Some say AP is more difficult than Sierra

   There is one question that lingers in most high school students’ minds: how can I make my college application stand out? One way for students to stand out is to take college courses at a junior college, like Sierrra College.

   Not only can students boost their Grade Point Average, but they can also free up a period in their schedule at Granite Bay High School.

   Right now, most classes are only $26 for high school students. There are many advantages for taking classes at Sierra College because of its wide array of classes.

   “It is good for students with a busy schedule,” GBHS counselor Walt Wild said.

   Although taking college courses looks good on college applications, these classes go up against GBHS Advanced Placement classes which give students the same GPA increase. In most cases, if the same class is offered at GBHS and Sierra College, students are more likely to get a better education at GBHS.

   “You will generally get a better education (at GBHS), and that is the most important thing,” Wild said.

   “Based on feedback from students who have taken courses at Sierra College I do believe, in most cases, that Sierra courses are easier than our (Advanced Placement) or International Baccalaureate) version of those courses,” GBHS counselor Paul Stordahl said. “The difficulty of any course can be significantly impacted by the instructor of the course.”

      The controversy is that students can still receive the GPA boost that an honors or AP class has by taking college classes that are not necessarily as difficult. The fact that students are going to Sierra to get an easy ride is upsetting to many students who take classes at GBHS.

   GBHS junior Dominic De Marco took Psychology and US History 17B at Sierra College.  When asked if the classes at Sierra College were hard compared to classes at GBHS, he said, “Not even close, we never even had homework.”

         US History 17B is two nights a week for one semester, and Psychology is four days a week for six weeks. “Some days (the professors) didn’t even show up to class,” De Marco said. “They had a serious lack of commitment.”

   Students have a better chance or attaining more knowledge at GBHS because of the rapid pace of Sierra courses. “We have a great staff,” Wild said. 

   The classes that are most popular among Granite Bay students are US History 17B, which about 53 GBHS students have taken, and Sociology 1/Physiology 1, which 30 GBHS students have taken.  About 10 people have taken Economics 1A and Political Science.

   There are currently about 100 students who have taken Sierra classes that will go on their transcripts.

   “There are more students who have taken classes at Sierra but many times the courses they take are not approved in our district to be placed on the high school transcripts,” Stordahl said.

   In the end, taking AP classes at GBHS is the best way to go for learning as much as possible. On the other hand, Sierra is easy to fit in for students with a busy schedule.

   Either way, students will be able to get the grade bump they desire. But the difficulty level (or the lack of) for some of the classes at Sierra College is becoming more well known, so it might only be a matter of time until these classes are added to the ‘unapproved’ list by the district.