Each time you earn credit that fits into your degree program, you are moving closer to graduation. Officials at these colleges know how to analyze a transcript and they will recognize students who take on a rigorous schedule. Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, AP tests will now be held remotely, and information about how that will work is still evolving. In addition, many students simply underestimate them and don't study enough. Check out the table below to see the 2020 passing rates for all AP exams: Source: College Board. Also, consult our scoring guide to learn how to come up with a target raw score while practicing. If meeting with a study group once a week or doing your own online practice problems helps you keep up with an AP class, then consider pushing through. This will not work with AP classes. However, if you try adding an outside resource and are still seriously struggling to understand the material and make it through the class, it's better to just drop to regular and focus your efforts on other advanced classes. Language Arts So do you think these classes are too hard? Many high schools offer "advanced placement," or AP, classes so that you may earn college credit alongside your regular high school courses. What Science Courses Are Needed for College Admission? hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, 'b8868328-25ad-4976-9f3f-6f24fa4b2b20', {}); Halle Edwards graduated from Stanford University with honors. Well , all I have to say is that if they ut you in this class than it means you really belong there. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. It's often difficult to determine whether an AP class will be too difficult for you. There are currently 37 AP courses and exams that students can take. This is likely because a wider pool of exam takers results in more less-prepared students taking the test. Is AP Psychology hard? Stay up to date with the latest information on test dates, AP online review, and what this means for you with our AP COVID-19 FAQ article. Drivers Ed/guitar 1 6. Others will keep you busy with nightly assignments, practice tests, and projects. On the other hand, if there is a subject you've always struggled with, the AP exam in it will likely be hard for you, even if it seems as though a lot of students are able to pass it every year. Some teachers won't assign a lot of work but will expect you to study on your own. And this is no surprise, considering the cutthroat culture of competition for college admission slots. Many universities even give college credit to those who achieve a high score on their end-of-year AP exam. Of course, getting an A in an AP class is ideal. Colleges consider AP credit very carefully, and may give credit for some AP courses but not others. Instead, the schools intend to design customized advanced classes for their student population. For a few reasons, then, taking an AP course can be risky. There are so many questions lurking out there in the minds of parents and students about AP courses! Harvard University grants credit towards graduation for those students who are in Advanced Standing. Sure, they can help you get college credit and make your transcript more impressive. Earning a passing score (3+) on the AP test proves that you mastered the material and are able to study for a college-style cumulative exam. • Additional Homework In my high school career, the difference between outside homework for a regular class and an advanced class can be substantial. However, even though the tests were similarly hard, these two AP history classes were taught very differently at my school. 4 AP classes in two years is well above average, so don't be discouraged. If it's a high pass rate, though, that's a good sign that the teacher has a strong AP-prep curriculum in place. If you don't have a ton of prerequisites for an AP class, think carefully about whether the class will be out of your reach. Some colleges limit the number of AP credits each student will receive. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? The average passing rate is around 60-70%, so your odds of passing an AP exam are generally good. The best way to prepare yourself is to go 100% all semester, there may be times where it will be hard but you have to push through. Aim for A's or B's in normal CP classes then. How are you doing with the teacher's style? In the past, you may have coasted through your high school classes with minimal effort and occasional cram sessions. They're essentially entry-level college courses, so you're going to be doing a lot of learning and work on your own. AP Biology could be a very tough course at one high school but an easy A at another, depending on the teacher and curriculum. I think parents and students are more interested in AP classes because they view them as a way to boost their chances of getting into the best schools. How hard an AP class itself will be for you is important to consider. If you are studying for a test with a particularly low pass or 5 rate, be sure to do plenty of multiple-choice and free-response practice so you can get that top score. Your grade in the class will affect your GPA and overall transcript impressiveness.For example, if you’re wondering, \"Is AP Biology hard?\" the answer depends on a few factors. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: © PrepScholar 2013-2018. Will your chosen college even recognize your AP scores? For example, in order to take AP Biology, most schools require students to take regular or honors biology first. Many AP classes kick off with work over the summer. You need to consider many factors, including your own academic strengths, your school, and national score statistics. AP Gov can be a bit of a conundrum. Then, there’s the AP class that boasts a hard reputation: AP Computer Science, also known as AP CS. i completely wish i didn’t. Stay up to date with the latest information on test dates, AP online review, and what this means for you with our AP COVID-19 FAQ article. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? If you sign up for too many AP courses at one time, you are limiting the amount of time you can devote to studying for each exam. They are even lower for popular tests, such as AP English Lit and World History, which have 5 rates below 10%. I'm a junior, I seriously messed up my first two years. A large percentage of students may pass an AP test, but if only a small group earns 5s, it usually means that true mastery of the subject is hard to come by. AP Helps You Develop College-Level Academic Skills. AP Lang is, if nothing else, an experience. It's important to think about how hard an AP exam might be for you before signing up for the class. if you don’t put in the work and slack off, 3.) The odds of passing with a 5—the highest score—are quite low on any exam: between 10% and 20% for most tests. If you are looking at a very discriminating college, you will want to take this into consideration. