For some students, taking as many AP classes as possible is a priority when deciding on their schedules. This is done mainly to boost GPAs and impress prospective colleges by piling on advanced courses. As a result, by the time AP testing time rolls around, students often find themselves drowning in test preparation fees.

Each AP test costs $94, which is significantly cheaper what the cost would be if the same courses were taken in college. That’s one of the many reasons of why students decide to take them in the first place, along with skipping introductory classes, earning college credit, and developing college skills early.

However, the true reality is that the $94 adds up to be much more. For students taking more than just two or three AP classes, they end up paying more than $200 or $300 just on test fees. This doesn’t take into account the additional expenses factored into prep books, tutoring, and the time required for studying, which are all costly.

Also, when paying on MyPaymentsPlus, the cost has to be paid in full, meaning there’s no such thing as a payment plan over time. This can be burdensome for some parents who might find it difficult to cough up hundreds of dollars at once to pay for testing.

Not only that, there should be some thought into whether or not that particular class is even relevant to their education plans beyond high school. Why take AP Art History if you want to own a business one day?

PreAP and AP dropping season is in a couple weeks. With all of this in mind, students should think carefully about what AP classes to continue to take as well as if they’re going to take all those tests in the spring. If not, continuously filling up schedules with AP classes may not be the wisest choice to make.

Dropping classes is not a badge of shame or any sort of measure of a student’s academic capability. It just means that the class doesn’t suit the student, not vice versa. Like the old saying goes: quality over quantity.