I have a couple of APs that i want to take in mind, but i would like to know from others experiences about the difficulty and the number of hours a week they have put into the class, so i don’t overload myself.
World History
Spanish Language and Composition
US History
European History
Physics 1
Government
Psychology
English Literature
English Language
Biology
Calculus BC
Economics
Ask the people at your school. They’ll know best.
Is that the ranking or would you like one?
I’ve heard Pysch was not to bad and I took government and didn’t think it was to bad. I’ve heard US is hard for sure and BC calc.
It depends on many factors. Some people may enjoy social sciences so they find those courses easier while others enjoy studying mathematics or science. Some people are good at memorizing basic information so they do not find courses such as US History or Biology difficult.
this is not the ranking. I would like you guys to rank it. And i am really good at memorization. I LOVE history and social sciences. I like biology too and i am really good and math and science but i’m not passionate towards it. I am also in the PRE-AP program so i will HAVE to take ap physics. i just want to know how much time i will be spending on these classes and which ones i will have to work the extra hard on.
We don’t know what it’s like at your school. Ask people there.
Course difficulty can vary even within schools. We had two AP Calc teachers last year that never seemed to be on the same page. One class ended up getting lower overall grades, but higher average scores on the AP test.
It can vary, but here’s an approximate list based on what most say:
EASIEST -> HARDEST
Psychology
English Language
World History
English Literature
Physics 1
Economics
Government
US History
European History
Biology
Calculus BC
I have no idea about AP Spanish. Also, this will vary based on what subjects you’re good at and who the teachers are.
Easy–> Hard
Psychology (20-40% get a 4 or 5)
Economics (basic math + memorizing abilities, pretty easy AP)
English Language (if you’re a decent english student)
US History (I’m a history person, so i found it easy)
World History ( pretty simple AP if you’re good at memorizing, and like different cultures)
Government (lots of memorization, but not difficult imo)
Euro (lots of synthesis and difficult essays in comparison to other histories)
Bio (lot’s of homework and memorization)
Calculus BC (May be easy if you’re good at math, but is hell for me right now)
Physics 1 (4.1% 5 rate is awful- advise you don’t take, not because it’s hard just ridiculous)
Can’t Judge “AP Spanish”, but probably very difficult (unless you love spanish or can compete with closely with native speakers I’d avoid taking it, because a 3 on the AP test will be likely.
When figuring out which AP tests/classes you want to take… I’d first evaluate if your like Analytical classes like math and science more, or if you like humanity classes like english and history. It’s so much easier when you like the material your covering than when it’s a grind and you have 3-4 hours a night in that subject. Good luck choosing.
The difficulty normally depends on your specific teacher/school. I’ve taken four of those APs and would say that Psych is definitely the easiest (though it is time consuming), then AP Literature (a lot of reading, but not super demanding), AP Biology (I almost never get homework and the class is easy, but the tests are impossible), and then AP Lang+Comp (hard and time consuming in my opinion).
@PsychicPanda2 It was a new course last year and nobody really had any idea what was going to be on the exam. The course itself isn’t that bad. I’m taking it as a sophmore and have an A there and still have my sanity intact. I think it’s definaley a class though where you want a teacher who knows what they are doing, which fortunatly I have. There are a few upperclassmen in my teacher’s room at the same time as us studing AP Physics 2 and they got all 4’s and 5’s on the test. So I definatly avoid it, just maybe approach with caution.
I understand that the difficulty of a given AP Class will differ significantly depending on one’s location, one’s own passions, and one’s strengths, so the following is recognized to be my opinion - nothing more, nothing less.
I’ve take 17 AP Classes and will rank them for you (in order, from easiest to most difficult in terms of subject matter, workload, the exam, etc.):
@SirPepsi
How?
Why?
What do you mean?
Of the ones you listed that I’ve taken, here is my ranking in terms of the actual AP exam. I have no idea what the classes at your school are like, but this is a ranking of exam difficulty, not class difficulty:
Easiest to hardest:
@SirPepsi
How did you manage to take all those AP classes and why did you choose to take them?
Oh, haha. Well, six of them I’m taking this year - the others are what I’ve taken throughout High School. Some, like Psych, Gov, and the Econs, are Semester-long and can be taken one-after-the-other. All require a significant time investment but aren’t impossible to ace if you’ve got the drive.
My school offers 8 periods/day (7/day for Seniors unless they opt for the full 8) with the option of increasing that to 9 by taking classes before or after normal release and is quite good about scheduling around conflicts. In addition to the 17 AP courses I’ve taken/am taking, I’ve completed 11 Honours courses with hardly a problem. It doesn’t really feel like work to me - I wasn’t aware that I was outside the norm.
Of course, the amount of homework I had prevented more EC commitment, but I’ve always been an academic and it seemed the natural thing to do.
Yeah, I’m taking 6 AP classes (seven exams because of physics) this year too, which will bring my total AP exams taken up to 15 in May.