Well, ap classes is definitely a lot more homework. But i mean, for me it wasnt that much of a challenge. You just have to be prepared to know that theres a lot more work. Well, as far as like, the actual like work load its a lot, but its nothing thats like, too hard. You just have to make sure you Pay Attention, youre on top of your stuff. No question about it. Ap classes are hard. More is demanded from you, and theyre a lot more work than regular classes. So why take aps . I think its a good way to challenge yourself, especially going into, you know, after high school theres college. And thats pretty much a big transition, since its a heavier workload going into college. So i think its like, a good experience. And then it gets you prepared. I think that people take ap classes to boost their gpa and to get into a better college. So that hopefully that you can pass them and not have to take them in college. Well, aps count for college credits, so thats obviously a benefit. And theyre just more challenging classes if youre looking for that. Good point. Most experts say the advantages of aps are they challenge you. Since ap grades count more than regular grades, they could boost your gpa. They may help you to get into a better college. They prepare you for the level of work you need to do in college. And you may save money by Getting College credit or scholarships. However, not everyone believes aps are worth it. Some say students can become overwhelmed by all the work. Then theres the expense. To get credit for aps, you have to take ap tests, and those cost about 100 each. But probably the strongest argument is that some colleges are no longer granting credit for aps. In fact, dartmouth now says that its not giving credit towards graduation for ap classes. So are aps worth it . When teen kids news continues, well get advice from an expert. Well be right back. [announcer] closed captioning is brought to you by. bright guitar music were continuing our report on the pros and cons of taking ap classes in high school. Joining us is a regular guest on teen kids news, rob franek. Hes a College Prep Expert from the princeton review. Welcome back, rob. Good to be back. Thanks for the invitation. Are aps overrated . I dont think aps are overrated. In my mind, there are three things that happen when you take an ap course. One, youre given the opportunity to make admission counselors who are gonna be reviewing your application very happy, because youre answering this question. Did you challenge yourself in high school . Two, it can earn you some course credit when youre in school. And three, it could qualify you for Better Placement when youre actually matriculating into college, to get into a more advanced course. Just so were clear, whats the difference between aps and honors classes . Its a good question, and generally speaking there are just Different Levels of academic rigor that most High School Students get to choose when theyre picking their high school courses. Regular level courses, advanced or honors level courses, and ap courses. So ap being the crown and the most competitive for most schools. Can you explain how getting a good grade in an ap class can boost your gpa . Certainly. When thinking about ap courses alone, many of them are weighted differently for a Typical High School and a High School Students gpa. So lets say, for example, that most High School Students in america are given grades on a 4. 0 scale. Some courses, ap courses might be one of them, might be on that 5. 0 scale. So they are simply weighted differently because of the rigor of those courses, different from an advanced course or a regular level course. Does that mean, then, that a student can get a b in an ap class and still have a 4. 0 gpa . Absolutely. Students can still get a b and have a 4. 0 gpa. And i think that thats important, but i also think that the most important thing in taking an ap course, or really any of those advanced courses, is that it answers that question for admissions counselors and admissions committees. And that question is, did you challenge yourself with rigorous course work in high school . And if youre taking the most rigorous courses, then the answer to that question is always yes. And it will reflect in a very positive light for you on your College Application to that school. Can you give us some insight on what an ap test is like . Sure. I mean, ap tests, and students that were broadcasting to now will certainly know this. There are multiple choice questions. Some questions are going to be short answer questions. Ap exams might have a performance or an art package that students might have to review for that, as well. But generally speaking, multiple choice questions and open, short answer questions typically are on the ap exam. If i want to take aps, how many do you suggest . Thats a good question and one that comes up pretty often. Heres the simple answer. Theres no perfect number of ap courses to take. You should never overload yourself with more ap courses than you think that you can handle. A lot of students think that you can actually save money in college by taking ap courses. Is that true . Its true in part. And theres a couple of ways that ap courses are very attractive. We talked about a couple of them before. Advanced placement, so placing out of particular course work once youre enrolling in college. And theres some offset of some credits. But generally speaking, students that are fulltime enrolled in a college, theres going to be value by way of placement rather than dollars put back in your pocket. So in your opinion, do the pros of taking aps outweigh the cons . Absolutely. Ap courses are a coup for students, for all of the reasons that we talked about. Its very attractive from an admission perspective, to please that admission counselor and that admission committee. It can also make us as students more attractive to earning scholarship dollars, the grant and meritbased dollars before that we were talking about, based on the academic rigor of our courses. And aps are generally the crowning jewel in that category. Great advice. As always, thanks for speaking