AP World History Argumentative Essay
As a child, my afternoons were filled with fun activities, whether that be classes in swimming, horseback riding, and gymnastics, or just sitting on the couch reading a book that was just released. Subjects such as college and AP classes were far from my mind. Sure I cared about doing well in school, but my concerns revolved more around the fun activities I planned outside of school.
However, as I entered high school my concerns changed greatly.
“Ugh my parents want me to take the AP and SAT II test for Chinese, the regular SATs, and I have to take three APs next year as well,” I complained to my friends. “Well, that’s not horrible, I took AP World History last year and I wanted to drop it so many times. But I mean, it looks great on my college
applications to take AP classes in middle school and my parents would have been seriously annoyed if I did drop an AP so I dealt with it. After all, I do want to go to MIT,” mentioned another one of my friends
Conversations drifted from family vacations to how many AP classes we are going to take, and how we did on the latest tests. Our childish concerns in the past faded away, and now my friends and I were set on the track to college. We were aware that every mistake we made would determine how successful we would be in the future.
However, like many Silicon Valley students living in this competitive bubble, especially at Monta Vista, one of the top schools in the nation, we have a razor-like focus on academics, ignoring all the extracurriculars we used to participate in that gave us individuality. When selecting extracurriculars, there are a few important questions most students, including me, ask.
Will this hurt my chance of academic success?
Does it look good on college applications?
How long will I have to dedicate to this?
However, as I question my older cousins and family friends about their suggestions for high school, they often suggest that I should participate in fun extracurriculars, and find ways to enjoy high school. I fully intend on following their suggestions, and enjoying my time at Monta Vista.
With a perspective, I’m Rachel Huang.
However, as I entered high school my concerns changed greatly.
“Ugh my parents want me to take the AP and SAT II test for Chinese, the regular SATs, and I have to take three APs next year as well,” I complained to my friends. “Well, that’s not horrible, I took AP World History last year and I wanted to drop it so many times. But I mean, it looks great on my college
applications to take AP classes in middle school and my parents would have been seriously annoyed if I did drop an AP so I dealt with it. After all, I do want to go to MIT,” mentioned another one of my friends
Conversations drifted from family vacations to how many AP classes we are going to take, and how we did on the latest tests. Our childish concerns in the past faded away, and now my friends and I were set on the track to college. We were aware that every mistake we made would determine how successful we would be in the future.
However, like many Silicon Valley students living in this competitive bubble, especially at Monta Vista, one of the top schools in the nation, we have a razor-like focus on academics, ignoring all the extracurriculars we used to participate in that gave us individuality. When selecting extracurriculars, there are a few important questions most students, including me, ask.
Will this hurt my chance of academic success?
Does it look good on college applications?
How long will I have to dedicate to this?
However, as I question my older cousins and family friends about their suggestions for high school, they often suggest that I should participate in fun extracurriculars, and find ways to enjoy high school. I fully intend on following their suggestions, and enjoying my time at Monta Vista.
With a perspective, I’m Rachel Huang.