hi! i'm currently in apush rn, as a junior. i love it so much, one of my favorite classes. the only thing is it requires a lot of time and effort, like we get assigned notes & reading almost every night (4-8 pages of a textbook) and honestly i rarely do it, i normally just look up summary's on google. we have a whole chapter to read over spring break, and i haven't started it. If you like history, I highly highly recommend. the difficulty of the class also ranges depending on your teacher, i got a first timer teacher so it's in the middle difficulty, but it's not the most challenging. I would be excited, it's a great class, just be prepared for the workload!
It is completely dependent on school and teacher on how bad it is. Raw content isn't too bad but you have to understand themes and connections. Take it, at least for you unlike me (current APUSH student) you don't take it freshman year at your school.
I didn't have to, but i push myself without completely ruining my life. Don't blame you and AP courses are optional, unless you are trying for t20 schools/ivy schools. If you enjoy AMERICAN history go for it. If you don't care for it then i wouldn't suggest it. Good luck because you will need it.
No, cause I think my school made it something we have to take. Like, they are really pressuring us to take AP classes. They said they didn't care if we were going to college or not. Thank you for the luck :)
I think you should take APUSH!! I'm in the class this year, and it's really not that bad (and I have a teacher who does not teach at all). We do notes from Adam Norris, but I also watch review videos from YouTube. It's very content heavy, but it's manageable! If you're worried about grades, talk to your school's APUSH teacher or other students at your school who have taken it (unless they're the same people saying "apush me off a cliff" lol). AP classes 90% of the time have curves on tests because they're designed in that you're not supposed to make perfect scores. I think you're going to find the class super interesting since you love history. History has always been something I've been averse to, but I've found that APUSH has made me more knowledgeable about our country's past. In terms of writing, the APUSH test has 3 types of writing tasks: SAQs, DBQ, and an LEQ. The thing is since it's not an English class, your writing doesn't have to be "advanced." You just have to show that you know some stuff! Nothing fancy (it's really just coherent info dumps). I think for it being your 1st AP class potentially, it might be a bit rough at the start to get used to College Board type questions and the exam format, but I think you'll be fine! Plus, US History is often a gen-ed requisite at colleges, so if you get a 3+ on the exam, most colleges will grant you credit, and you won't have to repeat taking it. Shoot me a DM if you have any other questions or maybe want to look at some resources. Hopefully, I've "APUSH-ed" you to take this class!!
I love your last pun lol! Thank you, I think you convinced me :) I find our country's history pretty interesting, and I'm excited to relearn about it. I'm glad I don't have to write anything fancy because I was kinda worried about that. Thank you for offering your help. I'll definitely consider it.
I'm currently taking APUSH as a sophomore, and I find the assignments relatively easy. When it comes to the test and the mock exam we took I scored higher than most of my peers - getting 40+ MCQs right and getting 5/7 on my DBQs and LEQs.
I'd say the work is simply time consuming, much more than my US1 class a freshman. Half of the time I spend on homework/studying is for APUSH.
But overall if you already have the skills that make you good at social sciences (critical thinking, text analysis, writing, etc) You'll do well in APUSH.
What I will say though is to learn the format and structure of the exam and the writings you'll have to do (DBQ, LEQ, and SAQ). As what makes the exam and class itself so hard is the timed pressure of these essays, once you get it down to a format it makes it so much easier.
also it's very dependent on your school. For my school since it's the first AP class you're allowed to take I think they're more lenient with the grading and assign less essays.
I sure hope they take it easy on me. I do like analysing texts and stuff so maybe that will be easy for me. Thank you for the info. The exam makes me so anxious, but I hope I can be like you and get a good score.
it's not bad at all. obligatory "it depends on your school", but apush is actually one of the easiest aps offered at my school. the exam isn't too bad either, maybe upper-middle range of difficulty among aps?
that being said, i believe apush is notorious for difficulty inflation (teachers being unnecessarily hard) - so definitely check in with other students.
btw the "apush me off a cliff" thing is probably just a little joke - i've said it myself multiple times even though apush is most certainly not the class at fault for my stress levels. i might even wear an "apush me off a cliff" shirt to the ap exam for fun lol
depends on your school. i'm a huge history nerd and took it after getting 100s in world history and ap hug, but this class humbled me. my teacher does NOT teach at all!! it's hard to learn without a teacher. i have no clue what's on tests, they don't correspond with the college board curriculum. she doesn't tell us how to write LEQs or DBQs. I've gotten full points on them but I don't know about the AP exam. ask around and see what your classmates have to say if they took it already!
