Has anybody taken an AP test without taking the class?

[BoldAsLove]

Has anybody taken an AP test without taking the class? If so, what were your study methods? What did you get on the exam?

Im thinking about taking the AP econ test next yr and possibly english lit. Trying to see what people did if they took em'.

 

[virtuamike]

I only had a semester of honors econ, no AP prep. The test is easy. Read some basic textbooks.

 

[Ionizer86]

Yup, I had a non-AP bio class that had about 70% of the curriculum in AP Bio. So I bought the Princeton Review AP Bio book, read it twice, and took the test!

 

[BoldAsLove]

What did you guys receive on the tests?

 

[bersl2]

The summer before my junior year, I took an intensive 3-week course covering the whole of macroeconomics. Ten months later, I picked up the textbook again, looked at my notes, didn't even buy an AP study guide, and got a 4 on the test. YMMV.

If the test is the kind that involves mostly multiple choice (like the economics ones), knowing your subject well will suffice. But I remember the rigorous and thorough methods drilled into my skull for the Calculus free answer section, and given that my teacher had been an AP grader at one point, I trust that she drove us nuts for a good reason.

 

[ItTheCow]

I only took microeconomics in high school, but I took both the micro and macroeconomics AP exams (I got a 3 on both). The Princeton Review study guides were pretty helpful, but I never fully read through them. For economics, all you need is a lot of insight, a very logical thought process, and a brief understanding of how everything ties together.

For an exam more dependent on calculations (i.e.: calculus or physics), I don't see how you would be able to do well without having ever taken a course in it. A book will only take you so far.

 

[IAteYourMother]

what schools would actually give credit for 3's?

 

[Juno]

Originally posted by: Ionizer86
Yup, I had a non-AP bio class that had about 70% of the curriculum in AP Bio. So I bought the Princeton Review AP Bio book, read it twice, and took the test!

and?

 

[Fox5]

I took the AP Comp Sci AB exam.

Night before the test, I looked up the topics it covered, and looked them all up on wikipedia. Got a 3 on the exam, mainly cause I didn't know how to do any of the programming part of the test. (basically, aced the multiple choice)

 

[virtuamike]

Originally posted by: BoldAsLove
What did you guys receive on the tests?

3's which kinda sucked, but UCDavis gave me credit which was good

I took 8 AP tests total, averaged 4.

 

[teatime0315]

I have a question.. Some of my friends say that UC's dont look at what you score on AP tests. They only look at your grade you received. Is this true?

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
what schools would actually give credit for 3's?

it depends on the school and on the course. for example a 3 in bio at my school would only count for baby bio (biology for liberal arts majors or something).

 

[TuxDave]

I took AP Physics C, AP Chemistry and AP English Composition, AP Comp Sci AB without taking the official AP class. My hint.. study really hard and take lots of practice tests.

 

[drinkmorejava]

I've never did it; that said, the Princeton review books are rather good.

 

[aswedc]

A lot of the AP tests have CLEP equivalents - and most schools that take AP will take CLEP. It's easier. There's no score (pass/fail). You can schedule it anytime you like. It's cheaper. Win-win-win!

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: TuxDave
I took AP Physics C, AP Chemistry and AP English Composition, AP Comp Sci AB without taking the official AP class. My hint.. study really hard and take lots of practice tests.

I took the AP Physics C without taking the course because my high school taught the equivalent of college physics not University. But yeah, basically get a textbook that covers the material, study hard, and go through a lot of practice tests and material that covers what's on the AP test.