AP Exams Season

AP tests are incredibly easy. Do not overestimate them, but also do not overestimate their potential worth. Yes, good AP scores have allowed me to skip out of a few classes at a good university, but I was only able to actually use half of my AP credits to get out of classes. Also, the argument about saving money does not hold up in my opinion. I pay for university the same price for 12 credits as I do for 20 credits (12 is the minimum credits to be enrolled as a full time student while after 20 credits per semester I have to pay an extra fee). Even with AP scores I will still graduate in 4 years, not 3.5 years or anything like that. I still am taking on average 18 credits per semester, so even with AP credits I am not saving any money.

Also my school only accepts 5's generally, with some exceptions for 4's if the class is outside your major and subject to other requirements.

ticklishmusic United States. April 24 2012 23:14. Posts 3236

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On April 24 2012 22:52 cerka wrote:
AP tests are incredibly easy. Do not overestimate them, but also do not overestimate their potential worth. Yes, good AP scores have allowed me to skip out of a few classes at a good university, but I was only able to actually use half of my AP credits to get out of classes. Also, the argument about saving money does not hold up in my opinion. I pay for university the same price for 12 credits as I do for 20 credits (12 is the minimum credits to be enrolled as a full time student while after 20 credits per semester I have to pay an extra fee). Even with AP scores I will still graduate in 4 years, not 3.5 years or anything like that. I still am taking on average 18 credits per semester, so even with AP credits I am not saving any money.

Also my school only accepts 5's generally, with some exceptions for 4's if the class is outside your major and subject to other requirements.

I skipped my AP chem test for a scholarship interview... I got the scholarship, but it was only for a couple grand, which is probably how much my first semester gen chem class was worth. In retrospect, maybe I should have taken the AP exam, would have saved myself a lot of grief first semester.

But if you come in with transfer credit, it lets you take classes you want or makes a minor or double much easier. If you want to only take 12 hours, then that's your own choice really. My school only accepted 24 hours (6 credits), but it put a decent dent in my GER (which I think are pretty silly). It makes my bio/bus major possible though.

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paralleluniverse Australia. April 24 2012 23:17. Posts 2972

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As an outsider, can someone fill me in on the rationale for having AP tests? Isn't the point of an AP subject that it is equivalent to a first year university subject? But then what's the point of the first year university subject?

Surely it would be more sensible for year 12 to focus on year 12 content, and the first year of university to focus on first year content.

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scarper65 April 24 2012 23:39. Posts 1244

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I'm a sophomore and I'm getting really freaked out about my AP World History exam. Has anyone else experienced this test?

Whatson United States. April 25 2012 01:49. Posts 4463

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On April 24 2012 23:39 scarper65 wrote:
I'm a sophomore and I'm getting really freaked out about my AP World History exam. Has anyone else experienced this test?

It wasn't THAT bad...

unichan United States. April 25 2012 01:54. Posts 2989

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On April 24 2012 23:39 scarper65 wrote:
I'm a sophomore and I'm getting really freaked out about my AP World History exam. Has anyone else experienced this test?

I got a 3 because I didn't know anything lol. TBH a lot universities don't take it - it's a pretty useless exam. A lot of the stuff they test is kind of arbitrary so there's no guarantee what score you'll get. For example, I probably deserved a 1 but I got a 3. I wrote like 1/3 page for each free response because. Someone needs to tell people which AP exams are worth taking because no one finds out until after they apply to college when the info is pmuch worthless, lol

amazingxkcd United States. April 25 2012 01:57. Posts 2705

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Well, I got 5 AP exams this year

AP Physics C (Both Mechanics and E&M)
AP Stats
AP Micro
AP Macro

So good luck, Study Efficiently, and have fun to you all!

Last edit: 2012-04-25 01:58:34

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Livelovedie United States. April 25 2012 02:30. Posts 140

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Got 6 exams... I've pretty much blown them off but I did that last year and got a 4 and a 5 on the two I took.
Taking Stats, Bio, Literature, Euro, Government, Macro

micronesia United States. April 25 2012 02:36. Posts 19347

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If anyone has questions during their preparation for the AP Physics B Exam feel free to pm me; I teach the course.

On April 24 2012 09:24 -MoOsE- wrote:
Physics B (this one i don't care about anymore because you start off in the calculus based physics so my score doesn't matter).

Even if you don't get placed out of a physics class or don't want to get placed out, doing well will still likely get you elective credit which can't hurt.

On topic: AP exams are so easy you can be illiterate, unable to do basic math, and unconscious, and still get a 5 on every single one of them. (yes that's an exaggeration of what some people always sounds like in these discussions lol)

Last edit: 2012-04-25 02:36:54

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DarkPlasmaBall United States. April 25 2012 02:36. Posts 19998

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As a math tutor, I'm getting tons of AP Calc and AP Stats students who are preparing to take the AP math exams by begging me to teach them the entire course.

Quite frankly, if you've been doing decently well in an AP class and actually followed the material, you'll do just fine. If you haven't been paying attention, then you probably have a little to worry about.

