<p>Everyone says that AP Human Geography is one of the easiest APs, but I realized that it has a really low mean score, 2.61. So is the exam actually harder than people deem it to be? Also I plan on self-studying for the exam, so any recommendations on which books to use to study. Thanks!</p>
<p>Mean score does not correspond to course difficulty. The low score is due to the fact that the test is primarily taken by freshman, who may or may not be ready to start doong coursework on a college level. It’s similar to AP World History, which has a shockingly low amount of 5’s (only about 6%). It is actually a fairly simple course, but the fact that mostly sophomores take it as an their first AP class results in low overall scores. </p>
<p>Contrast with difficult tests like Calculus BC (more than 50%), which are difficult yet have such high scores.</p>
<p>At my school its a freshman class. Its easy in CC standards but I struggled in it (Maintained an A)</p>
<p>Would a review book be enough or would I need to use a textbooks as well for a 5?</p>
<p>A reviewbook is fine. However, you should know that unless you are actually interested in the material or can get useful college credit the test will be a waste of your time.</p>
<p>A review book alone would not be enough. The bok is just for review. You’d need a textbook and you’d have to read through it.</p>
<p>@goldmind</p>
<p>I disagree. “Review book” is just a name. You can easily get a 5 with the information in the book alone.</p>
<p>^ I think extra reading would be necesary for Human geo because the test was made up of many random facts that i read in my textbook. The review book just helped me organize the information for the exam.</p>
<p>I really don’t think it is necessary at all. (I took it in 2011, btw)</p>
<p>The only ‘random’ things I saw were a few general knowledge questions like “which country has the highest pop density” and you had to go between several central/south american countries. There were very few questions like that.</p>
<p>The test was primarily definitions + easy ‘applications’ of those definitions. </p>
<p>BTW: 2006 scoring: <a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board;
<p>62% of the total score is a 5. Pretty low, especially when getting high FRQ scores is easily since it is definition-based (like psychology), not essay based (like the history tests).</p>
<p>Part of the reason that the mean is so low may be that because Human Geo is perceived as an easy AP more students who aren’t the top of the class take it, thus dragging down the average score.</p>
<p>Human geo is pretty much hard memorization. I don’t think that a review book is enough; personally I think that you’ll need the class/textbook. Another thing is that if you walk in with a decent amount of geography/history knowledge you’ll do much better. You can study a ton but if you don’t know basic capitals and countries it will definitely be a hindrance.</p>
<p>no hg is not that easy, no ap class is rlly easy. While the amount of info that u have to learn in hg does not even compare to the expansive amount of memorization in say apush the subject matter is more dry and boring. Also, on other history exams u pick which frqs to anwser on hg u don’t get a choice.</p>
<p>Yes, it is that easy.</p>
<p>That being said, you do have to be interested in the subject. The review book gives you the knowledge of the terms and theories, but you do need to know facts - facts that you naturally pick up if you are interested. I don’t think you need a textbook, but you will need to pay attention to the news, etc., and I would recommend using all the available online resources.</p>
<p>HG is known to be one of the easier tests. However, the grade you receive in the class has more contribution to admissions than the score you get on the AP exam ever will so your goal should be to get an A in the class as it effects your GPA.</p>
<p>Human Geography isn’t hard, it’s just not taken seriously. In my school students struggle in AP Human Geography. My school does a good job of restricting AP classes. Only Juniors and Seniors can take it so they can take it more seriously and actually study for it. I don’t like the idea of freshman or sophomores taking the class they’re just doing it because it has ‘AP’ in the name. I doubt they’ll use those credits. Same thing applies to AP Environmental, students think it’s a joke class and not study for it, and get mad at the world because they got a 2.</p>
<p>Could be because people think it’s easy and go into the exam without sufficient preparation</p>
<p>It’s really easy. If you just read the textbook, you should be getting 100% on pretty much every test.</p>
<p>I didn’t take the class and literally read through my review book once starting at 1 AM the morning of the exam… I got a 5. I’m just really good at BSing haha.</p>
<p>I know everyone says it’s easy but please don’t underestimate the class. I did and ended up with a 4 (which is still a good score but hey, it’s not a 5). Also, don’t rely entirely on a review book. Remember to listen in class. I pretty much thought reading my Barron’s was going to guarantee me a 5 based on other Ccer’s experiences but it didn’t. The difficulty of an AP class is relative to the individual so take everyone’s advice, even my own, with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Is AP human geography easy in general, or easy only if you read the news?</p>
<p>Because I don’t read the news, and I don’t really know anything about geography in general. Even so, would it be possible for me to self-study a 5?</p>
<p>Honestly, it’s extremely easy. By far the easiest AP test. I had initially signed up to take the course online since I had moved states and geography was a graduation requirement in my new state, but made it through one chapter’s worth of assignments before I gave up and stopped doing any work. I convinced my guidance counselor to let me skip the course requirement if I got a 5 on the exam, so I just self studied it. And by self studied it, I mean I opened a review book two days before the exam and read it twice. A review book is really all you need to do well on the AP exam. A ton of the material is common sense or simple data interpretation. Not many questions deal with extremely recent news, so you should be fine if you’re not very up to date on worldly affairs.</p>