Minnetonka High School students take many college level courses. Our school allows students to take a flurry of AP, IB, and VANTAGE/MOMENTUM classes within the building to earn college credit and boost their applications. Participants take on rigorous coursework that transcends high school level academics. However, the level of difficulty isn’t the same across the selection of college-level options.

AP Physics 1 can be taken by incoming freshmen from the accelerated science track. It requires already having learned the 9th grade science curriculum the year before and knocks out the physics requirement commonly filled by 12th-graders. This makes it possible to teach some “really abstract concepts” (Sasha Shukalovich, ‘25) and generally complex material to freshmen. However, Shukalovich also mentioned some of her classmates struggled with the teaching style. AP Physics is only offered to already accelerated students but still offers a very difficult introduction to college-level classes.

AP U.S. History (or APUSH) is a history course offered to 10th-grade students and often serves as a sharp step up from AP Human Geography. The class mainly consists of dense note taking that tests a students ability to remember key concepts, dates, people, and legislation. “It’s difficult to remember the timeline of events and when they happened,” Emerson Morgan, ‘27, noted. When it comes to overcoming these difficulties, there are many supplemental YouTube channels such as Adam Norris or Heimler’s History for good review. Morgan’s advice is to write a timeline for categorizing events within a unit before every exam.

AP Chemistry is usually taken by 10th-grade students, and is a class chock full of never ending equations and complicated concepts. According to Mark Turcotte, ‘26, “it was a mixture of mathematical knowledge and conceptual knowledge that had to be done very particularly,” and is not for those who struggle with memorization. For conquering this complicated class, Turcotte recommends closely reviewing specific laws and lessons, and practicing questions many times.

Minnetonka High School encourages all students to take an AP or IB class, but your options are not limited to these three. The Skipper Log provides a list of all of the courses offered with descriptions of content covered and prerequisites. With registration around the corner, now’s the time to weigh your options.