MY STORY: I took an intense AP Euro course my junior year and ended up getting a 5 on the exam. The next year I took Art History, but because of schedule conflicts I could only take the second semester of a year-long course. The teacher was really lax; we hardly ever had homework and were never required to read the book. We basically just watched a powerpoint every day. Nevertheless, after learning all about Renaissance art and Western culture the year before, I ended up retaining most of what was covered in class simply because I could put it in context (Louis XIV was Baroque while Napoleon was Neoclassical, etc.). By the end of the year I was confident enough to take the exam, and I just found out I got a 5.</p>
IF YOU’VE DONE WELL IN AP EURO, I would recommend trying out Art History. A huge portion of the exam is Greek/Roman, Renaissance, and Modern Western art. You’ll still need to take a class or self-study in order to deepen your knowledge in those areas and pick up some of the ancient and non-Western stuff, but that shouldn’t be difficult. Plus, after the Euro essays, Art History FRQs are cake–I just did a long paragraph for each of them where I spewed out everything I knew about the artwork in question. Do yourself a favor and get some art credit for college.</p>
<p>Or do it the other way around - take Art, then take Euro, and for that case, all the other history APs. World art is tested in World; Renaissance art is tested in Euro; the Hudson River School and Abstract Expressionism is tested in APUSH (to a very small extent). </p>
<p>From my experience, AP history teachers tend to skim over or even ignore the art. You sound as if you had a particularly thorough teacher who emphasized art in AP Euro.</p>
<p>Yeah, in my case Euro was definitely the more thorough course, and that’s why it was better to take first. If your school has a really excellent Art History class I guess you could do it the other way around. However, I think historical knowledge will help a lot more in APAH than art knowledge will help you in AP Euro.</p>
<p>How about World then APUSH then Art History?</p>
<p>World would certainly help as well, especially with ancient art and art from other regions of the world. US I don’t know much about, but I would be concerned that with the relatively shot time period it covers you wouldn’t quite get the scope of those other two courses. Of course, any AP history couse you take is probably going to give you a leg up in APAH just because you’ll be used to a rigorous workload.</p>
<p>Thanks, I just got a 5 on the euro exam and am taking ap art history next year!</p>