Taking AP World History exam = go for it?

Hey guys:

I got a dilemma here: should I take the AP World History exam in May?

A bit of background info: First, my school doesn't offer it (which means I have to find a school willing to take me in for the exam), and I'm set on pursuing history as my major in college. I have taken AP Euro as a sophomore (got a 5 on that exam), and I kinda want to take this exam so I have a strong backing for my declared major. This will be my 5th AP test I'm taking this year , and the scheduled time for that exam is advantageous for me, because the time and date of that exam is a day after I'm done with all my "main" AP Exams.

But in all aspects, the exam itself is very broad (covers about several thousand years of history), and out of all the AP History tests, this has the lowest pass rate (50% or below). You can probably guess why

Though, I feel like I can step up to the challenge and self-study till May. Should I do it?

Have you already taken World History?
I heard it wasn't that bad.

Taken World History Honors the summer before freshman year, did really well in that class (99% in the class)

However, do note that high school level content =\= college level content.

Taken World History Honors the summer before freshman year, did really well in that class (99% in the class)

However, do note that high school level content =\= college level content.

You'd be surprised at how much high school content is college content. History is history, college is just going to throw it at you faster, and perhaps with a stronger focus on a single period. I'm in a class right now entirely about Spanish and Portuguese exploration in the 15th and 16th century.

I say go for it. If you will be a history major, then why not attempt to get some credit for it? granted that some majors require that you take another class regardless of AP scores...

yeah college =/= HS, but there is a lot that you learn in HS that can be applied to college. College, the way i see it, is an expansion pack to what you've already learned.

It was the most difficult AP exam I ever took and the only 3 I ever got.
I got a 5 on all my other APs, although to be fair, they were mostly math and science ones.
I'm a math/science person, but I always did best in my history classes for some reason :3

Well, before even considering find out what's on it so you can study it. Take a look at some of the questions from previous AP tests. If you can handle those, then go for it.

Reasons to Take the Exam:

• Will major in History in college
  
• Have already done extremely well in the class associated with the test
  
• Does not conflict time-wise with any other AP tests
  

Reasons not to Take the Exam:

• It's "too hard" and "impossible to get a good grade"
  

*Looks at lists*

Don't wimp out. Take the exam.

Seriousness: More pros than cons. Difficult exams are difficult, but not impossible; you'll need to study hard, especially since you won't be taking the exam immediately after taking the class. However, that again doesn't mean it will be impossible - just difficult. From a collegiate perspective, a near-definite History major should ABSOLUTELY be taking such an exam (especially if you did well in the class), as the credit earned will be extremely beneficial in the long run.

In conclusion? Stop whining and take the exam! If you did that well in the class, hard studying is all that's in the way between you and a 4-5 on the exam.

What's the worst that can happen? You fail the exam. If you fail the exam, the university will just ignore your score. What then? You still have two years to retake the exam and pass it. (And keep in mind that passing is 3, not 5.)

Universities don't use your AP scores for admissions. They merely look at it. There's no "it looks good or bad" kinda thing in admissions; all of the numbers are strictly objective. The only subjective part in admissions is the personal statement, on which you will not be discussing scores anyways.

The point of the exam is to credit you as though you took the class in univ. This does several things:

1. It exempts you from the class.
2. It gives you units.

This will actually harm you if you don't understand what it does. Being exempt from the class means that you'll have to remember everything you learn this year for a higher-leveled class you may take years later in college. You won't be allowed to retake World History 1 in college, or if you take it, you won't get any units and you won't get grade for it. Getting units means you graduate sooner, meaning if you want to take other classes at your university, you won't be able to after you run out of units.

That being said, consider why you are pursuing a history major. Is it easy because you actually understand it and find meaning in it, or is it easy because you memorize things easily? Only if it's the latter would I advise against taking the test.

I'm assuming you wish to pursue a history major because you have interest in the subject. If so, then you would learn it regardless of whether or not the AP test for that subject exists, right?

 Unrelated but relevant.

1. How will you be able to make a living off a history major?

2. If you haven't already, go screw around with the UC app but don't submit it. Just play around with it since it's the same every year. It should give you a better understanding about how your scores fit in.

Actually, you can choose to not have your score sent to colleges after the test.

Offtopic: I lulz at the warning saying "Multiple Choice questions are to never be discussed for any reason."