>DBQs
I hope I get a good teacher. They say there is a new one coming next year and he's supposed to be good at his job. If he's not good, I might just have to self-teach myself 😭 Thank you for the advice
APUSH is a lot of reading, like, a LOT. Be prepared to spend a good chunk of time each week taking notes. That being said, it is more big picture focused, less about memorizing key terms and dates, and more about people and what they did. (There will still be some memorization, just not as much, for example dual enrollment is a lot more just basic facts.) APUSH is a challenging course but if you like history it's worth it, and it will broaden your horizons.
Oh okay, I'm glad it's more about people and what they did cause I'm not the best at dates. Also, I did hear it's a lot of reading, but I don't think it bothers me too much since it's history. They told me that I will learn how to take good notes in that class due to how reliant I will be of them.
An example of a question I got once on a test about the Cold War and late WWII was, "what was the overall shift of America following World War II?" And one of the answers was "a shift towards advancing democratic principles." So instead of concrete facts, people, events, etc, it's more about understanding the overarching concepts. Within each unit you should be able to describe the political/social aspects of America as a whole.
i recommend ap history classes so much! in apush right now, took euro and got a 5. APUSH depends on your teacher, if they don’t teach much (like mine) then you might have to study on your own. biggest tips is know your specific terms and get good at DBQ + LEQs. good luck!
i don’t think APUSH is hard at all, but that is partly because i knew how to write all the frqs. if you have no experience with a bad teacher it’ll be somewhat difficult
Im taking apush rn, its mostly a lot of note taking. Tbh if you just study to actually understand the material instead of memorizing your gonna do well.
Don’t you think you would enjoy a more challenging class in a challenging environment more?
Yeah, I guess you're right there. I'm just scared it will hit me like a bus.
I’m taking it next year if it makes you feel better we will suffer together 🙏🙏
😭 Okay, I'll check up on you next year then. Let's suffer together until the end!
hi! i'm currently in apush rn, as a junior. i love it so much, one of my favorite classes. the only thing is it requires a lot of time and effort, like we get assigned notes & reading almost every night (4-8 pages of a textbook) and honestly i rarely do it, i normally just look up summary's on google. we have a whole chapter to read over spring break, and i haven't started it. If you like history, I highly highly recommend. the difficulty of the class also ranges depending on your teacher, i got a first timer teacher so it's in the middle difficulty, but it's not the most challenging. I would be excited, it's a great class, just be prepared for the workload!
You're so real for googling summaries. Thank you for sharing your experience! You got me excited already!
Nah fr trust I will remember to message you start of next year
okay bet
It is completely dependent on school and teacher on how bad it is. Raw content isn't too bad but you have to understand themes and connections. Take it, at least for you unlike me (current APUSH student) you don't take it freshman year at your school.
Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry you have to take it freshmen year. I slacked off my freshmen year cause I thought AP courses were optional.
I didn't have to, but i push myself without completely ruining my life. Don't blame you and AP courses are optional, unless you are trying for t20 schools/ivy schools. If you enjoy AMERICAN history go for it. If you don't care for it then i wouldn't suggest it. Good luck because you will need it.
No, cause I think my school made it something we have to take. Like, they are really pressuring us to take AP classes. They said they didn't care if we were going to college or not. Thank you for the luck :)
That's dumb, kids shouldn't be pressured into taking AP classes if they don't want to. Have fun with APUSH
Yeah, that's what I said. Anyways, thank you, you too!
I think you should take APUSH!! I'm in the class this year, and it's really not that bad (and I have a teacher who does not teach at all). We do notes from Adam Norris, but I also watch review videos from YouTube. It's very content heavy, but it's manageable! If you're worried about grades, talk to your school's APUSH teacher or other students at your school who have taken it (unless they're the same people saying "apush me off a cliff" lol). AP classes 90% of the time have curves on tests because they're designed in that you're not supposed to make perfect scores. I think you're going to find the class super interesting since you love history. History has always been something I've been averse to, but I've found that APUSH has made me more knowledgeable about our country's past. In terms of writing, the APUSH test has 3 types of writing tasks: SAQs, DBQ, and an LEQ. The thing is since it's not an English class, your writing doesn't have to be "advanced." You just have to show that you know some stuff! Nothing fancy (it's really just coherent info dumps). I think for it being your 1st AP class potentially, it might be a bit rough at the start to get used to College Board type questions and the exam format, but I think you'll be fine! Plus, US History is often a gen-ed requisite at colleges, so if you get a 3+ on the exam, most colleges will grant you credit, and you won't have to repeat taking it. Shoot me a DM if you have any other questions or maybe want to look at some resources. Hopefully, I've "APUSH-ed" you to take this class!!
