Title says all. I hate math, but I was told that classes like AP Economics, Computer Science Principles, and Biology don’t require too much advanced math and are the “easier” AP classes. In reality, how hard are the exams, homework, and overall course load when taking these classes? (Including Computer Science Principles) Any help is greatly appreciated!
CSP is freakishly easy. Econ is average for a full-year course covering both nacro and micro. A full year course just covering one will be much easier. Bio is not hard (although it varies by student) but is rime consuming and heavy on memorization. I would not call bio an easy AP
No question Bio is more difficult than AP Econ. That being said, any teacher can make a light course harder. For example, AP Enviro teachers love to add a bunch of projects to the class, which can be fun, but are a time-sink, and not much of an academic challenge (beach clean up anyone?).
Keep in mind that generalizations about “easy” or “hard” may not apply to all students and/or teachers. Everyone doesn’t get an A and a 5 in CSP and everyone doesn’t get a C and a 1 in Bio.
Bio and CSP will be very light on math. Econ will have some, but nothing intense.
(Fwiw, “freakishly easy” CSP had the 9th lowest percentage of 5’s among the 37 AP tests.)
DD’s AP CSP class easily had 15 hours of homework each week. Fortunately the teacher gave assignments a week or two out, the kids learned a lot and even C students got 5’s on the AP exam.
AP CSA class barely had 1-2 hours a week.
Colleges know which APs are easier than others in general, so you can’t fool them by taking easier APs and thinking you’re hitting some magical minimum number. However, to get the most accurate sense of the workload in a school-specific sense, talk to students who have taken the class and ask the teachers who teach it what their expectations are.
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Comparing apples and grapefruits. The 5 highest are Chinese, Japanese, calc BC, and the 2 Physics C exams. Chinese and Japanese are skewed by native speakers. I doubt any would consider calc BC or physics C as easier than CSP. Plus CSP tends to have younger students on average and is a gateway course open to most with no prerequisite. That tends to shift the score distribution IMO. Doesn’t mean the course us hard. Of course, it could be hard for an individual and the teacher can make or break the class.
It’s more about passion than anything else. If you find a passion for it, you’ll want to do it, despite how hard it may be. Even then, college is only a start. You find passions throughout your life, which frequently leads to further education, job changes, or even writing a novel.