AP Classes + SAT

[The Score]

Another word of advice: don't overload on AP courses. It will look good to your parents, peers, and your transcript, but it won't look good when the stress of too many AP classes gets you behind or burned out. Balance these courses with other, less intense subjects. I padded my schedule with extracurriculars such as art and orchestra classes, which still required effort but were always fun and relaxing.

Thank you so much for this, this is super important for me to remember. Are 3 AP courses too many courses, because that's what I plan to do next year. Also, which AP courses have you taken and have you gotten any 5's on them?

You're very welcome!

How many classes do you have in a semester? In my high school, we took the same seven classes all year. With that sort of schedule, three AP classes would be challenging but, for me, manageable. Again, it's all about your own academic ability and your school. If you have less classes per semester, I would think that's even better. Let's see if I can remember... I took AP U.S. Government, AP World History, AP Language and Composition, AP Human Geography, and AP Psychology, but I actually never took a single AP exam (excepting in my last year of high school) because I'm a lousy test-taker and I couldn't afford them—I had to ask myself if it was worth taking the tests, because while I did fine in these classes, it couldn't guarantee that I would do so well in these tests, and they were too expensive for me to simply fail... And now I'm in college! So, don't worry, regardless of what you do with these courses, it'll all work out.

We have the same 6 classes all throughout the year, and I want to take 2 of the hardest APs

[The Score]

I'm super stressed for my upcoming AP because I have so much to cover still and I haven't done too well on any of the practice tests

[carianne]

I'm super stressed for my upcoming AP because I have so much to cover still and I haven't done too well on any of the practice tests

I think the worst thing you can do is stress excessively about the test—that's why I consider myself a bad test-taker, because I get too anxious. Don't give up, keep studying, and remember that practice makes perfect. At the end of the day, a low score—even on an AP exam—isn't the end of the world, but I'm sure you'll do great if you keep studying.

[jengatower]

currently have a D in AP lit, mostly because i'm failing the class tests for not reading the books thoroughly + missing work. i already payed for the test so i'm probably screwed. :<
i can probably bring it up but i'm really worried about my performance.

i'm also taking AP enviro this year and it's a pretty easy class. my AP lit teacher is an actual professor in the local state university so she's a lot harder on us. i took both AP bio and lang comp last year. got a 3 on both tests.

i'm not anything special lol.

[Scottish9]

Six-time AP kid here.

Definitely take notes. And not just on scraps of paper. Have a spiral-bound notebook, or section of one, dedicated for in-class notes. Doing this in Psych and it’s saving my hide. Didn’t do this in APUSH, and things didn’t go too well.

Ask the teacher for help when you need it. In AP Bio, I was not doing well on tests. My teacher talked through a test with me and gave me some pointers, and I’ve done well since!

Her pointers:
-read the question and formulate an expected answer
-be wary and definitely consider options that are “all of the above”, “none of the above”, “etc”.

Online resources are good. Khan academy is helpful for math and science, and Bozeman Biology is great for Bio. Crash Course can also be helpful.

Those summary things at the end of each chapter? Get acquainted with those.

Review your old tests in the class to find strengths and weaknesses.

Take a 3-ring binder and use it to store handouts and other gems from your classes. File them by class, and then by concept, unit, or chronology (depending on the course). If you have some materials that apply over the entire course (like my “how to write a lab report” guide in AP Bio), stash those at the front of that class’ section in your binder.

Hope this helps and feel free to PM me with questions!

What I survived:
AP World: 4
APUSH: 4
AP Language: 5
AP Psychology: WIP
AP Staistics: WIP
AP Biology: WIP

[Seasonal]

I took AP Psychology and found it relatively easy. I mostly got high crap on my tests but I got a 5 on the exam. Reading the textbook helps so much, even if your teacher doesn't make you. Remember that the test will be the same for everyone, which means that the textbook is your number one source for information. I had never actually read a textbook before until I took an AP class, and it helped me a lot in college too. ^^ The AP Psych counted as 3 elective credits, so I was able to skip an entire college elective because of it. It really pays off in the long-run when you're trying to worry about your important classes (i.e. whatever you're majoring in).

I also took AP Biology and I got a 3. It was a hard class but my teacher curved our exams and again, I had the best scores in my class just because I read the textbook! People would always ask for my "study guides" and they would get mad at me when I told them that I just read the book. It helped me a lot in college too; I went in as a science major so I knew that the AP class wouldn't count towards any college credits, but my Biology 1 and 2 classes were essentially more in-depth versions of AP Biology, so I was able to save a lot of time and do better on my college exams.

[The Score]

I think the worst thing you can do is stress excessively about the test—that's why I consider myself a bad test-taker, because I get too anxious. Don't give up, keep studying, and remember that practice makes perfect. At the end of the day, a low score—even on an AP exam—isn't the end of the world, but I'm sure you'll do great if you keep studying.

Ahh!! I really want a five on the AP exam that I'm gonna take though!!

[The Score]

currently have a D in AP lit, mostly because i'm failing the class tests for not reading the books thoroughly + missing work. i already payed for the test so i'm probably screwed. :<
i can probably bring it up but i'm really worried about my performance.

i'm also taking AP enviro this year and it's a pretty easy class. my AP lit teacher is an actual professor in the local state university so she's a lot harder on us. i took both AP bio and lang comp last year. got a 3 on both tests.

i'm not anything special lol.

I'm planning on taking AP Bio next year, may you give me some test prep now so I can prepare for the upcoming year?

[The Score]

I took AP Psychology and found it relatively easy. I mostly got high crap on my tests but I got a 5 on the exam. Reading the textbook helps so much, even if your teacher doesn't make you. Remember that the test will be the same for everyone, which means that the textbook is your number one source for information. I had never actually read a textbook before until I took an AP class, and it helped me a lot in college too. ^^ The AP Psych counted as 3 elective credits, so I was able to skip an entire college elective because of it. It really pays off in the long-run when you're trying to worry about your important classes (i.e. whatever you're majoring in).

I also took AP Biology and I got a 3. It was a hard class but my teacher curved our exams and again, I had the best scores in my class just because I read the textbook! People would always ask for my "study guides" and they would get mad at me when I told them that I just read the book. It helped me a lot in college too; I went in as a science major so I knew that the AP class wouldn't count towards any college credits, but my Biology 1 and 2 classes were essentially more in-depth versions of AP Biology, so I was able to save a lot of time and do better on my college exams.

I want to take AP Bio next year, may you help me prepare? I want to take other AP classes so I really want to start now so I'm not as stressed next year as I am over one class right now. I have been reading the textbook, too. Did you read the Barron's textbook?

[The Score]

Good luck to all the AP Test takers! Good luck to the AP Chem students!!!