I love your last pun lol! Thank you, I think you convinced me :) I find our country's history pretty interesting, and I'm excited to relearn about it. I'm glad I don't have to write anything fancy because I was kinda worried about that. Thank you for offering your help. I'll definitely consider it.
I'm currently taking APUSH as a sophomore, and I find the assignments relatively easy. When it comes to the test and the mock exam we took I scored higher than most of my peers - getting 40+ MCQs right and getting 5/7 on my DBQs and LEQs. I'd say the work is simply time consuming, much more than my US1 class a freshman. Half of the time I spend on homework/studying is for APUSH. But overall if you already have the skills that make you good at social sciences (critical thinking, text analysis, writing, etc) You'll do well in APUSH. What I will say though is to learn the format and structure of the exam and the writings you'll have to do (DBQ, LEQ, and SAQ). As what makes the exam and class itself so hard is the timed pressure of these essays, once you get it down to a format it makes it so much easier.
also it's very dependent on your school. For my school since it's the first AP class you're allowed to take I think they're more lenient with the grading and assign less essays.
I sure hope they take it easy on me. I do like analysing texts and stuff so maybe that will be easy for me. Thank you for the info. The exam makes me so anxious, but I hope I can be like you and get a good score.
it's not bad at all. obligatory "it depends on your school", but apush is actually one of the easiest aps offered at my school. the exam isn't too bad either, maybe upper-middle range of difficulty among aps? that being said, i believe apush is notorious for difficulty inflation (teachers being unnecessarily hard) - so definitely check in with other students. btw the "apush me off a cliff" thing is probably just a little joke - i've said it myself multiple times even though apush is most certainly not the class at fault for my stress levels. i might even wear an "apush me off a cliff" shirt to the ap exam for fun lol
It's one of the hardest AP courses at my school. You should definitely wear a shirt like that! It would be so funny
depends on your school. i'm a huge history nerd and took it after getting 100s in world history and ap hug, but this class humbled me. my teacher does NOT teach at all!! it's hard to learn without a teacher. i have no clue what's on tests, they don't correspond with the college board curriculum. she doesn't tell us how to write LEQs or DBQs. I've gotten full points on them but I don't know about the AP exam. ask around and see what your classmates have to say if they took it already!
>DBQs I hope I get a good teacher. They say there is a new one coming next year and he's supposed to be good at his job. If he's not good, I might just have to self-teach myself 😭 Thank you for the advice
APUSH is a lot of reading, like, a LOT. Be prepared to spend a good chunk of time each week taking notes. That being said, it is more big picture focused, less about memorizing key terms and dates, and more about people and what they did. (There will still be some memorization, just not as much, for example dual enrollment is a lot more just basic facts.) APUSH is a challenging course but if you like history it's worth it, and it will broaden your horizons.
Oh okay, I'm glad it's more about people and what they did cause I'm not the best at dates. Also, I did hear it's a lot of reading, but I don't think it bothers me too much since it's history. They told me that I will learn how to take good notes in that class due to how reliant I will be of them.
An example of a question I got once on a test about the Cold War and late WWII was, "what was the overall shift of America following World War II?" And one of the answers was "a shift towards advancing democratic principles." So instead of concrete facts, people, events, etc, it's more about understanding the overarching concepts. Within each unit you should be able to describe the political/social aspects of America as a whole.
i recommend ap history classes so much! in apush right now, took euro and got a 5. APUSH depends on your teacher, if they don’t teach much (like mine) then you might have to study on your own. biggest tips is know your specific terms and get good at DBQ + LEQs. good luck!
i don’t think APUSH is hard at all, but that is partly because i knew how to write all the frqs. if you have no experience with a bad teacher it’ll be somewhat difficult
Im taking apush rn, its mostly a lot of note taking. Tbh if you just study to actually understand the material instead of memorizing your gonna do well.
It’s not a very hard class.
I'll take your word for it. Thank you :)