<p>This september I will be a junior and I will be taking AP US history. I am rather apprehensive about the difficulty of this course. Even more scary is the AP Exam which I will take sometime in May. My teacher recommended a book called REA A P History. I've heard that many people like it and it's really helpful. I need some feedback before I buy this. And should I buy it right before I take the AP Exam or will it also help me throughout the year. BTW, I have so much summer crap to do for this friggin history thing.</p>
<p>My AP US History class wasn't good at all - I didn't really learn as much as I could have, and the teacher was very unorganized. So I went into the test with no prep effectively and came out with a 4, so I was content. 80% of the class got 3's and below though, so I'm not sure how much that can tell you.</p>
<p>The best thing I can suggest for success is a true love for history, and a great understanding of two specific periods that are used quite often, the Revolutionary War, and the New Deal.</p>
<p>Same here. I'll be taking it next year and this Summer, they require us to read A People's History of the US, which is about 600+ pages. It's stressing me out to death.</p>
<p>MoreThanWords, where are you from? I'll try to take APUSH next year and see too.</p>
<p>My APUSH class last year was, hands down, the hardest class in my schedule (even more challenging than honors precalc, I would say).. BUT the teacher was fantastic - helpful, intelligent, and a hardcore feminist. :)</p>
<p>All but one person got B's or lower in the class, but that's because it was extremely challenging and prepared us very well for the AP exam; I just found out that I scored a 5, so apparently it paid off very well.</p>
<p>To do well in APUSH, pace yourself when reading the chapters in the book; don't try to absorb 30 pages of information at 11pm on Thursday. Make SURE to take notes - they really help when you're studying for the AP exam.</p>
<p>Also, don't slack off when you're writing essays during the year, because if you learn the right essay format early on, the AP essays will be much easier. (Even if you have to BS your way through on the AP, it's better to BS in the correct format.)</p>
<p>It's a challenging class, but so what? If you've taken honors classes in the past, you're more than prepared to handle APUSH.</p>