Can I do well on the AP Government exam if I've taken We the People?

Test Preparation AP History & Social Sciences
1

My school offers multiple different government courses, including AP Government and We the People. We the People is a constitutional studies class at first and later a competitive club where you debate constitutional topics and issues. I chose to take We the People instead of AP Government but I still want the AP Government credit because it covers a core requirement for the college of my choice. I wouldn’t normally think of doing this but there are a couple factors that make me consider it:

  1. The We the People program at my school is well-known and respected in my community. Every year we go to nationals, meaning that we meet outside of school to study until the end of April.

  2. There are We the People participants at my school who took the AP Government exam and received a 5.

  3. I have already taken and passed two AP classes. (5 on AP World History and 3 on AP U.S. History)

  4. I’m willing to put in work studying on my own out of AP self-help books / the AP Government textbook.

However, other factors make me think that this is not a good idea:

  1. My unit did not do very well at States.

  2. I’m on Unit 1 and the students who received a 5 on the AP exam were on Unit 4. Unit 4 covers basic government concepts but Unit 1 mostly covers history and philosophy.

  3. I’m not terribly good at mass memorization.

Considering all of this, do you think it’s likely that I would receive at least a 4 on my AP Government exam or not? I have to decide whether to sign up for the test soon and then I have less than three months to study.

2

Whether or not you will receive a 4 is entirely subjective and depends completely on how aggressive your study plan is. It is absolutely doable to have AP Gov studied for by May, especially if you have some background. Utilize an AP Gov prep book (I used the Princeton Review) and annotate it. On the concepts where you lack depth, read the corresponding chapter in the textbook. Most importantly, spend your time on the topics most heavily tested. Move away from Unit One and on to the stuff you need to know the most. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me (I took AP Gov last year and got a 5).

3

UPDATE: I took it and got a 4! :slight_smile:

4

Congratulations!
Any tip for readers?