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Also, notice that exams with some of the lowest passing rates, such as Environmental Science and Human Geography, are ones many students say are the easiest. In general, there is a lot of material to cover in AP classes, so they tend to be more challenging than regular classes—especially courses like AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Physics, US and World History, and English. There is no right way to teach an AP class. As a graduate of a large public high school who tackled the college admission process largely on her own, she is passionate about helping high school students from different backgrounds get the knowledge they need to be successful in the college admissions process. Exactly How Hard Are AP Tests and Classes? Then there are other colleges. What's your grade so far in the class? With so many hard classes, you have to be efficient with your time and that means making every minute as productive as possible. I was the only junior who took it in my school (and the only one in my school to get a 5) and the rest of the class were senior kids who were too lazy to take calc. It doesn't seem like much, but reinforcing info (especially for classes that require memorizing) is important to learning so much in a quick amount of time. There is no straightforward answer, because there is no consistent rule when it comes to colleges, AP courses and grades. The more background knowledge you have of a certain subject, the more likely you'll do well in its corresponding AP class. Just make sure that you don't pass your school's class- change deadline! Before you take an AP course, check the policy of your individual college of choice and see where they stand. AP classes are probably going to be a little different (maybe a bit harder) than your honors classes, but you seem more than well-prepared, work-ethic wise, to handle it. For US History, we had textbook readings, outlines, vocabulary lists, and research projects. you take classes just for the AP, not for your own interest AP classes require a lot of work to succeed. Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet? You can easily look up the college catalog of any college and check their policies for specific AP scores. In high school, she earned 99th percentile ACT scores as well as 99th percentile scores on SAT subject tests. Therefore, it's important to consider an AP test's pass rate in context. That situation can lead to unnecessary struggles and eventual dropout. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. (See our post on which AP class you should take to learn more about scoping out classes.). They know that some high schools are very demanding and others are not. What's the big deal with AP classes and Honors? There are two factors to consider when deciding how hard an AP subject is: the difficulty of the AP exam itself, and how the AP class is taught at your high school. Stay up to date with the latest information on test dates, AP online review, and what this means for you with our AP COVID-19 FAQ article. Three A’s and one D in an all-AP schedule is simply three A’s and a D to some university officials. The requirements are set by the College Board and the courses are fast-paced and intensive. the learning curve was quite hard especially with covid and considering how my teacher teaches. Ask questions; get answers. Foreign Language Requirement for College Admissions. So will tougher AP courses put your grade point average at risk? There is concern among many college officials that, by skipping over introductory courses with AP credit, students can plunge themselves into advanced courses that they just can’t handle. If you sign up for too many AP courses at one time, you are limiting the amount of time you can devote to studying for each exam. It's not like taking an AP or Honors class is MANDATORY right? They take a (seemingly unfair) straightforward approach to calculating GPAs. The difficulty of an AP class will depend on your school and its grading policy (some schools weigh AP classes so getting lower than an A won't necessarily drop your GPA below a 4.0). Factor 2: 5 Rate your teacher is/makes class challenging, 2.) Also, learn about how AP tests are scored. AP European history 3. For AP World History, we were given reading assignments out of the textbook and unit tests, but there were not many daily assignments or projects. Some are harder than others, though your experience will depend on your personal strengths. Learn the vocabulary you need to know, all the most important grammar rules, and how to write an ACT essay. If, by the end of the first quarter/trimester, your grade hasn't improved or you don't think you are understanding the material, seriously consider dropping to the regular version of the course. That said, we'll explore some factors that could make an AP class and test harder or easier. Furthermore, instead of just going off the pass rate table only, think about the subjects you've traditionally been strong at—these will likely be easier APs for you to pass. If you’re interested in AP courses, aim for 2-3 per year– not per semester. For example, if you're wondering, "Is AP Biology hard? They don’t make allowance for the fact that your AP course was tougher than a standard class would have been. If you've taken the SAT and want to improve your score, check out our guides to improving your Reading, Writing, and Math scores. If your school calculates weighted Grade Point Averages, AP courses also boost your GPA—these classes count for five points instead of the traditional four. AP Calculus AB Course and Exam Information, AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam Information, AP Statistics Course and Exam Information, M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia, B.A., History, Armstrong State University. Undergraduate applicants must work hard to set themselves apart and AP classes are one way to do so. Please explain why AP classes are good and if you took them are not (This is for a school project) ... and i was recommended for AP World so i decided to take it. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. Though it is important to note that grading is a little different in an AP class. For example, a college may not credit students with freshman-level English for an AP English Literature and Composition course, because the administration has decided that AP credit is not sufficient preparation for college-level writing. Would you recommend me changing my classes to "average" classes? A low pass rate taken at face value indicates a harder test; however, sometimes classes that are more popular have artificially low pass rates because there's a higher proportion of under-prepared students in the testing pool. Find out about the teacher and curriculum of an AP class before signing up to make sure it's a good fit for you and your study style. How about Statistics or English? After all, your GPA is very important in college admissions and is used to calculate your chance at getting scholarships, too. Some credits don’t really fill a slot in your program. Sometimes, advanced classes are so hard that a regular student can outscore you even with the weighted addition to your grade. Basically, we were expected to keep up with the material on our own, and, as a result, I had to independently handle much of my own studying for the test. If the passing rate for the AP test is low, recognize that you might have to put in a lot of work on your own in order to pass it. 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