<p>I probably could have started this thread in any other university's forum, but I thought it would be appropriate to start it here at the Cornell board, because CU is quickly rising to one of my favorite schools on my college list.</p>
<p>But without further ado, my question is: how well do AP scores reflect college success? AP students at our school were given information about the tests, and they claim that a 5 is roughly equivalent to an A, 4 is a B, 3 is a C, etc. For any students who have taken both the AP test but still took the equivalent course at Cornell (or any college), did you find it to be accurate? I know it's difficult to compare fully, since being exposed to the same material a second time should make it easier or more understandable.</p>
<p>I took AP Chemistry last year as a junior and found it to be extremely interesting and I hope to major in it at college, but I do have my share of reservations about my academic ability. I took the AP test and received a 4, which translates to a B in a college course, but I'm afraid that if I cannot even receive an A in an introductory class for chemistry at the college level, how can I expect to do well in the higher-level courses?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any insight from experiences about the AP tests & corresponding courses!</p>
<p>P.S.- Is it normal to lack this much confidence about doing well in college?</p>
<p>I don't go to Cornell but I was accepted in December. Judging by what is often said by current students, the intro course equivalents of high school AP courses are a lot harder, faster-paced, and more comprehensive at Cornell. As far as confidence. A lot of people get B's at Cornell, it just means there's room for improvement. If Cornell accpepts you, it means you have potential. I wouldn't let a B get you down, determination is necessary for majoring in any discipline, whether you ace the intro course or flunk it.</p>
<p>It is normal to feel worried about performing at college, especially at a place like Cornell.</p>
<p>You can expect Cornell classes to be more comprehensive and fast-paced than your HS AP class. I went to a top public HS in Northern California, received 5's on every AP test I ever took, and still managed to find the corresponding Cornell classes challenging.</p>
<p>The AP score you get in a class is not indicative of your future success. Like you said, what's more important is being exposed to the material a second time and at a more comprehensive level. Seeing something a second time will make it stick in your brain and since you've already seen the material before, you can more easily learn the difficult concepts that you haven't seen before.</p>
<p>Don't worry about how you did on the AP test. I got a 4 on the AP physics test in high school and I ended up majoring in Engineering Physics. If you are willing to work hard, then it's possible. Sometimes all you need is a good teacher or something to <em>click</em> inside your brain.</p>
<p>AP classes and scores aren't very good indicators of college success IMO. You can come into a course being a hot shot ap kid and have the professor summarize your HS AP curriculum in the first lecture. Or you could know the entire syllabus for the college course, but still get beaten by difficult test questions. AP scores mean you are ready for a course, but they don't mean you'll be good at it.</p>
<p>Also, AP tests have a lot of holes, you can get a 4 on AB calc knowing just the derivative laws. I thought I was going to ge a 2 or 3 based on my performance on AB, and I got a 5, so, once again, you can miss a lot of questions and not understand integral concepts (no pun intended :D) and still do very well. So, there you have it. AP scores do not garuntee college sucess at an elite school like cornell or one of its peer institutions.</p>
<p>I was going to mention something along the lines of what sparticus also pointed out. AP tests seemed to be flaw in that a mere 10 questions could mean the difference between a 4 and a 5 for some test, and although it is "standardized", I'm not bold enough to say it necessarily is the be all and end all score. </p>
<p>However, I'm still feeling hesistant about college success. As of now, it feels like I'm being worked like a dog, but there's no way I can compare what I am learning to other high school seniors around the nation.</p>
<p>P.S.- Does anyone know if there's a link for AP scores accepted at Cornell? I searched their website and only found accepted AP scores for the college of engineering for some reason. Thanks</p>
<p>don't worry man; look at how many students are here, how many students don't leave (i.e. fail out) and look at hoe there's still a decent GPA. cornell will not hand out As, you'll get a B for doing "fairly well" in a class, which is fair. But worry not. for example, getting a 3.0 in engineering is not doom to your career, it's actually pretty decent.</p>
<p>I'm really looking forward to college (wherever that may be), and I can't wait to meet new people, live in the dorms, etc. The thing about college that intimidates me most is the adjustment to the higher-level academics. I know it's too early to worry about it now, but I want to go to graduate school (perhaps med school), but at the same time, I'm under the impression that getting a 3.5+ GPA is a must-have (especially for med school).</p>
<p>Just for kicks, does anyone happen to know which AP tests generally have the lowest national average? Or which ones have the toughest curves compared to the difficulty of the test? I've only taken one actual exam, but we've done a lot of practice in calc and physics and it seems much more doable than chemistry.</p>
<p>I'm rather hesistant whether I should take the AP Eng. Language test, because we've literally only done 2 small exercises that really relate to the AP test at all. I'm afraid that the small amount of preparation will be reflected on the test.</p>
<p>A.P. lang is reeeeaaaaalllly easy. One of the essays for last May's exam was an analysis of the rhetorical devices used in an excerpted article from the Onion (a very well known satirical newspaper in NYC). Anyway, the article was obviously satire, and it was funny. So you had to write your essay on the use of satire, hyperbole, humor, etc. That's the sort of thing you have to do, which, I think as far as most AP exams go, is comparatively easy. I scored an easy 5 on that. A.P. lit is not so easy in my opinion, I think I'll have to work for that 5 this May (even though I don't need it for Cornell).</p>
<p>Would you recommend that I try to pick up a prep book for the AP Lang. exam a month or 2 before the actual test? Would that be enough time to look over some terms, etc.? There's literally nothing AP about my AP English class, so I can't be sure whether we are getting adequate preparation or not. My teacher is a nice guy, but he goes off topic too many times during class and we barely have any work.</p>
<p>You need the book to familiarize yourself with the rhetorical devices you need to identify in the passages and write essays about. That's all you need to prep for though--well that, and being able to pace yourself well. If you can do that terminology prep in 1-2 months, then yeah, go for it.</p>
<p>i agree , ap english lang is quite easy. anyone can take it too, theres no content needed. i only got a 610 on verbal , but an effortless 4 on this test</p>
<p>As far as APs go that I've taken;
Psych is ranked one of the easiest, and I agree. If you think you're a pretty good student overall, prepping and doing this will be quite easy, as there are many resources out there. If you're at least a bit interested, you'll do fine. I completely self studied it.
Micro-econ is pretty easy, if you have instruction. I took an online course-which helped marginally- and studied myself for most of the curriculum. If you're interested, it'll be fun and easy.<br>
Physics B = easy if you're a math person. If you like it also, it'll be much of a boost.<br>
Music Theory: i thought this was the hardest. It's much more talent based than any other classes, and less memorization, etc. Practice listening and sight singing.<br>
USH: might be fun if you're a history buff, which I'll say I'm not. I was lucky and had a teacher who prepped me well. Known to have much work involved for the class overall.
Chem: I hear over and over again that this test has the lowest average % right by students (not necessarily the highest scores, cuz of the curve) It does have a pretty generous curve; Make sure u get the concept down, then it'll go well.
Calc BC: If you're a math person, with its generous curve, 4 shouldn't be hard. Getting the concepts down for this is cruicial
Stats: fun and easy. Most real-life applicable math class I've taken. Should be very easy if you're a math person, and ok/just easy if not.</p>
<p>I got all 5's on the above-mentioned tests, and to tell you the truth, didn't prepare excessively for them (took 'em all last year as a Jr)
For APs, MAKE SURE to take those past AP FRQs and sample MC questions from AP Central or your teachers--they were the most helpful of all resources out there. And make SURE to get those concepts down. Don't try to memorize how u do things; know them by heart.<br>
No really, it's very preparable</p>