Hey everyone, just trying to plan out my AP courses and was wondering, does anyone know which AP exams are considered the hardest according to the College Board? I want to make sure I'm prepared for a challenging course load.
The "difficulty" of an AP exam can be somewhat subjective, depending on your individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests. However, one common way to measure difficulty, compiled by various sources, is to consider the average score on each AP exam.
According to College Board data, in the past, some of the exams with the highest percentage of scores that are 1’s and 2’s (out of a possible 5) are:
- AP Physics 1
- AP United States Government and Politics
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Biology
- AP World History
These exams tend to have the lower pass rates possibly due to the rigorous content and the breadth of knowledge required to perform well.
However, bear in mind that the difficulty of an AP class can also largely depend on how it's taught at your school, and how well the material aligns with your skill set and interests. For example, someone with a natural aptitude for biology might find AP Biology easier than AP United States Government and Politics.
In the end, the best strategy is to strike a balance between choosing AP courses that let you explore subjects you love and are passionate about and making sure you don’t overload yourself and end up overwhelmed.
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.