Hello I am going to be a freshman in high school and I signed up for AP Biology, AP World History, and AP Chemistry. I’m wondering if this will be too hard and too much work. I have taken many pre-ap classes, but have so experience in the actual ap environment. I am going to a school that is very good and its focus is academics. From what I heard, they have very good teachers. Please reply and inform me if this is too much too take as a freshman. Also, I am a straight A student that usually excels in academics. Thanks for all the replies!
I meant to say “no* experience in the actual ap environment”
Also the category was meant to be AP Test Preparation
@ricardo4567 I’m a former hs science teacher. I would be very wary of a freshman taking AP chemistry. There is a lot of math as well as language in chemistry which isn’t difficult, but it’s easier to learn when your brain is more mature. I’ve taught chemistry to sophomores and it’s a lot harder for them to learn than it is for juniors.
AP bio has a ton of memorization and seniors can struggle with it.
Did you take the regular forms of all of the classes?
Taking an AP science without taking the regular or honors course first is foolhardy. Taking AP World History without a substantial world history class previously is foolhardy.
I would say if you have taken a full year bio and full year chem course, and a full year world history course in the past, at a high school level, you will be okay. But yes, make sure your math is up to speed - you should be getting 700 on an SAT Math practice exam to take the two science APs you list.
I think it’s fine to take WHAP as a freshman without a lot of prior experience in world history; if you’ve done pre ap work than you’ll probably be fine, especially if, as you say, your school has good teachers.
HOWEVER, for those two science APs, I would recommend taking the regular (or honors) forms first. I don’t know what level of math you’re at, so it’s hard to say whether you’re ready for them or not; rhandco’s advice on this sounds pretty wise.
If you really want to take another AP, maybe do AP Psych instead. Still, don’t go too crazy in your freshman year, you have three more years to take AP classes to your heart’s content, and it might be better to ease into the AP workload rather than dive headfirst into two of the hardest AP tests.
For our school we do everything by semester. This means that I would take the perquisites (regular biology and chemistry) in the first semester and the AP classes in the second semester. Also thanks for all the replies!
I took AP World History as a freshman with no prior WH experience and got a 5. Make sure you read your textbook and write practice essays, especially in the month prior to the exam. It is not that challenging just know the material and keep up with the reading. As for AP Chem and Bio, those are some of the hardest AP Exams. (Especially Chem). I would definitely take a honors or CP class before you take AP. Wish you luck!
I took 1 AP Class my freshmen year, human geography, and it was unlike any other class I had taken before. Ever since then I’ve stayed on the AP route. Sophomore year I did 1, and this past year I did 5; one of them was AP Biology. It was a very challenging class because it consisted of a lot of memorization. Honestly, I could not imagine myself as a freshmen taking AP Bio AT ALL. Oh, and AP Chemistry, I can’t even see myself taking it now lol. If you are really really smart, well prepped, and can comprehend information quickly then I’m sure you’ll do fine!