<p>On a scale from 1-10 (10 being hardest), could you rate each of those 3 classes, and also give me a description of how you studied those subjects to attain good scores? I am going to take those 3 AP courses in my senior year. The one I am a little scared of is AP Chemistry, because I am mediocre at science, I had terrible experience with AP Physics B (3).</p>
<p>It really depends on your ability on the exams. Below, I put a personal score in parentheses and the what I think the general consensus score is in brackets for each exam (Just so you know, I’m an incoming STEM major):
AP Computer Science (3) [4]
AP Chemistry (5) [8]
AP Calculus AB (1) [6]</p>
<p>I didn’t take AP Computer Science (since I don’t need the credits in college, although I’ve taken a computer science course similar to it), but I took AP Chemistry and Calculus BC. Yes, Chemistry is a killer course, but since the exam is being redone, that means things could be better or worse for you, we won’t know. However, with hard work, you should be fine.</p>
<p>For Chemistry, I’d be reading out of the textbook at the beginning of every week, do problems in the book in the middle of the week (homework + much more), and review at the end, probably a couple of hours for each step. This will help.
For Calculus, I can’t say much because the class was a breeze for me because I was able to retain information there pretty well (I make a lot of mistakes though, and I’ve definately learned from them). However, I would do a lot more problems than necessary most of the time whenever I’m doing homework (not at the last minute), just to expose myself to different styles of questions. What happened was that I had taught myself most of the material before we covered it in class, and when I get to class, the material there would be reinforced (although I wouldn’t take notes or anything, just listen and participate in discussions), and then doing more problems than required helps to reinforce material and helps to expose you to various types of problems. </p>
<p>Hopefully this will help!</p>
<p>I’ve taken APCS, AP Chemistry, and AP Calc BC (not AB), gotten 5’s on all of them, and from hardest to easiest, I would personally rank them:</p>
<p>1) AP Chemistry (8.5)
This class was a very tough one for me, as I hadn’t ever even taken a regular chemistry course before, so I definitely struggled. Make sure you understand the basic concepts extremely well and don’t fall behind. Read the textbook, go through practice problems, and look at former FRQs to succeed in the class and on the AP exam.</p>
<p>2) AP Calculus BC (7)
I found AP Calc to be easier than I expected, but I had a solid foundation in math, which helped me succeed in the class. Be sure you’re really good at algebra, because there’s a LOT of algebra needed (at least in Calc BC). Once again, practice and repetition with problems helps a ton.</p>
<p>3) AP Computer Science (5)
If you’re taking APCS for a full year, you should have plenty of time to cover all of the material. Just having time to get familiar with programming in Java helps a lot, especially with understanding the basic syntax of the language. Loops and arrays are two of the most important topics in APCS, and having experience with those will help a lot.</p>