<p>So, I'm a Freshman, currently enrolled in U.S History I Honors, and I have a 98/99 in the class, and I was the only student out of my teacher's 110 students to be recommended to APUSH. I hear terrible things about it from all my friends who are in it as Sophomores.</p>
<p>I love History, Social Sciences and English have always been my strong suits. My History Teacher told me that I should "expect to receive your (my) first low C in AP U.S History, because it certainly isn't a piece of cake"</p>
<p>...Is AP U.S History going to like, assault my GPA next year?</p>
<p>depends on your school.</p>
<p>I understand that all schools are different, but typically – how is APUSH? I mean, I usually hear the terrible things regarding APUSH from Forums such as this, which is basically an average of all schools, and my High School isn’t too out of the norm, I presume.</p>
<p>Honestly, my school considers it to be the easiest of the AP classes. AP World being the hardest. The kids in it just say there is a lot to remember, and there is a lot of major themes but they aren’t bad.</p>
<p>@JonWasNotHere - at our school, it’s the opposite. A lot of kids post pone taking AP U.S History so they can take AP World their Junior Year, I know about 10 or so of my friends that are choosing to do that. </p>
<p>A couple months back, when we were getting our lovely recommendations, about 4 friends of mine weren’t recommended, however they were adamant to get in, so they were trying to “fight the man” and get in without recommendation, but 3 have seen / heard the immense difficulty that comes along with APUSH, and only one guy is still going into it, despite getting a 77 this quarter in Honors U.S I. My History Teacher said he has a death wish D: LOL.</p>
<p>OK, I’m going to give my opinion, but first I have a bias warning. First, I have a very good teacher for APUSH (he’s been an AP grader many times, and is doing it again this year - if you don’t do well, you can blame him). Second, I live in New York, where we have standardized tests that force us to learn how to write DBQ essays in 8th grade. Third, I am probably in the top ten, maybe even top five, in the APUSH class (not the school class, the APUSH class). Fourth (now I might be giving too much information, but you should know all my biases. If you (anyone on the forum) think you know my identity, go ahead and send me a PM), I am the son of someone who was a history major in college.</p>
<p>All that said, I personally found the class extremely easy. I found the AP World History class difficult (I got my lowest average in school in that class, and people who opted for honors rather than AP got 100s easily), partially because the essays had a cruel rubric with a list of things you had to include to get a good score, and I wasn’t good at including all of them. I barely even read the textbook after the first quarter, and I still got a 95 second and third quarters, and I am safely in the 5 range on the test. It’s the only test other than Environmental Science that I have or had a safe 5 on before the test - I credit luck with my 5 in World, and luck will determine my score on Chemistry and Language/Composition.</p>
<p>Even with my bias, I would say that if you’re willing to do the work to get a good score, you certainly should take the class. I was told the same thing about World, and I ended up in the low B range. With your score in the class, there’s no reason not to. If English and history are your strong suits (meaning you’re good at history and can write good essays), take it.</p>
<p>Oh my - I think for a lot of people who have a distaste for History, it’s the idea that it’s not concept based as other subjects such as Math, where you’re taught a certain formula that you apply in countless problems, but rather analyzing certain facts and pure memorization, but for me, I work best that way. I love analyzation, and U.S I Honors is nearly effortless for me, where on the other hand, I have to actually <em>work</em> to maintain a similar grade in Honors Bio.</p>
<p>I took APUSH online and it was very easy - history is pretty much my worst subject but I still got A’s both semesters. If you’re really worried about the class in your school, and it’s an option, you could consider doing it online.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would say I’m probably the best all-around student in my class (there are some kids who are amazing at math, writing, etc. but I think I have the best balance) and it ended up that I’m probably the second or third best at my school in APUSH. That said, it was definitely the toughest class I had this year (though I am a sophomore), though I don’t think I ever really had to do more than 5 hours a week work and may have gotten the best grade this semester (92%, it’s a tad deflated at my school).</p>
