APUSH

On Friday, May 6, 2011 I, along with forty-something other students took the AP US History Exam.This exam was to determine how much college credit we would receive, if any at all. We had been preparing for this test since the first day of school. It was stressful to think that everything we have worked for and struggled with all year came down to this one test. The test is composed of two parts. There is the multiple choice part in which you are to answer 80 questions in 55 minutes. Then there is the writing part. There are two essays and a DBQ (Document Based Question). You are given about two and a half hours for this part. Now for students like me, two and a half hours is less that what you spend on a normal essay for class so writing three in that amount of time is very stressful. You can only pray that you get an essay over something you just learned or something you know very well. The multiple choice part is not as stressful as the writing part, you just have to watch your timing. Really, timing is the key to the whole test. You have to pace yourself in order to get done. It's like the ACT, you want to answer every question. It seems unreal to think that you spend almost an entire year studying one subject in school, not to mention the hundred of hours spent out of school studying, and the thing that evaluates what you have learned in over in a matter of just four short hours. It may seem like a lot of work for nothing, but that can apply to any class. At least with this class there is the chance to see results sooner. It may not have felt worth it while I was struggling with the homework, the reading, and the quizzes. But in the end, I know the class will have paid off. I may end up with college credit and at least now I know what to expect next year when I take about four more AP classes. 
After all my stressing and studying, the test wasn't as bad as I expected. Sure the questions were difficult, but they weren't impossible. And I was actually quite surprised by myself. I was able to write all three essays before time was called and they were decent essays, not just a bunch of words on paper. It seems silly to have stressed so much over a little test, but if I don't stress, I won't do well. It's kind of weird to say, but I think I need the pressure of the test in order to succeed. If there was no pressure, then there would be nothing to push me to do well. In the end, the test was hard, but I made it through APUSH and I am more prepared for next year.