OnRamps, AP and ACC: the three types of courses that accumulate all of our stress, literally. There are so many classes that Bowie offers, but if I am being completely honest, when January roles around and the choice sheets are handed out, I become extremely confused and I’m sure I am not the only one.

A career is what most of us all want, whether it’s starting college, mission work, traveling abroad, or getting a job, but to do this, we must get over these tough high school years. Taking rigorous coursework such as dual-credit ACC, AP and OnRamps classes play an important role in our success.

The competition for college admissions is intense. It’s a long process and there are many bumps you will face. In my opinion starting your college career starts as early as your sophomore year in high school when you can start taking your AP classes. AP classes are college-level courses offered in high school, if you score a good score on the AP test you are eligible for college credit. This is an amazing opportunity for kids who have an interest in attending college to start early, although some AP classes are difficult, I am extremely glad that AISD schools provide them.

Not only do AP classes provide college credit, but they also save a lot of money compared to the same course you would have taken in college. However, a downfall I have noticed about the course is that scoring a three or higher can be hard on the AP test especially for people who are not good test takers. I wish that college credit was given to those who finished the course with a specific minimum grade, and another con is that it takes a lot of your time outside of school but at the end of the day, it is an advanced placement class.

The University of Texas, the school that many of us including myself would love to attend, provides its own college credit class that can be transferred to many other colleges. I personally haven’t taken any OnRamps classes yet, but I have heard many things. The first of many things I have heard is that your assignments are graded by UT professors. This can be a bad thing because if you get stuck with a tough professor you may end up with a not so good grade.

Although you may not get the best grade at times, you are taking a college credit course in high school, this can potentially prepare you for classes that you will have to take in college. There are many classes that are offered by UT OnRamps and Bowie, such as English 3, Pre-Calculus, and Physics. Like I said before, there are so many options that our school provides, which is amazing because we are open to so many more opportunities.

Last but not least, ACC Dual Credit. Similarly to UT On-Ramps, ACC provides college credit courses for high school students. There are pros and cons to taking ACC as well. A con is that it is led by a ACC professor, which could be a good thing or bad thing because they aren’t like high school teachers who would curve your 89 to a 90. A pro of taking ACC classes is that they are more flexible in my opinion; you can take them over the summer or during the school year a couple times a week.  They also aren’t as much work as AP classes, but don’t get me wrong, you still have to try since it’s a college class.

Despite the cons of each course, I would recommend taking these rigorous classes and to be quite honest I’m still learning good and bad things about each one, but at the end of the day AISD provides good classes and we should take an advantage of that.