<p>I think taking it online is an option, but I wouldn’t do it online - I wouldn’t be efficient. Our School is slowly transforming into a technologically driven one, where every student does their work on a LapTop, every teacher uses an Eno board, and the first Department to utilize it is the History Department, and I’m not fond of taking my notes on a computer or doing any online work. I’d rather write 5 pages explaining the Second National Bank than have to type up a paragraph on it on my Wikispace.</p>
<p>…is there something wrong with me, lol?</p>
<p>Nothing at all wrong with you. I’m also a huge history person, and I can relate :)</p>
<p>Personally, I found AP World and US to be about equal in terms of difficulty. I got a 5 on World last year and will be taking US this Friday. My World teacher was mediocre and my US teacher is just plain awful. </p>
<p>But here’s the glory of the history APs- no matter how good or bad your teacher is, you can self-study. Get a good book like AMSCO and read it thoroughly, taking the practice quizzes along the way. Take the quizzes on historyteacher.net and understand the wrong answers.</p>
<p>What it all comes down to is memorization. Usually people like us who enjoy history excel at this, so you’ve already got a leg up.</p>
<p>No matter how tough the actual class may be, just remember: they can only ever test you on US History. While that may not sound encouraging, it is very possible to self study everything.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>It really does depend on your school, but I’m guessing it won’t be as bad as you think if you’re a history person. At my school, APUSH has a reputation for being extremely hard (or at least that’s what I thought going into it), but I’m finding it extremely manageable, and most people I know are finding it doable too. If the class at your school requires a lot of work to do well, if you’re the type of person who does well in history you probably won’t have a problem with the amount of work they give you, as you’ll probably enjoy doing it. And if it turns out to be too much, I’m guessing you can always drop down to regular history after a few weeks, so there’s no harm trying it out. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>It’s not that bad. Really just reading and comprehending your textbook.</p>
<p>My daughter had a terrible teacher for AP USH and will be happy if she can manage a 3 on the test. She is an A student, 3rd in her class, and got 5’s on her AP tests last year, but she is going in feeling like she didn’t learn anything in this class. Not only have they not reviewed, but they are still learning new material. On Friday they covered the 1960’s. </p>
<p>And he is still assigning homework with long essay answers. She told him that she has to stop doing his homework so she can spend the time reading everything they didn’t cover yet. Only 3 kids out of a class of 16 are taking the test.</p>
<p>I have the test next week Friday (well, this week Friday 
since it’s Saturday). The class is easy for me, I have always been good in history and I barley every study… never mind, I never study (bad habit). Anyways, I started off the year with a 84 (weighted course) than in semester 2, I got a 94, finally last semester I got a 104 averaged in 
This final semester, I am doing great. On the last essay test, I’ve gotten a 48/50 and I will probably end up with another 104, but as I said, I’ve always been good. </p>
<p>Anyways, our class is also in 1960s, the AP exams take this into consideration and there aren’t many post-1960 questions and the essay choice is not likely to have them. Either way, my teacher planned after school reviews all next week and we will be reviewing post 1960, things we couldn’t do in class. </p>
<p>My teacher is great Anyways, I will try to study by reading the review book we use for class and a book I got from the library. </p>
<p>Wish me luck! I really hope I can get a 5, but I doubt it. As long as I don’t get anything under a 3!</p>
<p>Only if the books your school uses has arms and can punch.</p>
<p>If you are the only one recommended for APUSH, does that mean you are going to be in a one person class…?</p>
<p>I don’t see how you could have too much difficulty with AP US History if you’re taking Honors the preceding year, unless the teacher is a very difficult grader. I’d say take it; you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>LOL, there are other History Teachers – it means let’s say, there are 15 or so History Freshman Teachers.</p>
<p>Most Teachers didn’t reccommend students, they let them choose, my Teacher, on the other hand, reccommended only me, and didn’t allow any other students to take it unless they discussed it with parents and their guidance counselor. – So, I’m probably the only one in APUSH from my previous class, so I’ll be with completely different students.</p>
<p>I’m self studying it right now, just taking the tests with the actual class in my school and doing the homework over the weekend. I’ve stopped studying for our bi weekly tests save for 1-2 hours the night before, and I’m pulling a B+ average, but have improved my grade so my final will be an A.</p>
<p>I would consider APUS a time commitment class; work hard and you’ll do fine.</p>