<p>Last year I took AP European history, and killed myself over the class. I ended up getting a 4 on the test. This year I'm a junior, and because US history is a requirement for graduation, I'm taking AP US history. Although I had nearly killed myself with Euro last year, I had a really good teacher who had a method of making everyone do his/her work, and overall I feel had prepared us well. Well this year, we would have had this teacher except he retired, and this new teacher has never taught an AP before. As a person, this new teacher is great, but as an AP US teacher, I feel he is lacking. His methods of teaching do not force his students to do the work they need to in order to be well prepared for the AP; as a result, I am slacking...
I know it's my own fault, but I can't seem to make myself motivated enough to actually take 10 pages of notes every night, especially since I can't take notes ( I end up writing everything down so notes kill me ), and personally, I dislike history.
I'm not sure if I should take the AP test come May. My mom suggests that I don't take it if I don't feel prepared... she thinks that just forgoing the test would be better than getting a 3 or lower.
I don't know... does it look bad to colleges if I take an AP course but not the test? Will they think that I'm taking it just for the GPA boost (which is NOT true, cause I'm getting an 89 in the class).
What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Take the test, you have nothing to lose. Say you do get a 3 or lower, you have the option of not putting that score down on applications, which would just be the same have you not taken the test. Honestly though, the only way to get a 1 or 2 is to not pay attention at all in class and basically take the test as if you never took the class.</p>
<p>Take the test. You won't get a 1, and a 2 isn't all that bad</p>
<p>Plus, you don't realize how easy it is to get a 3. My freshman year I took C++, had no idea what I was doing, and got a 3. Your other AP tests will balance out. A 3 does not look bad. Ive gotten two 3s, one 4, and six 5s (including US). Honestly, besides Env Sci, I felt US was the easiest of all of them. In both Spanish (I knew it was bad coming out) and C++ I felt very unprepared and got 3s. A 3 isn't bad and its easy to get.</p>
<p>Yes, not taking the AP test IS looked upon unfavorably. Have you read the article in US News and World Report? With so many students taking AP classes, they are losing their edge. Some schools even, believe it or not, create their own APs. Yes, there is a school that offers AP West Virginia History. Not taking the tests signifies nothing to the colleges; they want to see standardization, and they know what a 5 means. They can't compare AP Calc AB in School X from Y, but a student's performance is meaningful.</p>
<p>Take every AP Test if you took the class. I'm actually glad our school requires us to take the AP Test, and if we don't, we automatically fail the class. In senior year, a 55 = fail = no diploma = college recinsion.</p>