Advanced Placement Classes

[Cuddlefish!]

For Nerdfighters who have taken Advanced Placement (AP) classes to discuss their experiences and scores, and for Nerdfighters who are considering AP courses to pose any questions or concerns they have about what to expect. :)

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I only took two AP courses throughout my entire high school career:  AP Human Geography (which my entire freshman class was forced into) and AP Literature & Composition (which I took voluntarily my senior year).

 

I found Human Geography to be frightfully dull -- so much to memorize, so little to actually learn.  I didn't care a damn about it, so I didn't try and ended up with B's and C's in the class and a 2 on the exam. (If you are unaware, exam scores range from 1 to 5 with 5 being "extremely well qualified" and 1 indicating no qualification whatsoever.)

 

AP Literature, on the other hand, was by far the class for me.  We read short stories, essays, poems, and novels with actual intellectual content!!!  Twilight was never once a subject, except when discussing the differences between literary fiction and commercial fiction.  I got top marks on all my essays and a 5 five on the exam. :)

 

If you have no interest in the subject of an AP class you're considering, you probably shouldn't take it.  Yes, it will boost your GPA if you pass, but if you don't...  I wouldn't approach AP Calculus without a flamethrower and a biohazard suit.  Rule of thumb, if it's a class you think you'd have trouble in at the normal level, don't take AP.  Challenging yourself is all well and good as long as you're not beating your head against your desk mid-semester, praying for a way out.

[Olivia]

I heard that Pre-calc is harder than Calculus. My school only had AP Calc, so I don't know about yours...

[Captain Jacqui Sparrow]

I've been told that too. I was told it's pretty much a second year of Alg2/Trig. I was dreadful at Alg2/Trig, so that worries me, but I'm blaming the teacher for being shitty because for one quarter once soccer season was over I had a 97 average in her class.

I was told that AP Calc is easier than College Calc, but the person who told me that was like, 3rd in his class or something, so he's actually good at math.

If I pass both pre-calc and calc, I'll have a whole year of college math out of the way, which is nice.

[Daphne (Fred)]

I'll be taking APUSH in the fall, and I'm really quite excited for it. I've never taken an AP course before. I've heard that the teacher is a total bore, but I'm hoping the class will still be good.

[Kathleen Konno]

APUSH is a good starter AP, because you feel the stress of being in an AP class, but you don't feel depressed about yourself and how you'll never amount to anything (like Spanish). That being said, the workload is INSANE (and yes, I had the same teacher Jacqui is going to have, so... yeah you get a helluva lot during the summer). Most schools, with the exception of ours, put major emphasis on the essays, so prepare to write like you've never written before. At our school, the main amount of work is done with identifications, which just define major events, people, and places. These identifications are essential later on, though, so if your teacher doesn't make you do any, I would recommend you do some definitions anyway. They help to jog your memory for fact specific questions and keep you organized.
As for the test... it's not too in-depth like they make you believe. It's definitely manageable as long as you review a lot beforehand. Overall, it's a great AP to take.

[Dana]

Taking Chem and Modern Euro APs next year... any thoughts on either?

[Captain Jacqui Sparrow]

I'm jealous that your school offers Chem.
I took the regular HS-level chemistry class this year, and wanted to take AP next year, but they cancelled it on me. So yeah, I'm pretty jealous lol. I heard the exam is really hard though, so I wish you luck!

I'd like to take AP Euro, but my school has never offered it. It makes me sad, but I'm taking AP US next year, so at least I'll be able to take some sort of AP History.

[Sana Madonna]

I never had a chance to take AP Chem but AP Euro was one of my favorite classes! DBQ's can be stressful and there are some pretty boring sections, but overall it's definitely worth it (especially cause my Uni gave me 8 credits for it!). The way our teacher taught it, we were just assigned 50-page chapters every week along with supplemental readings and as long as you read everything, you did well. :) Good luck!

[Mari-Alice]

I have taken a few AP classes and I strongly reccomend them (within reason) to fellow nerds.The tests are hard, but what fun is it to take an easy test? Where is the challenge in that? I have taken AP Eng and Lang, AP US History, and AP Lit. For some wierd reason my school offers AP US History and AP European History, but not AP World history. To pass an AP testyou have to be able to do one of two things, be a stellar at mutiple choice or BS your way through an amazing essay. If your fantasti at both, you hav nothing to worry about. :] Best Wishes.

[Charlotte Hutchens]

I took APUSH and got a 5. I loved the class and the exam wasn't as bad as I was fretting.

I took AP Lit and Comp my senior year because I thought I was going to major in English during college, then I realized halfway through the course that I wanted nothing to do with it and sort of gave up. I ended up with a three on the exam (enough to waive my freshman WRA's so fine with me!), partially due to the fact that I had given up and partially due to the fact that I'd had a water polo game the previous night in what had to be the most chlorinated pool I had ever swam in and the chlorine destroyed my eyes. I had to take drops into the exam.

I really wanted to take WHAP but at my school it was only open to sophomores and they started teaching it my junior year.

[Sabrina Horrack]

My AP euro homework is killing me today... We have our first test tomorrow, and there are 9 pages of notes due as well.... Oh the joy... AP stats is extremely easy though, and those two are the only AP classes I'm taking this year, since they don't offer any others to sophomores at my school. I'm taking 5 or more IB/AP classes next year and senior year... It should be interesting to see what that does to my already questionable levels of sanity....

[Cory N Anderson]

Ap Human Geography was pretty boring but I passed with a 3, Same for environmental science and I passed with a 3(Both freshmen year). If you just take a bunch of AP Classes you raise the bar for yourself, I'am a sophomore and I'am taking both AP Bio and AP World History, And I'am in an AP Level spanish class but I'll take AP spanish next year.

[Sarah]

I took APUSH last year (it's offered for sophomores at my school), and it was nightmarish. I don't think it was a good choice for me, because I'm more of a math/science person. (I got a 2 on the exam.) Now, as a junior, I'm taking AP Bio because I, my parents, and my teacher all know that I'm capable of passing it if I'm willing to put the effort in. Still, it doesn't make me especially happy.