I’m taking AP Comp Sci next year as a sophomore with little programming experience. I am wondering what I can do to be more prepared for the class.
What math are you in? Mathematical and logical thinking is very important in that class.
I’ve already taken Algebra 2, and I’ll be taking Pre-calc/trig and AP Stat concurrently with AP Comp Sci.
@dillonp2020 You’ll be fine then! Don’t worry about it!
Why not take a java course on edx.org ?
Oh, I also forgot to mention: taking THREE math classes can be taxing. I love math, but I tried to do that this year and it was overload. I was taking all honors {doubling my math, while taking AP Computer Science, which is DEFINITELY a math class} and DE class at the local CC. I decided to wait until the next year to take AP computer science A based on my schedule. What else are you taking next year?
My schedule, is as follows:
- AP Gov, (although typically an easier AP, my school’s APGOV teacher has a reputation for making it the hardest AP of them all)
- AP Comp sci (haven’t heard much)
- AP Stat (reputation as easy, nice teacher)
- Pre-calc/trig (same teacher as AP Comp Sci for some reason)
- French 4 (I’m already nearly fluent, so this one requires very little work)
- Honors English 10 (so-so reputation when it comes to difficulty)
- Honors Chemistry (not hard)
Also, I’ve taken an original credit summer school math course, and I was perfectly fine with the five hours a day.
@dillonp2020 Important question: which AP CS class is it? There’s two: AP Computer Science Principles (An intro level course to a lot of topics in Computing) And AP Computer Science A (Intermediate JAVA Programming, which is seen as a LOT harder of the two.)
In my school, the honors classes are a LOT of work. You might have an easier time than I did. But that still seems like a rigorous schedule, so I would be careful.
To be honest, it all comes down to how dedicated you are and how well your teacher can teach. But if you want a good base, here are some sites: khanacademy, udemy, codehs, and the one mentioned before edx.org. Just go into class with a can do attitude and always be respectful.
@equationlover He’s taking CS A but he really should be taking Principles given his work load. OP, you should really take principles to see if you want to continue in computer science. AP exam is easy and doesn’t screw up your brain like Honors English does.
OP, I agree with @Iamthesenate. Since you are trying to take AP Computer Science A with your already rigorous course load, you should take AP Computer Science Principles instead. You will get burnt out way too fast if you keep your current schedule . If your school doesn’t offer APCSP, then try taking an intro level programming class instead.
I just got done teaching both AP CS-A and AP CSP last year. I agree, AP CSP is WAY easier. There are “Performance Tasks” that are submitted online in the few days before you actually sit for the AP exam M/C portion so there are no free response questions, like the other exams. That might be a bit time consuming but they aren’t really very difficult, in my opinion. I had several students in my CS-A class without much CS background, but they were very very bright students. They worked very hard in that class. As a teacher, I thought it was a pretty difficult. It starts out pretty easy but gets hard about halfway through. I would consider getting started with some online tutorials and try to stay ahead of the material. If you search for “Rebecca Dovi” on youtube, you will find her videos for the AP CS-A course that you can start watching. There are many of them but they are short introductions - she covers the things you need to know specifically for the AP course in JAVA, which might be more helpful than a general JAVA text or book, so that you understand the scope and depth of what you’ll be expected to learn. I would start NOW.
Kinda late posting this but I just made an account to answer you 
Useful study places: here are my top 3 websites
1. http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/JavaReview/index.html
2. http://www.mrpudaloff.com/ap-notes–videos.html
3. https://codehs.com/course/info/apreview
Books: Barron’s guide to AP comp sci A (get latest version)
Youtube: TheNewBoston, Derek Banas, BrandonioProductions
Goodluck!! Any questions please message me.
-Ryan