When I registered for AP Environment Science (APES) at the end of my junior year, I expected a fun, easy class that I could breeze through as a senior, something I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping my grade up. Unfortunately, for myself and many of my friends, that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

Don’t get me wrong—the class itself is fairly interesting. I like learning about the environment, and for an AP, the workload isn’t anything I’m not used to. The only problem for me seems to be the intricacy of the material and the tests. Do I know the nitrogen cycle? For the most part, yes.

Do I know the chemical components that go into each step and the complexities behind how it affects every aspect of the environment? I do now, but not without a rigorous 45-minute studying session with my friend, where she refused to move on until I got each step correct in its every form.

Even then, there will always be those questions that the class talked about briefly on some random Tuesday afternoon for a minute that just so happens to be half the entire test. The problem for me is that most of the time, that is exactly how each test goes every unit. It’s what makes studying for these tests so hard:I don’t know if what’s on the test is what I actually worked on in class, or if it is obscure facts that my teacher promised “wouldn’t be on the test.” I suppose I got lucky with my teacher, since she almost always tells us how many questions each topic will have. This allows me to allocate my time properly when studying, which for me means queuing 20 YouTube videos of the same subject, hoping that I remember the “fun facts” of each sedimentary cycle. 

I have a theory. Perhaps, the science department heard what students were saying about the class, and decided to up the ante this year and rise above the rumored ease of the course. This means that, unfortunately for seniors like me, APES has become the class I study the most for, but that is also one of my lowest grades. 

If you are looking for an easy AP science class, this is not for you. If you want a challenging class that is both interesting and fast paced, then I believe you would enjoy APES very much. I am still holding out hope that the “easy AP exam” whispers are still true. I guess we’ll find out in May.