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darthfoley United States. May 03 2012 04:14. Posts 2233

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Just took IB Psychology paper 1. think i did extremely well, writing + psych has always been a strong suit of mine.

IB tests are so much more in depth and fun to answer than AP's lol.

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fritfrat United States. May 03 2012 04:25. Posts 50

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On April 24 2012 23:17 paralleluniverse wrote:
As an outsider, can someone fill me in on the rationale for having AP tests? Isn't the point of an AP subject that it is equivalent to a first year university subject? But then what's the point of the first year university subject?

Surely it would be more sensible for year 12 to focus on year 12 content, and the first year of university to focus on first year content.

I guess the biggest thing is that there really is no established curriculum for students in the United States- there really is no "year 12 content," per se. Education here is very unequal- what people can be learning in 9th grade at one school is what others are learning in 12th at another that is better off.
You could say that before AP exams, colleges just taught the basic classes to everyone, regardless of background, so everyone was on the same page going forward. The exams allow those who are more advanced to show it to universities so they can place into the advanced classes their first year, giving them more flexibility for electives and other majors.

I think in general AP tests are a very good thing. Giving all high schools a set curriculum would either leave the bad schools/students overwhelmed or the good schools/students bored. It also is a very measurable way of assessing how well a school is doing besides just ACT/SAT scores. The biggest downside is that we now have a for-profit company who administers these tests essentially setting the curriculum for a good portion of the country- if they feel like something is or is not important, classes adjust accordingly, and that's a lot of power for one company to have over an entire country's education system!

Last edit: 2012-05-03 04:31:21

MiStAh United States. May 03 2012 04:31. Posts 95

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Senior : Calculus AB
I'm so scared, I just took my final that is supposed to be similar to the AP and it was difficult T_T.

synapse China. May 03 2012 04:36. Posts 6921

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On April 24 2012 09:17 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:

Show nested quote +

False. Some universities accept only 5s on AP tests for college credit (exempting you from an entire introductory college course, saving you thousands of dollars). Some universities accept 4s and 5s. Some universities (usually the less prestigious ones) accept 3s or higher. It's vital to know which colleges have what standards, as you could save tens of thousands of dollars by merely taking these exams seriously.

Yep--my school only accepts 5s on pretty much everything (I think 4 on music theory is okay). I can finish undergrad in 3 years rather than 4 (saving a whole year's worth of tuition), all thanks to getting 5's my APs.

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BreakfastBurrito United States. May 03 2012 04:48. Posts 669

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chem was far and away a million times harder for me than history or human geo. Only have government this year, im in macroeconomics but our teacher fucks around all the time. For example, we watched castaway yesterday instead of doing any work, and this happens all the time. I could grab a barrons book, but frankly i just dont want to do it- its outside of my major and not worth my time, unlike gov, which i will prep for.
one mistake i made was overdoing the AP tests, when chem wont even transfer because its not in my major at all

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Sweatshop May 03 2012 04:49. Posts 47

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taking AP LANGCOMP, AP Calc BC, and AP Micro

Only worried about Calc BC tbh, LANGCOMP theres really no way to study for and I'll probably end up with a 4 or something

Fallians Canada. May 04 2012 11:46. Posts 233

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Even if i got a 5 on the ap bio I would still take the intro UNI course just cause it boosts my GPA (same material) and that since I'm in grade 11 it will be almost 2 years from learning bio to going to uni so it would be a good review.

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Kaiyotic United States. May 04 2012 11:48. Posts 88

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Just did an E&M practice exam. I thought it was tricky; then I looked at the curve.

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FeUerFlieGe United States. May 04 2012 11:54. Posts 1055

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On April 24 2012 23:39 scarper65 wrote:
I'm a sophomore and I'm getting really freaked out about my AP World History exam. Has anyone else experienced this test?

Took that one last year, got a 4. I never studied for it except for taking 1 practice exam 2 weeks before. It's not difficult, you should have no problem finishing your FRQ's and DBQ as well as the multiple choice. I personally felt I didn't do too well on the FRQ essays, but the DBQ's in world history I always found rather easy as it's mostly document interpretation and you don't require much outside knowledge.

Edit:

[/QUOTE]
I got a 3 because I didn't know anything lol. TBH a lot universities don't take it - it's a pretty useless exam. A lot of the stuff they test is kind of arbitrary so there's no guarantee what score you'll get. For example, I probably deserved a 1 but I got a 3. I wrote like 1/3 page for each free response because. Someone needs to tell people which AP exams are worth taking because no one finds out until after they apply to college when the info is pmuch worthless, lol[/QUOTE]

He's right, World History is pretty useless as far as college credit goes, but it's really nice to get some AP testing experience especially if your taking APUSH and Lang & Comp next year.

Last edit: 2012-05-04 11:59:35

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wierdguy United States. May 04 2012 11:56. Posts 19

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I have 5 tests this year:
Chem
AB Calc
Government
Euro History
Whatever English 11 is

Cannot wait for these to be over, only one I'm concerned about is chem because it's the only class I have cared about the entire year. Good luck to everyone!

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