For most seniors at Elder High School, the countdown to graduation has been a subject of great anticipation. As the weather has begun to get nicer, the temperature warmer, many have dropped the books altogether and stopped studying. Some, though, have had to practice self discipline in order to be mentally prepared for the two most important weeks, academically speaking, of the year: AP Week(s). The term AP is copyrighted by the College Board—the company that administers the SAT. AP is an acronym for Advanced Placement. Schools around the world offer AP classes in many different subjects. If a student scores highly enough the AP test administered at the end of the school year, he or she can get college credit. At Elder, 9 AP classes are offered: Chemistry, Computer Science, Calculus AB, English Literature and Composition, Statistics, Studio Art, Physics B, Physics C: Mechanics, and US Government. The exams for each class this year are to be administered between May 6th and May 14th. Each AP Test is broken into 2 parts: Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions (FRQs). Within each test, each section weighs a different amount into the overall grade. After the test is scored across the country, College Board executives convert students’ percentages into a 5,4,3,2, or 1 based off the overall average on the test. For example, the cutoffs for a recently released AP Stats exam are as follows: 68 points for a 5, 53 points for a 4, 40 points for a 3, 28 points for a 2, and anything lower is a 1. Most universities will grant a general credit for a score of 3 and will give credit for that particular class. As one can imagine, this time of year can be pretty stressful for most top students around the country. For Valedictorian Jacob Lindle, however, this time of year is a “walk in the park”. Lindle can often be heard proclaiming, “Don’t count the days; make the days count!” Lindle lives this maxim day in and day out, a stress free lifestyle. “The distinguished Elder faculty has prepared me so well,” explains Lindle, “that all I need to do is show up and a 5 is basically guaranteed”.