Advancing Student Potential

How college-level courses benefit Senior School students beyond Advanced Placement

SINCE INTRODUCING its first Advanced Placement (AP) course in 2002, HSC has seen more and more students write the U.S.-based College Board’s postsecondary-level exams each spring. Why such growth in the courses that resemble early university study? AP Chemistry teacher Yasmine Abdelaal credits both the calibre of the coursework and the talents of HSC students. “In my AP classes, students run labs that function more like the ones at university or college,” she says. By those standards, the AP program is yet another way HSC lives up to its promise of inspiring students to reach their full potential.

Eight out of a possible 36 AP classes are offered at HSC, which administers the three-hour exam for each subject in May every year. AP Coordinator Carol Mulvey explains the strategy for choosing which courses are added to the Senior School’s academic calendar. “We evaluate the capacity and capabilities of our students to ensure the courses we offer apply to their interests.” And, she adds, there are only so many hours available in the school day. In 2022, 55 HSC students challenged the AP exams, some of which involve coursework not taught at HSC. Students who are keen to write AP exams for courses that HSC does not offer can do so through independent study, says Mulvey. “We offer guidance in those scenarios and will facilitate the exams for students as needed.”

While high scores on some AP exams can count towards credits at many colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, HSC teachers discourage students from treating the AP classes as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. Michal Hodal, who teaches AP Physics, recommends that even his top-performing students not skip out on any first-year course during their post-secondary studies because “there are crucial aspects of those classes that AP won’t teach.” Hodal also steers clear of the idea put forward by the College Board that Advanced Placement can help students, in its words, “stand out on applications” to post-secondary institutions. “HSC’s AP students are not in it to pad their resume; they have a genuine desire to learn as much about the subject as they can,” says Hodal.

Jessica Wilkins, who teaches AP English, shares Hodal’s sentiment, and adds that the students enrolled in her classes aren’t there to get ahead; rather, “they’re the kids who go home after school and read a novel in their free time.” She credits HSC for doing a good job of ensuring students are challenged, without creating a culture of competition.

Grade 12 student Andrew Kang says he enjoys his AP classes both for their academic rigour and deeper exploration of critical thinking. “I’m able to, depending on the course, lay a stronger foundation for my future academic pursuits, or simply more deeply satiate my curiosities.” Academic Prefect Abby Au attributes much of the value of AP to other students in the class who, like her, want a challenge and are passionate about the subject. “I learn a lot from my teachers but also from my peers who ask questions based on their worldview and draw connections to other branches of the subject that I may not have considered.” With a perspective like that, it’s easy to see why so many students are choosing AP.