If you’re reading this, congratulations, you survived 2022’s relentless onslaught of AP exams! Whether they were studying for hours on end or simply sitting around for half of the school day in study hall, every student at Briar Woods has certainly felt the impact of our high school’s equivalent of finals week. With nineteen different AP exams scattered throughout early May, coupled in with SOLs and the looming threat of the June SAT, many students, particularly upperclassmen, are burnt out, sleep-deprived, and are looking forward to June 15th, the last day of school. 

AP exams were designed in the 1950s so that the best and brightest kids have the opportunity to earn college credit, before they even enter college. In order to earn these credits, students must take university-level courses – called AP classes – in high school and are tested on their knowledge at the end of the school year with AP exams. If they pass, a plethora of colleges and universities will be willing to accept their credits, giving them a head start in their post-secondary education and potentially allowing them to earn their degree faster so they don’t have to pay all of the exorbitant price that a four-year college education costs. However, if a student fails their AP exam, they get no credit, and all of their studying and hard work was in vain. As a result, the stakes were high and many students were spending hours and hours agonizing over their notes, even going so far as to skip school to have more time to study. Though every student may not feel confident in their performance, everyone who took AP exams is at least glad that they are over. We interviewed some Briar Woods students who took the AP exams to get an authentic, firsthand perspective on how the college-level tests went.

“I feel like the school, at least the teachers here, had a decent AP curriculum that was tough enough where it felt stressful in the moment, but it actually made the testing easier than anticipated. It just felt like an SOL that had less time,” said Devin Forrester, who took AP exams in US History and Language and Composition, “[I’m happy the tests are over], all the AP classes are kind of easy right now. I feel like I’ve gotten through the [AP] curriculum, and I’m one step closer to the light of summer.”

“I think I did well. I got extra time to study [for the AP US History exam] because I had COVID the first time around,” said junior Ryaan Qureshi, “[I studied with] a lot of Youtube. A lot of just reviewing old slideshows. [I’m] extremely [tired], but relieved as well.”

Hopefully, all the interviewed students, as well as all the Briar Woods kids that took this year’s AP exams will achieve a passing score once the results are revealed in July. Despite their hardships, the AP exams signify the end of class curriculums, and the conclusion of the tests indicates that the end of school is on the horizon. With classes winding down and finals being completed, Briar Woods students know that summer is just around the corner, and they’re only a few weeks away from leaving behind the stresses of homework, tests, and AP exams, if only for a little while.