What to Expect When Taking Your First AP Exam (2024)

FAQs

Is it normal to fail your first AP test? ›

First, it's important to know that you are not alone in this situation. Many students, especially those taking an AP for the first time, will fail to score the 3 needed to receive college credit.

Thankfully, not many students leave the exam with a 1 unless complications arise during the test and they need to leave, or they are just trying to take the exam without knowing any of the material. In fact, on the AP® rubric, a 1 is described as “no recommendation”.

AP exams take between 2–3 hours to complete and are broken into two sections: multiple choice and free response. The amount of questions per section and the time allotted varies per test subject. How many AP exams are there in total? There are a total of 38 AP Exams.

Multiple-choice scoring is straightforward—a computer totals your correct answers, with no penalties for incorrect answers or unanswered questions. For that reason, it's a good idea to attempt every question, selecting your best guess if you're not sure of the right answer.

A 50% is considered a 3 or passing. This is when your AP credit is considered in colleges for being qualified, well qualified or extremely well qualified. Also, most exams have multiple parts to them.

To clarify, it's quite rare and quite difficult to get a score of 0 on an AP exam. Typically, scores range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest possible score that indicates the student likely wasn't prepared for the level of the content on the exam.

In most cases, a 3 or higher is considered a solid AP score. But you can get an even better idea of how good your AP score is by comparing it to the average score for that test that year. For example, the average score for AP Biology was 2.83 in 2021. Anything higher would be considered above average for that test.

First, they have scores because tests need scores. Second, a 3 on an AP exam is equivalent to a B-, C+, or C in a college course.

If you fail an AP exam, you will not receive college credit for that course. The good news is that a failed exam does not affect your GPA.

Can you drink water during AP exam? ›

Food or Drink - Not even water bottles. All food/drink will be required to be left outside of the testing room. Unapproved Aids: Books, compasses, protractors, mechanical pencils, correction fluid, dictionaries, highlighters*, notes or colored pencils*.

If it's cool outside, go with sweatpants, a hoodie, and sneakers. If it's warmer, a loose pair of shorts and a soft tee shirt are the way to go. Dressing in layers is also a good idea, as it allows you to regulate your own temperature should you feel too warm or too cold.

If you start to run out of time on the harder questions, make an educated guess. There are no penalties for answering questions incorrectly on an AP Exam, so it's best to answer every question.

At many high schools, AP Physics is notorious for its difficulty level. In addition, it has the lowest overall pass rate of any AP exam.

A 4 or a 5 is the AP score that will most likely earn you college AP credit. Of course, no matter how you do on the AP test, you still get a grade for that AP class from your high school. Good grades in AP courses always look good on your transcript!

The good news is that a failed exam does not affect your GPA. In addition, you can retake the AP exam the next year. To prepare, you can re-enroll in the class, study on your own, or hire a tutor who can help you tackle the more challenging subjects on the test.

It's natural to feel some pressure, but remember that your overall performance in the course matters more than the exam score itself. Now, to address your concerns: Failing an AP exam isn't ideal, but it's not necessarily a deal-breaker for college admissions.

In May 2022, just 43.3% of test-takers passed, and only 7.9% received a perfect score. Other hard AP exams include US History, Macroeconomics, Chemistry, and Calculus AB.