<p>I will be a junior this fall and Im still skeptical on whether or not I should be taking APUSH. I've heard some terrifying horror stories of people taking the class and wishing they hadn't. I've even had people crying on my shoulders because they wish the hadn't taken it and can't get out of it. I really want to take the class but I also don't want to jeopardize my GPA or social life. I took AP World History as a Sophomore and got a solid B in the class. My question is what are your experiences with the class, as well as the exam. Is the class as difficult as people make it out to be. If APUSH is not the hardest class then what is?</p>
<p>If you like history and like to read, this class will not be as hard for you as the other 98% of your classmates who don’t. For my daughter who loves reading and history, it was A LOT of reading and her teacher was a stinker, but he’s a whole other story. Her class was 15% class participation, but he complained that she participated too much. He also had a lot of assignments that were subjective in nature, so if you sang the right tune, you got a good grade. She ended up with a low A, a 5 on the AP test and an 800 on the SAT II.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say its difficult. But you do have to read a lot and if you stay on top of the reading you will do fine. APUSH was so far has been my favorite class.</p>
That’s a difficult question to answer as classes very between schools, and even within schools depending on the teacher. That said, I had a relatively easy time in APUSH. I never really studied or read, and I ended up with a 5 on the AP exam, and an 800 on the subject test. But then again, I enjoy history and I knew a good chunk of the information beforehand.</p>
<p>It was actually pretty easy for me. All I did was read the chapters. If you do that, you will be fine. Credentials: 5 on AP test, and grades in the high 90’s/100 during the school year.</p>
<p>So I emphasize: read the book. Once when you start the chapter, and once before you take the test.</p>
<p>Really? Wow. APUSH was one of the easiest APs for me, but I love history. Still, it’s a popular AP in my school, and relatively unmotivated kids do it and still pass. In fact, I think it’s the most widely taken AP in the US. It might just be your teacher.</p>
<p>APUSH is all memorization, so it’s a lot of work if you have a poor memory or don’t learn well by reading. If you can remember things easily, it’s pretty easy.</p>
<p>No no, it wasn’t hard. Just work intensive. It’s all memorization, what’s hard about that?
Oh and your social life will revolve around the people in your APUSH class. You guys will have the best of times quizzing/testing and whining with each other </p>
<p>Some teachers can go overboard with APUSH as a class. There are two APUSH teachers in my school. One of them gave massive packets for every chapter of The American Pageant, while the one that I had had us turn in chapter outlines. I had six or seven extremely intelligent kids in my class, and combined with a teacher who was very open to discussion, the entire class benefitted from solid discussions. On the other hand, even with significantly more work, I’ve heard that the other teacher didn’t provide a learning environment as conducive to classroom discussions. As a result, exam scores weren’t as high for her.</p>
<p>I’d go with AP physics as the hardest class in terms of understanding material. History and Art history may have difficult exams, but AP physics (to me) is the most complex in terms of problem solving & difficult concepts. The AP US history class is as hard as your teacher makes it out to be.</p>
<p>It depends on your teacher and your own talent for history and liking for it. Personally, I never disliked or liked history class, but my teacher was funny and so that made it good and he taught well so I easily got A’s in the class and a 5 on the test. However, it’s true that you do have to read A LOT (take lots of notes too) and memorize. I’d say that APUSH is easier than World History as well, so you probably wouldn’t do any worse than a B in it.</p>
<p>I didn’t spend a single bit of time actively memorizing for APUSH. Instead, I formulated connections between events and developed a deeper understanding of American history. Also, between outlining the chapters, taking lecture notes, and participating in conversations related to history, the concepts became cemented in my mind. Anybody who actively tries to memorize facts for US history isn’t learning the right way.</p>
<p>I got a 4 on the test and I fell asleep almost every day in class and only studied about a week for the AP (probably less than a week according to CC standards considering I studied less than an hour some nights of that week).</p>
<p>For example, at my school AP US History is one of the easiest AP classes. It is often the first AP class for many on the honors track. Most kids in the class atleast get a B and an A is obtainable through minimal study/effort. On the other hand, many kids also do very poorly on the AP Exam.</p>
<p>Basically, what I am trying to say is that the class can vary from school to school. If people say the class is difficult at your school, you should expect a difficult class.</p>
<p>I took it and spent many sleepless nights taking history notes. I got a B first semester and an A second semester (with the harder teacher at my school), but I got a 4 on the APUSH test so my teacher changed my first semester grade to an A. At the end of the year we had to make 500 APUSH flash cards. That was almost as bad as the 1700 pages we had to read and take notes on. If you are good at budgeting your time, I would take the class. It really taught me how to prioritize and I feel much more prepared for Senior year and college because of it. Be warned, you will probably pull at least one late nighter (my latest was 3:30 in the morning), but it’s worth the experience.</p>
<p>I took AP US History last year (I got a 5 on the exam). I think that doing well in APUSH depends a lot on your teacher (my teacher was very hard on us). </p>
<p>However, even with a teacher that’s not-so-great, there are many tools to help you prepare. </p>
<p>I recommend Princeton Review’s AP prep books as well. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, how difficult an AP class is depends on your own preferences. If you’re a history lover like me, APUSH won’t seem that bad. For others, it can be a pain. </p>
<p>One thing I did notice: With enough effort, almost anyone can be successful in APUSH</p>
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