with us, rob. Youre sort of teen kids newss very own inhouse ap guru. You guys are great, and thank you so much. Since getting into the top colleges is so competitive, most of us will no doubt do whatever we can to increase our chances. But if youre only taking aps in hopes of reducing tuition, you should first check out which schools will still give credit. For teen kids news, im amelia. In make the grade, ill show you an easy way to build your vocabulary. Teen kids news will be right back. Want to do well in school . My advice is to take all the advice you can get. Heres christin with some tips to help you make the grade. To build your vocabulary, you need to persevere. Thats todays word, persevere. It means to be constant to a purpose, even in the face of obstacles. Heres one way you can persevere in building a great vocabulary. When you encounter a word you dont know, take a moment to look it up. But just looking it up isnt enough. You need to learn it. So add it to your calendar, say, a week or two ahead. Persevere. Persevere. When that day rolls around, see if you remember what the word means. If you do, congratulations. Youve mastered a new word. If you dont remember it, look it up again. And now, make it your word for the day. Use it as often as possible. Thats a great way to persevere in putting it into your memory. Im christin, persevering towards helping you make the grade. Ever take a close look at your state flag . You should, because you might be surprised at how much you can learn from it. rhythmic percussion music in 1796, tennessee became our 16th state. America now stretched west to the shores of the mississippi river. Then in 1812, the United States went to war with britain again. Many tennesseans volunteered to fight for their new country. They were commanded by general, and soon to be president , andrew jackson. That patriotic spirit earned tennessee its nickname, the volunteer state. But another 80 years would pass before it got its own state flag. This is one of my favorite flags because its simple. It uses red, white, and blue, and its a design actually that was submitted by a soldier named leroy reeves. And the three stars represent the three parts of the state of tennessee. Theres western tennessee, between the tennessee and mississippi rivers; theres middle tennessee, which is known for the Tennessee River and also bluegrass country; and then the Great Smoky Mountains are in the eastern part of tennessee, and thats what the third star is meant to represent. The design celebrates unity, by enclosing all three stars within a circle. And the red, white, and blue colors celebrate tennessees unity with america. A distinctive blue edging ensures the flag can be easily recognized, even on days when theres no breeze to unfurl it. With flag facts, im harry. bright orchestral music theyve led the country. How much do you know about them . Heres this weeks chance for you to guess the president. He was a football star at the university of michigan. He led the country after the firstever resignation by a president , richard nixon. Nixon left office because of a scandal. He forged a Nuclear Weapons agreement with our cold war rival, the soviet union. And he fought rising prices with a program called whip inflation now, win. So do you know who it was . Our 38th president , gerald r. Ford. He was criticized for making the unpopular decision to pardon president nixon. But though he lost his campaign to stay in office, he was praised for healing the country. With guess the president , im luke. This message about drinking and driving is brought to you by the National Road safety foundation. funky dance music cool party what do you guys wanna drink . Can i have a headon collision with a concussion twist . brakes squealing make mine a fatal accident with no survivors. brakes squealing [girl] and you . A designated driver, please. You know, just a bottle of water. Awesome. Youre a lifesaver. bright guitar music bright funky music weve got to take a quick break, but well be right back with more teen kids news. Can be lifesaving. Thats why knowing first aid is so important. Heres a tip from the american red cross. gentle bright guitar music attila the hun, jazz musician tommy dorsey, and the man who wrote the play streetcar named desire, tennessee williams. They all had one thing in common, they choked to death. Choking is very common, and with the proper training you can learn how to help someone who might be choking. What is choking . Choking occurs when something gets stuck in your throat. How do you know if someones choking . If they cant make any noise, they cant cough, speak, breathe, then theyre choking. They might even be making the universal choking sign. But its important to know that if somebodys coughing or making any sort of speaking sound, theyre not actually choking yet. Its just the body trying to get the object out. So what do we do . Ive brought my friend cami here. Shes gonna help us learn what to do if somebody is conscious and choking. So first, i need to make sure shes choking. Shes not making any sound. Are you choking, cami . She might nod or make a big face at me. Im gonna tell someone else to call 911 because i wanna make sure help is on the way. And i am going to place one of my arms across her chest and have her bend forward, all the way at the waist. And im gonna find a spot right in between her shoulder blades, and give five really forceful back blows right in between the shoulder blades. Im not actually giving cami back blows because shes not actually choking, but in real life it would be really forceful. And if that doesnt work, im gonna have her stand up. Im gonna ask her, can you show me your belly button . Just point to it, perfect. Im gonna make a fist. Thumb side of my fist goes right above her belly button. Grab my fist with the other hand, and im gonna give five abdominal thrusts to force air underneath the object. Its like a j or a scooping motion when youre actually giving the abdominal thrust. If that doesnt work, i would go back and forth, back and forth between the back blows and abdominal thrusts to try and get the object out until