AP Classes + SAT

[The Score]

I'm planning on taking multiple AP classes next year and am taking one this year. For anyone who has taken any AP tests, how do you prepare for them? What scores have you gotten? Which APs did you take? In 6 weeks, I am taking one of the AP tests and I'm very nervous. Looking for study strategies, support, and how to crack open AP tests considering I'm taking a lot of APs next year.

[The Score]

up ^-^

[taffy;]

im currently in ap us history. i would recc that you start looking for study
guides online. they usually have sample questions of what the test will be like, and
are easy to digest as well. kaplan ap books are also good, but sometimes can be outdated.
try looking online to find the best textbooks with the best ratings. though, i still recc
study guides more since they're much cheaper.

i don't have much else to say, since ap us history is my first ap class ^^;;;
but i hope i gave u some good tips, at least

[carianne]

AP courses are largely focused on targeting the material that the AP test will cover; if you took good notes for the class, use them to your advantage and study them closely. If you didn't, use this mistake to remind yourself to take great notes in your next AP course(s). Use any study material your teacher has given you, and if you use and online system like Blackboard, Moodle, or Google Classroom, check your class's website for resources your teacher may have posted. Beyond that, you can find sample questions, study guides, and even old AP exams that are now publicized online.

Should you get an undesirable score on the exam, I wouldn't worry about it. It's your first exam, so use the mistakes you may make to your advantage next semester. Best of luck!

[carianne]

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.

[seti]

ahh since we’re on this topic, has anyone taken an AP chemistry course? how hard is the material and how bad is the workload? i’ve signed up to take it and i’m a little worried that i won’t be able to handle it.

[carianne]

ahh since we’re on this topic, has anyone taken an AP chemistry course? how hard is the material and how bad is the workload? i’ve signed up to take it and i’m a little worried that i won’t be able to handle it.

I think it's hard to say, since AP courses vary from school to school. I would ask someone else within your own high school. My advice to utilize any chance you have to drop and replace a class, if your school allows for it. Keep an eye on the deadline for that, and spend the time you have until then gauging if you'll be able to do well in the class.

[The Score]

ahh since we’re on this topic, has anyone taken an AP chemistry course? how hard is the material and how bad is the workload? i’ve signed up to take it and i’m a little worried that i won’t be able to handle it.

AP Chemistry is considered one of the hardest classes and a lot of the people who are taking it that I know are under a lot of stress, even with or without another AP to balance out since we only have 2 APs offered this year. If you take AP Chem, don't take a bunch of other AP courses because AP Chem is really rigorous and a lot of people in AP Chem that I know are struggling to get an A in the class. Conclusion: Be careful with it, and study all of your material throughout the year instead of a month before the AP test.

[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?

[carianne]

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.