Difficulty of AP Euro test?

<p>So my teacher this year for AP Euro has been going on and on about how difficult it is to get a 5 on the AP Euro exam, but I am determined to. What are your experiences with this AP test? Any tips for the DBQ?</p>

<p>I self studied it in about a month (while selfing another 4 simultaneously and participating in various ECs) using a textbook and a pair of review books. Ended up with a 5 - it was very easy. Your teacher exaggerates.</p>

<p>Difficult? Not really. You teacher’s probably exaggerating the difficulty of the test to scare everyone into compliance… However, it is wise to note that only the top ~11% get a 5 on it every year. </p>

<p>It definitely is tiring… a test about history with 3 essays at the end… Definitely an energy sapper. </p>

<p>DBQ tips… hmm. DBQs are certainly the wildcard on this AP, since a good DBQ can make you, and a bad DBQ prompt can break you. I definitely attribute my 5 on this test to our DBQ prompt (something about Queen Elizabeth). Always cite your sources in this one, for example: “Queen Elizabeth states that, blah blah blah, and shows, in this statement, that blah blah blah.” (Document #5). </p>

<p>Also, show POV, something that can be kind of difficult in instruction, but with some practice, shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off.</p>

<p>I didn’t read a page of the book or study for the exam and I got a 3, I know many people who got 5s so I’d say with the right amount of preperation it shouldn’t be too hard. I thought it was a bit more challenging than AP World however.</p>

<p>It depends on how prepared your teacher can get you. Some of the sample questions my class has been given so far don’t seem particularly difficult, it’s just a lot of names to remember.
And the key to DBQs is practice, practice, practice. Don’t type them if your teacher lets you do that (you won’t be typing at the test) and try timing yourself to get your time under an hour.</p>

<p>Out of roughly 40-50 students who took it last year at my school, only 3 got 5’s. I was one of the students who got a 5. For me, I didn’t find it that bad, but I guess most of my class did. I thought U.S. History was much, much harder. I finished the multiple choice with roughly half an hour to spare, and the essays I had were on pretty general topics, such as the English Civil War and whatnot.</p>

<p>It’s somewhere between World History and US History.</p>

<p>IMO, the thing that makes Euro harder is the much larger prominence of intellectual trends, art, and other things that aren’t in the other two histories. Oh yeah, and women. Look at the past essays, there is almost always one about women on that test. Luckily, you pick from 3 possibilities for the FREs, but like I said, some could very well be about specific women’s movements and art - that means you really better know your stuff for a more “straightforward” historical essay.</p>

<p>For a challenge, try the 2010 Form B essay about art. I’m so glad I didn’t have those essays.</p>

<p>It’s hell is you don’t like history, but it’s heaven if you have an affinity for history. </p>

<p>I had a bad experience in AP World - horrible teacher - I never scored over a 4 on any of the essays and I got 50s and 60s on every test. </p>

<p>However, AP Euro was just so fascinating to me. You might find AP Euro intriguing as well. If so, it is well-worth taking :).</p>

<p>I loved the class but still found it hard at times. If you have a hard teacher, be grateful and don’t ***** and moan about it because he/she will do an excellent job preparing you for the AP test. I was freaking out for weeks about how hard this AP test would be, but it was nothing of the sort. Yes, there are some very specific MC questions that you’re not gonna know but then again there are also a ton of really easy ones that are gonna boost your score. Also, when I took it last year I basically aced the DBQ on Queen Elizabeth and the FRQs were also huge gifts that I used to my advantage. If you’re the type who hates MC exams, try to get at least a 50% on the part but then write amazing essays. The curve for the exam is one of the biggest ones too, but that doesn’t mean you can just go in dry cold without studying. My suggestion for you would be to read your textbook and pay very close attention in class during the school year because I guarantee you that some hard questions that 95% of the people who are gonna take the test won’t know you’ll know, which will give you a huge advantage.</p>

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<p>Getting a few questions hard questions right won’t necessarily give you an advantage over other test takers. The AP Euro test, along with all the other AP tests, is very predictable in what it tests. It tests the same content each year. The only thing that changes is how the test phrases a question. </p>

<p>Bottom line: knowing obscure facts isn’t going to help you for the AP Euro test. Get a copy of a released test, and you pretty much have everything you need to know right there. Make sure you can answer each question on the released test, even if the question were phrased a little differently or if the question asked for a different aspect of a certain event. There is more than one way to ask about the Edict of Nantes :). BTW - the Edict of Nantes has a 99% chance of showing up on your AP Euro test.</p>

<p>I thought it was pretty easy. I got a 4. The DBQ could be the hardest part if you get an obscure one. I took the test two years ago and the DBQ was about the Weimar Republic, which I thought we lucked out on. There were some obscure questions about women on there, which I’ve heard has become a trend, so watch out. I would say when studying try to create mneumonic devices or things like that. My friends and I remembered the Treaty of Tordesillas by thinking about a tortilla and how you cut it in half. Whatever works for you. And they took away the guessing penalty so guess away.</p>

<p>What IceQube said is perfectly valid.</p>

<p>I took the test two years ago and had the released exam from the year before.
iirc, there was 7-8 (out of 80) questions that were extremely similar to the released test. As in, they tested the same piece of knowledge, but were worded slightly differently.</p>

<p>I had a good teacher, did my work all year and listened attentively in class. I only bought the prep book a few weeks before the exam, and I ended up getting a 5. The DBQ is not that bad, as long as your teacher prepares you. Just listen in class throughout the year, and get a good study group and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help guys…
Unfortunately, my school is pretty mediocre as well as most of the teachers (especially in the English/History departments). My AP Euro teacher that last year, only half her students PASSED, which definitely concerns me.</p>

<p>I honestly thought, at highest, I’d get a 3…Ended up getting a 4 and I was quite surprised and happy. I started reviewing a month or so before the test actually happened.</p>

<p>One word for you…</p>

<p>HARD</p>

<p>Difficulty is relative. For the person who crams the night before, then yes, the test is likely to be perceived as difficult. </p>

<p>On the other hand, a good teacher, an interesting textbook, and a predilection for history makes the test relatively easy.</p>

<p>hardest thing I’ve ever done…</p>

<p>Is it possible for the ones tht have an A in the class, to fail the ap euro exam???</p>