about

ask me anything :)

advice

15/f/junior (next year)

So I was put into the APUSH class for next year bc i had a 98 average in my CP class, and I am freaking OUT because ive been hearing rumors that APUSH is basically a synonym for HELL, with its many essays and intense midterms and finals (we even have to do 6 essays and write a 1-page-long single space introduction about ourselves by september 19)

if youve taken it, what are your experiences with the course?

also do you think i should take this class? i am prone to procrastination, i hate writing essays, and im an avid perfectionist so if i got under an 88 grade in the class i know ill be beating myself up about it. i dont even like history that much, but since i was rejected from AP Composition i dont have any other AP course on my schedule, which is bad since i want to go to Princeton, an Ivy League!! so should i just drop the course before i do all this summer work if i know i wont be 100% committed?

helpp is appreciated. thanks!

I'm not going to lie, it is a really hard class. It requires A LOT of work. You're basically covering all the material from the ice age to Bill Clinton- in detail. In my class, we had a test about every two weeks, but it covered like three or four chapters. And they were long chapters- like 30 pages each- I'm not exaggerating at all. In my class, we didn't write too many essays, but when we did, it was helpful towards the AP exam you take in May. I'm just like you- procrastinate a ton, but then beat myself up about it at the end because I didn't do better. I've spent so many nights up until 4 in the morning, trying to cram all the chapters in in one night. It doesn't work. If you're going to Princeton or some other IV League school, this would be a really good class to take. But you can't procrastinate. I did, but I only did okay in the class because I had a SUPER nice teacher. I ended up with a C+ in the class, I think. I don't think the material you study is too hard, but there's so much of it. The class is extremely time consuming. For summer reading, we had to read four chapters in the book, read another book that we chose out of a list and write an essay, and then read another book (Founding Brothers [which is TERRIBLE, by the way]) and do notes and an essay for that.
Whatever you do in the class, such as essays, I'm sure it will help a lot for the exam, which isn't easy. On the exam, there's I think 80 multiple choice, two essays [you can choose between two], and a DBQ [document based question]. It's not easy, but the class really prepares you for it if you take advantage of it.
Like you, I don't like history much, and I really wanted an AP class in my schedule. You can't procrastinate, and you need to do all the work, the best you can. If you get college credit after taking the exam, it's all worth it.

[view]

(Rating: 5) oh man, sounds intense..well as long as it's worth it in the end :/ although i WILL be pissed off if i get a C in the course.

thanks for the advice.
<<< Previous Advice Column
Next Advice Column >>>
eXTReMe Tracker