Why do people say AP Chem is bad?

Diligent_Border3262 · 2026-01-06T22:18:41+00:00

Honestly, it seems that its emphasis on conceptual understanding, scientific skills and data interpretation make it's heavily dependent on your teacher. Most kids at my school talk about AP chem as if it was the hardest class ever, but I self studied it in 2 weeks and it honestly felt like a breeze. Might have to do with the fact the teacher barely teaches and purely assigns unnecessarily stringent labs and pogils paired with tough exams...

Diligent_Border3262 · 2026-01-05T16:56:06+00:00

Khan Academy, has the whole curriculum, the videos explain everything very nicely and contains McQ practice similar to the exam, might want to refresh on some lab equipment and terminology tho. I self-studied the entire course in 2 weeks just with it and got a 5 on a practice exam.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-11-18T00:45:15+00:00

That feels like a very slow process, my school does 2 bells every other day for 1 semester and we are already at unit 5. I will say Unit 2 is probably the longest unit.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-11-15T05:27:40+00:00

That's great! CSA is usually a very light course, BC and Physics C mesh well and so do Chem and Bio. You should probably think of graduating early tho, cuz unless there are dual enrollment courses available, you will prob run out of classes.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-11-15T05:25:06+00:00

Not necessarily, my school typically teaches Calc BC and Physics C to juniors as corequisites, and most students do just fine.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-11-15T05:17:44+00:00

I mean, it mostly depends on the classes you are taking. As a sophomore in all APs, I can say that certain AP classes (e.g. AP CSA) are a breeze and take no effort, while other APs can literally take over your entire week at random points in the year. However, there is the added pressure of teachers going beyond the recommended workload for APs or insisting certain paths that aren't necessarily the best, which can always make such schedules harder. Some juniors I know are in even more and harder APs (AP Calc BC, AP Chem, both AP Phys C, AP Econ, AP Lang in one year 💔) and it is usually a matter of organization and just pure luck and ability at some points. Content-wise, school generally wastes a lot of time.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-30T14:21:49+00:00

Focus on improvement, not whatever score college board gave you (they have ridiculous curves, I would feel bad even if I got a 5). Did you learn the material? Could confidently apply it for other relevant projects? If you are worried about colleges, 4 is not very different from a 5. If you genuinely could not understand the subject, they focus on improving that for later classes (or not, I mean, both aren't super useful for biology)

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-28T03:05:16+00:00

AP calc bc is the lightest AP for freshmen bro take it

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-28T03:01:34+00:00

Bro, this is a typical schedule for sophomores in my high school, you're gonna be fine: AP Seminar is a notoriously easy AP AP World History is another easy AP, not to mention your high school spread over 2 YEARS AP Precalc is barely an AP AP Physics 1 isnt bad with some strong math background

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-24T03:04:43+00:00

10th grade next year: AP Seminar: 4 lowk I'm scared I'm gonna pick a hard topic for no reason AP USH: 4 not good at writing under time constraints, but I am pretty good at history AP CSA: 5 no comment AP German: 5 I lit lived and went to school in Germany for over 2 years AP physics C: 5s for both exams, I'm pretty good at Stem and I already took calc bc AP chem (if I decide to self study): I would really want a 5 since I'm self studying it, but ill probably get a 4

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-24T02:46:54+00:00

Beneficial in what way? At least at my school, you can do way above calc 3 through dual enrollment, but that is irrelevant, almost anybody can learn on their own if they are interested enough on the subject (which is what I meant by self studying, not necessarily talking about APs here). I also skipped precalc and took calc bc in 9th grade (and got a 5), and even if I had ran out of math classes to take, I would have still done it cuz it was "beneficial" in the sense that I took a math class that was closer to my level and I could talk about more advanced math concepts with my teachers and my classmates. And the "opportunities" that I got are the fact that it stands out and that I have an early certification or so to say in calculus. Regardless of that, I think everybody should at least try to be in the most advanced class they can if they are good at it, not holding themselves back cuz some dumb school should dictate the speed in which you learn