Ontopic: If you've taken APUSH, APWH isn't going to feel any different. But I'll admit there was one multiple choice question that unnerved me. All it did was show a picture of a building and asked "Where is this location referenced in the photograph?" Chances are you won't see such a question though.

Also, try to find out what the cutoff date is because it's useless to study stuff in more current times (say 1960's) if the test isn't ever going to go over it.

Just go for it. I took regular US history in high school (scheduling at my school was retarded and I got stuck with it), and when my friends were going over reviews and stuff before the AP test, I actually knew quite a bit of it from my regular class.

Offtopic: I lulz at the warning saying "Multiple Choice questions are to never be discussed for any reason."

My response to that AP "warning" is...."Y so srs?" xD

Ontopic: If you've taken APUSH, APWH isn't going to feel any different. But I'll admit there was one multiple choice question that unnerved me. All it did was show a picture of a building and asked "Where is this location referenced in the photograph?" Chances are you won't see such a question though.

Trust me, I would not be relaxing if I were you. I've seen one question relating to this on my last year's AP European History exam, and on my SAT II World History exam. Luckily, I had enough knowledge I could take out from my brain to answer it correctly. I call those types of questions "no-brainer questions. You get it, or you don't". Aka straightfoward questions.

(How to crack it? Finding the building's "crucial" traits pertaining to that time period will lead you to the correct answer)

Also, try to find out what the cutoff date is because it's useless to study stuff in more current times (say 1960's) if the test isn't ever going to go over it.

Again, I would avoid this mentality? Why?

On my AP European Exam's FRQ last year (essay section), there was one question pertaining to modern history. Take a look at this, and see how I could have got my ass bitten hard if I had gone with what you said.



Now even though I did not cover much of this stuff in my AP Euro class last year due to time constraints, I knew it enough from World History, and did enough self-studying (and a bit of research) to successfully answer this essay question (yes I actually did pick this question). I had my AP Euro teacher analyze my essay I wrote regarding this topic - I bought back my FRQ booklet from College Board - and despite the mindset I had about "BSing" that essay, that all went away when she said I just name-dropped quite a bit of facts in the essay to get me the big points.

However, it goes to show how only my motivation to study stuff beyond the classroom saved me on this section of the test. One of my math tutors emphasized about how not to "slack off and lose your guard". This is one of the cases where people will go "wtp" because they did not expect this type of question to pop up on the AP Exam. In fact, any question of the time period I just showed to you doesn't pop up often (appears here and then every few years)

Moral of the story? Just be prepared for anything the AP throws for you. And that applies to any subject.

My response to that AP "warning" is...."Y so srs?" xD



Trust me, I would not be relaxing if I were you. I've seen one question relating to this on my last year's AP European History exam, and on my SAT II World History exam. Luckily, I had enough knowledge I could take out from my brain to answer it correctly. I call those types of questions "no-brainer questions. You get it, or you don't". Aka straightfoward questions.

(How to crack it? Finding the building's "crucial" traits pertaining to that time period will lead you to the correct answer)



Again, I would avoid this mentality? Why?

On my AP European Exam's FRQ last year (essay section), there was one question pertaining to modern history. Take a look at this, and see how I could have got my ass bitten hard if I had gone with what you said.



Now even though I did not cover much of this stuff in my AP Euro class last year due to time constraints, I knew it enough from World History, and did enough self-studying (and a bit of research) to successfully answer this essay question (yes I actually did pick this question). I had my AP Euro teacher analyze my essay I wrote regarding this topic - I bought back my FRQ booklet from College Board - and despite the mindset I had about "BSing" that essay, that all went away when she said I just name-dropped quite a bit of facts in the essay to get me the big points.

However, it goes to show how only my motivation to study stuff beyond the classroom saved me on this section of the test. One of my math tutors emphasized about how not to "slack off and lose your guard". This is one of the cases where people will go "wtp" because they did not expect this type of question to pop up on the AP Exam. In fact, any question of the time period I just showed to you doesn't pop up often (appears here and then every few years)

Moral of the story? Just be prepared for anything the AP throws for you. And that applies to any subject.

Hey, I did that one too. I completely BS'd it. I remember my reasons for Poland were in the long term it had a long history of democracy and the liberal college students pushing for change. I got a 4 on the test, so whatever.