<p>Ya next year I'm a sophmore taking 6 APs (calc AB, stats, english lang, u.s. gov, micro, art history) who has never taken an AP before and i was wondering if they are extremmely hard. As what i see, they are only slightly harder than the honors or regular classes. what're your opinions?</p>
<p>just prepare for them, get a book, and you should be fine, some people just cram last minute, it really depends on your learning ability.
P.S. I think art history is haaaaaaarrrrrrrdddddd (english you wont even need to prepare most likely)</p>
<p>oh and there not overrated, only on this message board they are, since everyone seems to be very bright here.</p>
<p>LOL I totally agree with you "very hard". AP's are not to be underestimated, and many people find them to be the bane of their existence, but it does not seem like that if the only people that you are taking advise from are on College Confidential because 99% of the people here are amazing students.</p>
<p>I'm taking AP Art History next year. What exactly is so hard about it?</p>
<p>well I self studyed this year and got a book, not a text book, and purchased a review guide from, a company (um I forget there name oh morrison that's it) and i dont think I have a chance to pull of a 4.
If i do i will be very excited.
Oh and to just confirm freedom is defiately right our physics teacher told use today how his daughter told him she was so stuped to reject tutoring from him in physics (kind of a funny story) and when she came on campus she was disapointed to see the opprotunity Ap provides, for you.
My opinion honestly is that Ap is one of the best programs ever created, it does not tie you to any classes like Ib does (theory of knowled ge what the heck is that???) you dont need a worless essay that demenstraights nothing on your actual knowledge in a perticular class, and my favorite is that you show strength in a particular subject that's what's best , not like the SAT where you cant show you great physics skills, or you studying Economics over the Summer, or you wanting to be a history major and taking all history Ap exams.
That's what I like about it and colleges set up there requiremnts not college board, and that's fair, whereas Ib makes you get i think a 4 on average in eveything, how dumb and useless, im glad i never entered that program, they have the stranges history class at our school for Ib while I take classes I like and am under no oblgations and also can self study anything I wish.
Go College board for the Ap program, I love it! (except the darn physics exam hehe that I probably will not pass, Just kidding, or maybe not)</p>
<p>I'm surprised that you are taking 6 AP classes for the first time. Our school doesn't allow students to take more than two AP classes their soph. year. It's also nice to have that first AP test under your belt, so you know what you are heading into the next year.</p>
<p>In my school you're normally only allowed to take one AP Course in sophomore year, which is usually World History (if you've done really well in World History I). However, if it's a language AP and you know how to speak it fluently, they allow you to take it (which I did, got a 5 on my AP French).</p>
<p>Art History can be easy if you have a decent teacher. There aren't many books out there except the Mona Lisa, so you really have to rely a lot on the class for the ap test</p>
<p>AP courses may be difficult relative to other standard/honors courses, but they're, from a college perspective at least, rather easy.</p>
<p>IB isnt all that bad! You learn even more than you do in AP, esp. in higher level subjects. And it gives u a complete liberal-arts experience by not just focusing on one subject or ur fave subject.</p>
<p>You haven't taken an AP courses yet, but you're jumping into 6?</p>
<p>I had a hard enough time adjusting to 3 coming from freshmen year. Then junior year I'm taking 5.</p>
<p>But all schools are different. My school's AP classes are extremely tough. Most AP's require 10-15 hours of work per week per class and the tests/quizzes are insane (in most classes).</p>
<p>Ya I'm required to take 3 out of those 6; english, gov, and calc. I need to double up i math because it's my only chance to take statistics in high school. In the IB program, I get no more electives and need to go to IB Math and college math. I'm taking art history over the summer and micro second semester online because I'm very interested in those subjects, my school doesn't offer them, and my brother (who will be a senior as #2 right now) said I should be able to balance all of this. He basically studies everything about school and all the information so I trust his opinion so theres my reason for taking 6 APs. :D</p>
<p>wow that sounds like my junior year, minus micro. Good luck</p>
<p>^^^ omg don't even get me started with junior year!!! the only choice I have is to choose between IB Bio, IB Chem, IB Psych, or IB Physics and I need to pick 2 :(. Sophmore year will look easy compared to junior year.</p>
<p>Lol im taking four university classes....is someone able to explain why they have LESS hw than AP's while still managing to be much harder?</p>
<p>Thats very easy to explain. Homework cushions your grade so it doesn't fall that much because of tests. Colleges give you no such luxury.</p>
<p>Eh, not at my school. Tests count as 85% of our grade while homework is only 15%, and we still get lots of homework. No room for cushioning.</p>
<p>In my school, homework is the source of all grade-inflation.</p>
<p>Yes. APs are overrated, and ridiculously expensive. Too bad college board has a monopoly on the market, so they can force us to sit down for hours and spit up information. I think the classes and the idea are great, but the cost makes them overrated.</p>