the ambulance arrives. Wanna give it a shot . Yeah, sure. Come on over. Okay, so weve confirmed shes choking. Weve sent someone to call 911. Take one of your arms all the way across, and have her do what . Bend over for me, please. Great. And between the shoulder blades right up here, great. And it would be one, two, three, four, five. Great, and that didnt work, so stand her up. What do we need to find . Her bellybutton. Great. Yes, beautiful. Good, and how many . Five. Okay, so one, two, three, four, five. Great, and hopefully that works. Unless, if it doesnt, you keep going until the emts get there. And how are you feeling now, cami . A lot better. Choking is no joke. You need to act fast. Its literally a matter of life and breath. For tkn, im alexa. You can find more first aid tips by following the link on our website, teenkidsnews. Com. playful bouncy music this is called the starry night. Its one of the most wellknown paintings by the dutch artist vincent van gogh. The scene is of the town of saintremy in the south of france. It might surprise you to learn that when van gogh painted this peaceful scene, his life was anything but peaceful. In fact, van gogh was a patient in an insane asylum in the same town. During his year in the asylum, he painted more than 100 pictures of the area, as well as of the asylum itself. Sadly, mental problems dogged van gogh much of his life. Hes the artist famous for cutting off part of his ear, supposedly in a fit of depression. So apparently van goghs nights and days were anything but starry. With art smart, im katie. To snack or not to snack, that is the question. audience applauding well, actually its not. But with apologies to shakespeare, we really should be asking, what are the right snacks . And when should we eat them . Most of us already know what the right snacks are. For example, fruits; veggies like carrots; nuts, especially almonds and walnuts; string cheese; and peanut butter. These types of foods provide you with natural sugars, healthier fats and oils, and they give you some fiber. Be sure to Pay Attention to portion size. A handful of nuts is healthy. An entire bowl of nuts is, well, nutty, i guess. What you really need to be careful of are processed foods, things like candy, chips, and other snacks that have bad fats and oils as well as hidden sugars. When and why you snack is also important. Sometimes we eat just because were sad, bored, or even angry. Keep your emotions in check. Ask yourself, do i really need this snack . Am i really hungry . Thats what we call eating mindfully. Also, be mindful of going too long without eating. Too many of us think well be healthier if we skip all snacks. [margaret] if youre waiting four to six hours without eating a meal, thats probably too long and youre gonna end up overeating. Snacking is one of lifes little rewards. If youre a typical, active teen, theres nothing wrong with snacks. Just do it wisely. As shakespeare wrote in julius caesar, et tu, frute . Actually, he never said that, but he couldve. For teen kids news, im daniella. bright funky music learning how to create things with balloons is a great skill to have. Its also a great way for a teen to make some extra money. Sandi masori, americas top balloon expert and author of the diy balloon hat bible, shows us how. So youve said that a great place for a teen to set up to sell balloons is in a public place like a park. What do you think is the best sculpture to make there . Well, i personally love hats. Hats are so visual, so colorful, and they become a walking advertisement. Right. And the thing is, being an entrepreneur is not just having the skills to make money, but also knowing, its a little bit of marketing, knowing where to go. So a park is a great place. And how do you know if the park is gonna be busy enough . I mean, one, if youve got a good visual when you pull in, you can see if theres kids there. But another way to know is if there are, if theres an Ice Cream Truck there. Or if theres several Ice Cream Trucks there. Theres some parks in my area where there are like three or four Ice Cream Trucks because they are so busy, so you know theres gonna be a ton of kids there. And as soon as you make the first balloon hat and a kid walks away with it, youre gonna draw a crowd. So you might even, you know, call a kid over and make the first one for free. Not, not looking for tips or anything like that, because theyre gonna be your billboard to get you more. So im gonna show you just a simple hat, a two balloon hat. Really effective, but really simple. So we start with a fullyinflated balloon. It has a good burp. Let some air out, so its not too tight. And were gonna put a bubble in the end, and then im gonna wrap it around your head. We always wanna measure the head of the person were gonna put it on. And then im just gonna squeeze and twist. So this is what i would call a basic stick hat, right . We just have the stick going up, and then we have the hat. Now im gonna take a second balloon, and im just gonna twist, make a little bubble, and twist it onto the stick or the bubble at the bottom of it. And now im gonna spiral these two together, just like that, and squeeze and twist. And im gonna bring this extra piece here to the back of the hat. Im gonna make a bubble, and squeeze and twist. And then im just gonna kind of bend it a little bit and shape it. And so here we have something thats really fast, easy, fun, and will bring your crowd to you. Cool. And there are countless hat designs. Theyre only limited by your imagination and skill. For teen kids news, im emily. Well, that brings teen kids news to an end for this week. Thanks for joining us. See you next week. bright guitar music [announcer] write to us at info teenkidsnews. Com. Heres a shoutout to pr newswire for including teen kids news on their big screen in times square, new york city. We are fox sports. Victorious. One goal. A single desire simply articulateed. So much on the line for both these teams. N this day, it will take a little extra. The stakes are high. Marcus allen takes it to the house. Thats why you come to penn state to be part of the bigtime