[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefguru You guys are all taking the easy ones! Biology is where it's at

pshaw, AP bio was the easiest.

 

[Oistrakh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefguru You guys are all taking the easy ones! Biology is where it's at

Isn't Biology easy? I heard AP Physics was hard, definately not taking that!

 

[morphine]

I took a ridiculous number of APs in HS. They're pretty much like every other test... but some are more difficult than others.

Your performance will also depend HEAVILY on how well trained you were for it by your teacher. The teachers who've been teaching for a long time almost know what it is that the AP graders are looking for.

Contrary to popular belief, colleges don't actually care about the score you get on your AP exam. That's just for what credit you can get once you're in. Also, note that most Ivy's/top schools won't accept your AP credit regardless of what score you get. I find a rough cut off is from #14 and up. Colleges are more interested in how you did in your AP courses as they'll use that to gauge your performance in difficult classes.

I have lots of little tidbits and thoughts about each exam specifically that I'll post a little later when I get more time.

m

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh Isn't Biology easy? I heard AP Physics was hard, definately not taking that!

it is! it is! but, that's a good thing; it's a class (and exam) worth taking the midnight oil to.
the cut of isn't 14 and up. is say more like top 20 private and top 10 public (UC berkeley doesn't care (they gave me like alot of credits i could use if i want though, but no free pass from any class (except foriegn language)).

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh Isn't Biology easy? I heard AP Physics was hard, definately not taking that!

physics was easy too; i thought US history was the hardest just because of the sheer amount of material you had to cover.

 

[Oistrakh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphine Your performance will also depend HEAVILY on how well trained you were for it by your teacher. The teachers who've been teaching for a long time almost know what it is that the AP graders are looking for.

I think this is the first year my teacher's teaching AP world, he taught AP US for a number of years before. The other AP world teacher has been teaching for long time and even is an AP grader

 

[pne]

great advice from the poster who suggested taking college classes during the summer. Honestly AP will do very little for you. It's a feel good program designed for parents who like to brag about their kids achievements. A lot of people out there have the attitude, but my child is smarter than normal kids. He/she should be placed in an advanced program.

I was in the IB program, which is higher than AP because it is worldwide recognized. It did not help me a single bit in prepping for University. Save yourself the time and grief. In the end it is your work ethic that will help you succeed in college, not some feel good program you take in high school to stroke your ego.

 

[Oistrakh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne great advice from the poster who suggested taking college classes during the summer. Honestly AP will do very little for you. It's a feel good program designed for parents who like to brag about their kids achievements. A lot of people out there have the attitude, but my child is smarter than normal kids. He/she should be placed in an advanced program. I was in the IB program, which is higher than AP because it is worldwide recognized. It did not help me a single bit in prepping for University. Save yourself the time and grief. In the end it is your work ethic that will help you succeed in college, not some feel good program you take in high school to stroke your ego.

but if you want to go to a good college, you've got to take AP courses because the competition is so intense

 

[binkgle]

as much as people say APs don't help, they really do just add some extra stars to your transcript for colleges, and the more stars the better (though you should definitely try to have some extracurricular interests and not rely on your academic record).

i'm taking AP Lit, French Language, Calculus AB, and Physics B (the one without calculus, I haven't learned how to incorporate that yet).

edit: and i agfree with what oistrakh just said. if you plan on going for a good college, or even a mid-range one, APs generally look good. and anyway, why not take the higher level class if you can?

 

[pne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh but if you want to go to a good college, you've got to take AP courses because the competition is so intense

Personally I would think a college would rather take a student with a 95% average, non AP, rather than an 75% average, with AP. And yes, IB did make that difference between a 90 average and an 80 average for me. I only took a single non IB class (english) and had an average of 94 in that class.

 

[JahJahBinks]

looks like they still have the stupid AP today.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne great advice from the poster who suggested taking college classes during the summer. Honestly AP will do very little for you. It's a feel good program designed for parents who like to brag about their kids achievements. A lot of people out there have the attitude, but my child is smarter than normal kids. He/she should be placed in an advanced program. I was in the IB program, which is higher than AP because it is worldwide recognized. It did not help me a single bit in prepping for University. Save yourself the time and grief. In the end it is your work ethic that will help you succeed in college, not some feel good program you take in high school to stroke your ego.

ummm, the point of APs is to skip out of certain requirements and save $$

 

[pne]

actually its a result of schools pressuring colleges/universities to give more credit to AP graduates. My university only offered a measly $700 scholarship and practically no course advantages when accepting IB/AP students. Going into engineering there were no courses I was allowed to "skip", not that I'd trust a high school AP certification over a college course anyways!

 

[steel102]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne Personally I would think a college would rather take a student with a 95% average, non AP, rather than an 75% average, with AP. And yes, IB did make that difference between a 90 average and an 80 average for me. I only took a single non IB class (english) and had an average of 94 in that class.

dunno, there are a lot of kids these days with a 95% average AND APs; which would you rather have?

 

[Oddball]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh I just don't want to get a 4, I want a 5. A 4 looks bad on college application (that is if you're applying to "ivy-league" colleges. Colleges also see the AP grades!

I will be attending Princeton this fall. I'm not an athlete, artist, or legacy, so I speculate that I was admitted on academics (they've also seen my AP scores). I've taken six AP tests and got four 5s and (horror!) two 4s: one on Spanish Language and the other on Computer Science AB. I'm only an example of anecdotal evidence, but I haven't seen any evidence that 4s on AP exams are the ultimate killers of college applications. Trust me--a 5 isn't the holy grail and a 4 isn't a reason to freak out. A 4 is far from looking bad on a college application, even if you're applying to ivies. Don't stress about AP grades--they're just numbers.

But as to the thread topic, I'm taking AP Chemistry + 6 IB exams. Joy of joys!