced placement classes and teachers have prepared them.  

For some seniors, they have been involved in these classes for the entirety of their high school careers, and in some instances, prior. For senior Isaac Baughman, taking advanced placement English all four years of high school has been a significant factor in his journey to college. “I will most likely be going to Baylor University, and I accredit that largely to all the advanced English classes I have taken. Taking honors English has especially helped with writing college essays in general,” Baughman said. “It has also been a way to take college courses in high school so that when I actually attend college, I won’t be as shocked, overwhelmed, or unprepared as I could have been if I avoided taking these classes.”  

The sentiment of AP classes being a helpful tool for college is a big part of why many students take them, as they are seen by the majority as a very helpful tool for the future. Another example of this is given by Audrey Burgmaier. “I’ve been involved in about five AP classes here at Glacier Peak. While I know many people that have taken more, I feel like I have still had a lot of help from each class and teacher preparing me for college.” Audrey Burgmaier said. “I have found that while taking AP Literature as a senior has been nothing short of challenging, it has also been super influential in the way I write, think, and evaluate situations regarding pieces of literature, which I think will greatly benefit me while attending college.”  

As Burgmaier reflects on all the AP teachers she has had, the influence of one in particular has made a lasting impression on her. Believing that, “while Mrs. Browning has been a really tough teacher when it comes to her expectations of every single student she has, she has also raised my own expectations for myself and in that I have found that she has pushed me to be a better writer than I could have ever imagined. I’m excited to bring the skills she has taught me to my future college,” Burgmaier said, truly expressing the mark that AP classes and teachers have had on her high school education; she aspires to continue using the skills she has learned from her experience as an AP student.