Concerned about AP

Hi there! I took AP Physics 1 and got a 4 as a Junior and I have a few tips for you!

1. If you don't understand a topic or how to solve a problem, Try using YouTube. They have explanations on how to do multiple problems and If it wasn't for YouTube, I would have not been able to do the FRQ. There are so many channels out there that want to help you pass, I would suggest you utilize them.

2. Review what you got wrong. Ask your teacher if you can review past homework assignments, quizzes, or tests. I used to think that this was a waste of time before this class, however, before this class, I had never gotten a 20% on a quiz. My teacher wanted to help my class improve our grades, so he gave us back our quizzes and solved the problems with us, explaining how he did every single problem and his thought process behind it. He did this for every single quiz and test we took. It was eye-opening and it truly did help me and I was able to get an A or B on every single quiz after that.

3. Use the MIT AP Physics 1 book. It has questions given on the AP Physics 1, 2, and C exams in the past. Without this book, I would have never gotten above a 3. It exposed me to the type of problems that would be tested on the exam and I highly recommend it to anyone taking the AP Physics 1 exam. I sincerely thank the people who made this book even remotely possible and will be forever grateful.

4. Look over previous FRQs while studying for the exam. The previous FRQs will give you a broad understanding of what to expect. AP releases each FRQ 2-3 days after the exam and you can find some from previous years like 2018. They even have scoring guidelines. Ignore questions about circuits and electricity as they are no longer tested on the AP Physics 1 exam.

There will be moments when you will want to drop out or stop trying, but I suggest you keep fighting and I believe you can get a 3 or above on the exam.

Is it possible at all to ask for a class change? It's very important that you drop AP Physics 1 based on your description. It's much better to take a slightly easier AP class and do well on it than to fail a harder AP class. Especially from my knowledge that AP Physics 1 needs at least the math level Algebra 2, but you are still taking it.

I made the same mistake when I signed up for AP CSA for sophomore year, but I changed my mind just in time. I had some experience with Python, but I knew it wouldn't be enough to pass that class. It's much more important to ensure that your AP classes won't ruin your GPA.

Good luck!