I guess I’m looking essentially for study tips, and maybe tips from people who have been as completely insane as me. Here is a list of the tests I plan on taking:
AP Biology
AP Physics (C, Electricity and Magnetism, Mechanics)
AP Chemsitry
AP Calculus BC
AP Statistics
AP Spanish Language and Culture
AP Computer Science Principles
AP World History
AP Psychology (Self study)
AP Environmental Science (Self study)
I’m really just wondering if anyone has experience taking this many AP exams (11), and how they did it. I would have to say that I am the most nervous for AP Spanish and AP ComSci.
Also, I’m pretty confident that I can achieve this.
your Grade point average in HS is MUCH, MUCH more important to colleges than the # of AP tests you take, PARTICULARLY if you have NOT taken the corresponding AP class.
5-7 AP classes and tests is the maximum you should attempt.
any more than that is unnecessary, will NOT impress colleges and will just make you look desperate.
so relax.
If you are strong in math, calc and stats should be easy. Chem and physics, especially E&M, are much harder. My daughter didn’t take bio but I heard that was also difficult. IMO, you are setting yourself up to fail and there is no way to effectively review and prepare for that many tests.
You can take online AP classes from Johns Hopkins University. If you are satisfied with your performance, you can ask JHU to transfer the credits to your high school transcript. Your high school should recognize those credits.
Among my peer group, the top students take the following:
Freshman: 3 AP classes
Sophomore: 5 AP classes
Junior: 6.5 IB classes. Some add an extra AP or IB class.
Senior: 6.5 IB classes. Some add an extra AP or IB class.
Plus 1-2 classes from a local university.
I know one girl who has 27 AP and IB classes under her belt.
The minimum for the top performing students seems to be 15 AP and IB classes over 4 years, plus one college class.
My kid took a slew back in May. Physics C Mechanics, Physics C E&M, Stats, Psych, Engl Lit, MacroEcon, MicroEcon, US Govt, CS A.
Physics C E&M will be the hardest one. English Lit is very hard and my kid got a 5 but I think it must have been curved because he thought he was going to get a 4.
AP Calc BC is sufficiently curved such that if you do really well on the MC but mess up somewhat on the FRQ you can still get a 5.
If there’s any advice I would say that for the self study ones, you probably need to start studying a couple of hours a week from the beginning of the school year rather than trying to cram everything in the last week like my kid did for his MacroEcon and MicroEcon tests. The other advice is don’t get overconfident on anything. My kid found the AP US Govt class itself so easy, hardly studied and got a 4 instead of a 5. Finally, I shouldn’t say this, but take a look at the AP scheduling well in advance and place some strategical doctor’s visits at the right time so that you don’t double up really hard tests and do one one ( or more ) of the tests on a makeup day instead. If possible, do only one test a day. For example, for some reason they always put Calc BC together with Physics C on the same day which makes little sense.
Here’s how I would rank your tests:
AP Biology - medium hard
AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism - very very hard
AP Physics C Mechanics - very hard
AP Chemistry - medium to very hard
AP Calculus BC - very hard but the rate of people who gets 5 is pretty high
AP Statistics - easy
AP Spanish Language and Culture - don’t know
AP Computer Science Principles - should be very easy. AP CS A was easy
AP World History - don’t know, though APUSH was fairly easy and US Govt should have been easy
Actually, they never put those 2 together, at least in the last decade. Physics C has always in that time been an afternoon exam with Bio and Music Theory in the morning. Similarly, calc has always in that time been a morning exam with Chinese in the afternoon.
Yeah, probably not. While it will work for AP exams, it probably won’t work for college finals and certainly won’t work for projects in the post-graduation job. I’m not sure the value in telling a HS student how to game the system.
For the OP, I’m less concerned about her taking 11 exams (which is crazy, but her choice), than I am with the plan of taking AP Bio, AP Chem, and AP Physics C concurrently. Bio and Chem especially are huge time sucks with labs. I’m not sure how one balances all that classwork and maintain a GPA and do ECs and, if a senior, write college apps.
I’d say don’t self study the last couple of tests. It’s pointless. I would still strongly advise you to rethink taking 9 AP classes in one year- that’s more than the amount of APs I’ll be taking in my whole high school career. Even though some people can do it, really, what’s the point?
@skieurope you’re right, that was the wrong combo. I don’t remember which one anymore but there was a definitely one nasty morning/afternoon combo that a lot of kids were getting out of, can’t remember. Since Physics C is paired with Bio, that one would be a good candidate to find a bye for a later date.
And yes I never discourage anyone at all from taking as many AP classes/tests as they can handle, but having 3 lab classes is crazy. Just AP Physics C by itself is a bear.
Remember Most Colleges care about if you are challenging yourself during the High School Years (Freshman-Senior) but don’t typically care for the amount you do unless you want to be a AP Scholar or something of that level.
Pick AP Classes that either you honestly like and have a interest in or if you already taken a class in honors in your previous years (Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science) and or already very fluent(possibly native)/know/have fun in learning languages, then AP Spanish is your friend. Or if your school is forcing you take a class to graduate such as a history/social science/ science than maybe APES, AP Psych & AP World should be the ones to turn to.
Pick 2 easy classes (Your choice) 1 medium-soso class and 1 superhard/suicidal class for you to take. This will leave you 2-3 free spots that you either fill it with honors/class your school makes you take or a possible free period for all the work you have to take during the school year.
But at the end day, it’s your choice and you know what you can handle, just make sure its a mixture of play hard & fun instead of just hard work & stress.
Are you doing this because you think it will look impressive, or are you doing this because you want the credit in order to help you graduate in less time (and save money)? Asking because I don’t think it will help you at all for getting into colleges; I think you’re better off focusing on APs in the areas that you are interested in and focusing on your grades and ECs. If you’re not trying to get into a prestige school and you are doing it to graduate college early, make sure you concentrate on the classes that you will use as prerequisites for other classes so you will have a solid foundation. If you’re doing it for the credits and you are a Senior, I don’t see where self-studying for an AP and taking the test will hurt you, EXCEPT that it will take time away from other things. If you’re a Junior, some colleges will require you to submit all your AP score results but I think most won’t.
As one additional point…please recognize that admission officers are not looking to get a bunch of testing drones on campus. It is likely that you will be the one most impressed by this. IMO you should spend your time doing extraordinarily well in class and standardized tests and doing interesting and meaningful ECs.
So the question becomes: Are there two people sharing this account (which violates the rules) or are you having a go at us and misrepresenting yourself with conflicting data (which also violates the rules)?