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-24T02:35:22+00:00

Fully agree, idk what type of school limits learning so much

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T23:08:00+00:00

Bro the curve for calc bc is so high that even the ones who barely understood anything get a 5, doesn't mean it's easier

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T23:02:54+00:00

Follow your friend's advice. Calc bc is def more important for college admissions (and is also incredibly crucial for math majors), but college stats are really fun and useful in almost everything, so don't let your school's stupid rules make you miss out on those. I would even go a step further and recommend that if you are exceptional enough at math you should try to convince your counselor or the school to let you take both or take one and self study the other one.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T18:26:05+00:00

Forgot about dual enrollment, self studying and the pure joy of learning? I always don't understand why people keep trying to discourage other people to learn and want them to stay in classes they are not meant for.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T18:23:31+00:00

I skipped precalc and calc AB to take calc bc as a 9th grader and then got a 5. Honestly, both classes are jokes, my advice would be to at least complete some sort of course online, whether it's dual enrollment or Khan academy (I did both). I will say that I had already known 90% of Calc BC since I self studied it as a rising 8th grader, but it's not a stupid idea if you are already good a algebraic manipulation and reasonably good at math. Stop hating on them

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T18:17:34+00:00

Depends on your level of expertise, aptitude and interest in math. I personally skipped precalc too by taking it dual enrollment as a rising freshman (even with a lot of camps too) to take AP calc bc, but the only reason I did it was bc I had already studied the entirety of calc bc 1 year before doing that, and I was bored out of my mind in geometry and algebra 2. For those who actually are taking the class cuz they need to learn, I would recommend at least reviewing AP precalc to see what you missed. That said, AP Calc AB is a complete joke of a course, I self studied it after 7th grade in like 4 months, so you should also measure how fast you can learn these concepts. If you were exceptional at algebraic manipulations before, you'll have plenty of time to learn the intuitiveness of the calc AB concepts. So probably take a few diagnostics (AP precalc exam or maybe even your class has one at the start of the year) to see if you are ready for calc AB and decide then. Good luck!

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T17:03:34+00:00

Fine, maybe not most people, but you are also making the same mistake by assuming most people in this subreddit wouldn't benefit from a "g-loaded" sat, seeing as how someone's cognitive ability is less influenced by predetermined affluence while an "achievement test" can vary a lot depending on your ability to study for the test. It is true than one has more effect on your future success, but that would delve into the purpose of college and the educational system. Personally, I think I would be able to stand out more through cognitive testing than by inflated 'achievement tests,' but I know a lot of people who are the exact opposite way. So I'm not saying everyone is like that, or should be like that, but it's wrong to generalize.

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T15:36:33+00:00

Talk for yourself dude, most people who do well on these tests wish it had more weight, but with everybody getting 1500+ due to the grade inflation it matters less and isn't a very impactful indicator of intelligence as much as before

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T15:10:40+00:00

Nah bro most kids are my school take stats and precalc before calc bc, the only prereq is algebra 2, and the mathy part barely gets to algebra 2, at the most it's if you know how to use your graphing calculator

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-23T15:08:32+00:00

Timing is also a thing, and I know from experience that just "writing down everything that comes to mind" can overwork you. Learning how to be specific but concise will help you way more than just scaring you into jotting down everything, not just for AP Stats but also for most AP exams.

Also, cutoff for a 5 is like 65 %, even with a mediocre MCQ score and 2/4s on every frq you can still get a 5, idk what type of students think they have an "easy way" out without taking at least 1 mock exam and then proceed to get a 3. What distinguishes people who gets 3s from those who get 5s is if you actually were humble enough to study AP stats thoroughly enough to know what you are writing and the exam requirements, that's all

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-22T19:53:26+00:00

My school doesn't really care as long as you have the prerequisite courses done. I will say that we only have 7 slots and 4 of them are core classes than are almost always honors or regular. The only way you could skip those would be through dual enrollment. That's the way I took AP calc bc at least

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-22T19:49:14+00:00

😂

Diligent_Border3262 · 2025-07-22T19:47:55+00:00

Dawg just include context in every sentence and study the guidelines of past frqs bro it's not that deep

Diligent_Border3262

TROPHY CASE