APUSH Disaster.

Test Preparation
1

<p>Okay..a friend of mine told me not to come here because I'll feel worse, but I really need to know where I stand and if there is any hope left. She'll probably see this topic but eh..I'm already depressed enough, it doesn't matter. </p>

<p>Alright, so I had finished reviewing and everything, and I was ready. And I first opened the exam and it was alright. And before on the practice tests, I attempted EVERY question, with very very few blank. And this morning, my dad was getting all theoretical on me about how much I should skip etc etc, and I guess I got VERY CONFUSED, because I left 20 blank. Twenty one actually. I don't know why. I knew I should've answered them. I've never ever left that many blank before. Several of them I narrowed down to 2 choices. But I still didn't answer them.</p>

<p>Okay so now I asked everyone how many they left blank, and they all said our apush teacher told us not to leave more than 10 blank. I wasn't there supposedly when she said that. So everyone is like "oh you're so screwed" and I swear I'm on the verge of tears and I kept walking around trying to calm myself during the break. </p>

<p>Some people were like don't worry about it and to be calm. So I do the essays which weren't bad, but on the last 2 essay choices, I knew a whole lot on one topic because we just did a DBQ on it, and not as much as I'd like to know on the other topic. And I thought I was pressed for time.
I start writing on the topic I didn't know as well as the other one because I thought it'd be the less popular one, and you know, I read they grade leniently on that one. And I guess I wasn't feeling very confident so I couldn't think right anyway.</p>

<p>So I keep writing and I only get about a page and a paragraph total on this topic. The last 20 mins I was seriously considering crossing it all out, but I just stuck with it, hoping the graders would grade leniently. Worst test I took in my whole life. I shoulda picked the essay I knew more about. </p>

<p>I'm so irritated because people have been making me feel bad all day, especially about the whole skipping thing, even my mom. And I studied so much and I do stupid mistakes like this and now I feel like I'm going to get the worst grade in the world.</p>

<p>So I guess the question is, what's the best I can hope for? I suppose the worst case scenario would be like horrible grades on the essays and getting the 60 MC I answered all wrong.</p>

2

<p>what i would say is don't worry about it so much</p>

<p>it's not that big of a deal....honestly</p>

<p>it's just a dumb test that means not much at all. who cares how you did</p>

3

<p>you may not know it but your actually ahead of a lot of people. A lot of people get 25-26 wrong on mc and still get 5s. You can miss 25-26 on the mc and still get a 5, its very possible with strong essays. If you're not too confident about your essays then you most likely will get a 3/4. I'd guess a 4 on your situation IF you had a strong DBQ and got atleast a 50ish out of the 59 you answered.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both for responding. I'm seriously trying not to worry about it.
I know the highest on the DBQ is 15, what is the highest grade possible for each essay?
Is [url=<a href="http://www.historystuff.net/apscore.html%5Dthis%5B/url"&gt;http://www.historystuff.net/apscore.html]this[/url&lt;/a&gt;] site accurate at all?</p>

5

<p>i'd say its fairly accurat.e
9 for each essay.</p>

6

<p>the question is not how many you left blank but how many you got right totalll :)</p>

<p>if you left 20 blank and got 50 right your probably still better than half the people who left 0 blank and got 55 right :)</p>

<p>i think that was kind of a stupid mistake but its too late now so don't sweat ... lol</p>

7

<p>don't worry. Everyone on this site worries too much and gets high scores. Just chill.</p>

8

<p>I left 13 blank. My teacher said if you get soomething like 60-65% right then that's like a 3. I'm not sure about that. But I was also surprised at how many I omitted.</p>

9

<p>I shouldn't be talking...because I freak out about everything..
relax...it's over...nothing you can do about it now. It's one test, since it seems like you were aiming for a 5, you knew the material well enough overall - you'll most likely end up with a 4 >minimum<. That's perfectly FINE...</p>

<p>leaving 20 blank was a mistake - I was told to leave 5-6 blank...but it's ok..it's not the end of the world.</p>

10

<p>just because an essay is less popular doesn't mean it is more leniently graded. they even made a point to say that in the directions, weren't you listening?</p>

11

<p>Caro - I think it's even less than that...You can get a three with 55% I bet....(depending on the essays obviously)</p>

12

<p>dont lament the road not taken, you could actually be in a better spot than others, as Salik pointed out, you made your choice....now dont kill yourself over what you cannot posssibly change</p>

<p>After all, im fretting about my opposite questionable strategy...i answered almost all, and guessed A LOT, so either way, you can find a reason to worry, just find a different obsession until july...</p>

13

<p>Sarorah:</p>

<p>That site you have mentioned is somewhat accurate. Leaving 20 blank is absolutely OK.</p>

<p>Let me repeat that for you.</p>

<p>It's OK
It's OK
It's OK.</p>

<p>Worrying about a test right now will not do you any good, nor will it miraculously change your score. When I took the test, I had friends who skipped 13, 14 questions, and were fairly fine with it. Don't worry so much, and I'm sure you did ok on the essay.</p>

<p>Right now, freaking out isn't going to improve anything, just put it behind you. It's just a test.</p>

14

<p>yeah seriously, mate... it's fine. I initially skipped like 18... and then I guessed on 10 to bring my omission number down to 8. Whatever, I probably missed half of those anyway, which will bring down my score. It's all right. The MC was really difficult today, a lot of people felt the same. The curve will be friendly and anywhere from 6-7 on all your essays should be good enough to pull you up. </p>

<p>Just remember, the curve is your friend... it always has and always will be =)</p>

15

<p>Skipping ones where you have it down to two is silly, but still you were okay.</p>

<p>Your biggest mistake was choosing the essay you knew less about - they don't care which one is picked less. You really should have written on the one you knew more about.</p>

16

<p>sarorah, here is my feeling, as a parent, regarding AP exams. I have been repeating this to my D for weeks and I can only hope she took it to heart during her exams. If you pass the test/get college credit, that's just icing. If you don't pass the test/don't get college credit, it's no big deal ... just think how much you'll already know when you take one of those classes in college. Everyone, including my D, is in such a hurry to get their classes out of the way and move on. PLEASE, I beg of you, listen to me when I tell you to take things at a steady pace and enjoy the remainder of your high school time and enjoy college. Don't get me wrong ... there's a difference in enjoying and slacking. I'm saying to take things in stride and have fun while doing it. Don't be in such a rush to get out in the "real" world. I remember rushing everything during my college years ... take time to stop and smell the roses.</p>

17

<p>The proctor guy is kinda old..well into his 70s..he kinda left some stuff out while reading the directions. </p>

<p>Okay guys thank you all for the support, you seriously made me feel so much better. I was getting these crazy ideas earlier in my head like canceling and retaking it next year..or stealing the test and fixing it..I guess I seriously got too uptight about this. It's just a test after all.
I completely forgot about the curve too, thanks for reminding me.
The thing is, it's only 1/4 pt off for each wrong one, so I could miss up to 4 to actually deduct 1 correct answer point..but it's over, nothing I can do about it. I'll really try to take it easy this weekend and smell the roses.</p>