I’m a junior in high school and I have been taking apush in school since september. The problem is, I am a serious procrastinator and I haven’t payed attention to a single class, and I haven’t read one chapter of the textbook. We are supposed to be on chapter 27 or something right now of the book and I don’t think there is any way I can catch up. I have a Barron’s apush prep book that I bought in January and haven’t touched. I’m really worried now that I won’t be able to pass the test because there isn’t enough time for me to study and learn enough information. I did take US 1 honors last year which covered the time periods basically from period 2 to 5/6 in the apush curriculum, but not in enough detail for ap. I did some reaearching and apparantly the AP US History Crash Course book is good and short, and covers the basic important info. Should I try that? Do I even have time to use my Barron’s book? Also I watched a few videos on the youtube channel Adam Norris (the key concept ones) and took notes, and I’m thinking I could do that for each key concept since it doesn’t seem that time consuming. Sorry this is long. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions/reccomendations for me? Is it possible for me to pass and how long should I study per day? Thanks a lot.
Why does it matter?
Are you planning on majoring in History in college?
Do you need a 5 in AP History?
You don’t have to take the test if you don’t need it.
Honestly, most colleges wont give you much credit other than prerequisite or elective credits.
don’t you take tests in APUSH? how have you been passing if you haven’t read a single chapter or done any coursework?
We have only taken a few tests, and they were specific topics, not periods or chapter tests. We took a civil war test, a gilded age test, and a colonization test. I did poorly on them as expected, but so did the rest of the class. I’m passing because we do projects and homework assignments that I do very well on because they aren’t based on the readings. It’s weird, because it’s like what we do in class vs. the textbook (actual apush curriculum) are totally different things.
We have only taken a few tests, and they were specific topics, not periods or chapter tests. We took a civil war test, a gilded age test, and a colonization test. I did poorly on them as expected, but so did the rest of the class. I’m passing because we do projects and homework assignments that I do very well on because they aren’t based on the readings. It’s weird, because it’s like what we do in class vs. the textbook (actual apush curriculum) are totally different things.
Get the AMSCO book if you can. I don’t know about the other books and less doesn’t mean you’ll be learning more information. Make sure you know key terms, ideas, and concepts for each chapter! Do the work in class, participate, do homework, take notes. The crash course book is supplemental to what you’ve done in class. Study a lot outside of school because you don’t have the best support in the class it seems.
I completely agree with @penngirlpending - AMSCO is the absolute best. Work hard the rest of the year, that’s your best bet. The exam isn’t hard if you know what you’re doing - I took it last year and got a 4.
If you’re a procrastinator you definitely won’t read all of amsco its like 500 pages 5 steps to a 5 is much shorter and has summaries and key terms for every chapter
True @a20171 but 5 steps to a 5 doesn’t cover all of the material on the ap exam, where AMSCO does. I used 5 Steps to a 5 for the AP Psych exam and it helped a lot, but my friends who used it for APUSH didn’t do too well.
I was in the same situation as you last year–I never really studied and procrastinated to extreme and unhealthy extents, but I got lucky and got a 4.
First of all, pay attention in class!!!
Second, read the APUSH textbook. Even though it may seem like you’re only retaining the random details and the chapters may be long, it will introduce you to events, people, and ideas that you may encounter on the exam.
You might think what the point of trying to go from where your class is useless since you haven’t really started, but history mostly doesn’t compound on itself.
If you don’t know something, look it up on apstudent.com. The site is basically a glossary of APUSH people, topics, and other relevant concepts. Try to avoid Quizlet and Google because there is an abundance of resources on Quizlet and you might get overwhelmed like I did. Just do a simple Google search if you ever need to search anything.
I personally used Kaplan (which I believe is known to be not as good as Barron’s) and it also wasn’t 100% complete but it covered most of the important stuff. I tried reading a chapter or two each day repeatedly, which wasn’t really too much or overwhelming. I didn’t really use video resources, but my APUSH teacher said that they should generally be used as supplementary, review resources.
My suggestion is to study for 30 min, 45 min, or 1 hour every other day (start from Period 1, which isn’t a huge part of the exam but something will be there–also, check the amount of content for each period that will be on the Exam). Some is especially better than none for us procrastinators.
Is AMSCO really necessary? I found a pdf version online without having to pay, but I won’t be able to take notes in the margins/underline/highlight like I have been doing with my Barron’s. Would just reading it from a computer screen be helpful? I could order the physical book online but it is really expensive and I already bought the Barron’s. Will the Barron’s give me as much information?
Personally, I would def say splurge on the AMSCO book if you’re financially able - it’s the only way I passed that AP exam. However, if you buy it, you can’t slack off and not read it - you’re gonna have to study like crazy! I’m not familiar with Barron’s though.