APUSH Disaster.

Test Preparation
1

<p>Okay…a friend of mine told me not to come here because I’ll feel worse, but I really need to know where I stand and if there is any hope left. She’ll probably see this topic but eh…I’m already depressed enough, it doesn’t matter. </p>

<p>Alright, so I had finished reviewing and everything, and I was ready. And I first opened the exam and it was alright. And before on the practice tests, I attempted EVERY question, with very very few blank. And this morning, my dad was getting all theoretical on me about how much I should skip etc etc, and I guess I got VERY CONFUSED, because I left 20 blank. Twenty one actually. I don’t know why. I knew I should’ve answered them. I’ve never ever left that many blank before. Several of them I narrowed down to 2 choices. But I still didn’t answer them.</p>

<p>Okay so now I asked everyone how many they left blank, and they all said our apush teacher told us not to leave more than 10 blank. I wasn’t there supposedly when she said that. So everyone is like “oh you’re so screwed” and I swear I’m on the verge of tears and I kept walking around trying to calm myself during the break. </p>

<p>Some people were like don’t worry about it and to be calm. So I do the essays which weren’t bad, but on the last 2 essay choices, I knew a whole lot on one topic because we just did a DBQ on it, and not as much as I’d like to know on the other topic. And I thought I was pressed for time.
I start writing on the topic I didn’t know as well as the other one because I thought it’d be the less popular one, and you know, I read they grade leniently on that one. And I guess I wasn’t feeling very confident so I couldn’t think right anyway.</p>

<p>So I keep writing and I only get about a page and a paragraph total on this topic. The last 20 mins I was seriously considering crossing it all out, but I just stuck with it, hoping the graders would grade leniently. Worst test I took in my whole life. I shoulda picked the essay I knew more about. </p>

<p>I’m so irritated because people have been making me feel bad all day, especially about the whole skipping thing, even my mom. And I studied so much and I do stupid mistakes like this and now I feel like I’m going to get the worst grade in the world.</p>

<p>So I guess the question is, what’s the best I can hope for? I suppose the worst case scenario would be like horrible grades on the essays and getting the 60 MC I answered all wrong.</p>

2

<p>what i would say is don’t worry about it so much</p>

<p>it’s not that big of a deal…honestly</p>

<p>it’s just a dumb test that means not much at all. who cares how you did</p>

3

<p>you may not know it but your actually ahead of a lot of people. A lot of people get 25-26 wrong on mc and still get 5s. You can miss 25-26 on the mc and still get a 5, its very possible with strong essays. If you’re not too confident about your essays then you most likely will get a 3/4. I’d guess a 4 on your situation IF you had a strong DBQ and got atleast a 50ish out of the 59 you answered.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both for responding. I’m seriously trying not to worry about it.
I know the highest on the DBQ is 15, what is the highest grade possible for each essay?
Is [url=<a href=“http://www.historystuff.net/apscore.html]this[/url”>http://www.historystuff.net/apscore.html]this[/url</a>] site accurate at all?</p>

5

<p>i’d say its fairly accurat.e
9 for each essay.</p>

6

<p>the question is not how many you left blank but how many you got right totalll :)</p>

<p>if you left 20 blank and got 50 right your probably still better than half the people who left 0 blank and got 55 right :)</p>

<p>i think that was kind of a stupid mistake but its too late now so don’t sweat … lol</p>

7

<p>don’t worry. Everyone on this site worries too much and gets high scores. Just chill.</p>

8

<p>I left 13 blank. My teacher said if you get soomething like 60-65% right then that’s like a 3. I’m not sure about that. But I was also surprised at how many I omitted.</p>

9

<p>I shouldn’t be talking…because I freak out about everything…
relax…it’s over…nothing you can do about it now. It’s one test, since it seems like you were aiming for a 5, you knew the material well enough overall - you’ll most likely end up with a 4 >minimum<. That’s perfectly FINE…</p>

<p>leaving 20 blank was a mistake - I was told to leave 5-6 blank…but it’s ok…it’s not the end of the world.</p>

10

<p>just because an essay is less popular doesn’t mean it is more leniently graded. they even made a point to say that in the directions, weren’t you listening?</p>

11

<p>Caro - I think it’s even less than that…You can get a three with 55% I bet…(depending on the essays obviously)</p>

12

<p>dont lament the road not taken, you could actually be in a better spot than others, as Salik pointed out, you made your choice…now dont kill yourself over what you cannot posssibly change</p>

<p>After all, im fretting about my opposite questionable strategy…i answered almost all, and guessed A LOT, so either way, you can find a reason to worry, just find a different obsession until july…</p>

13

<p>Sarorah:</p>

<p>That site you have mentioned is somewhat accurate. Leaving 20 blank is absolutely OK.</p>

<p>Let me repeat that for you.</p>

<p>It’s OK
It’s OK
It’s OK.</p>

<p>Worrying about a test right now will not do you any good, nor will it miraculously change your score. When I took the test, I had friends who skipped 13, 14 questions, and were fairly fine with it. Don’t worry so much, and I’m sure you did ok on the essay.</p>

<p>Right now, freaking out isn’t going to improve anything, just put it behind you. It’s just a test.</p>

14

<p>yeah seriously, mate… it’s fine. I initially skipped like 18… and then I guessed on 10 to bring my omission number down to 8. Whatever, I probably missed half of those anyway, which will bring down my score. It’s all right. The MC was really difficult today, a lot of people felt the same. The curve will be friendly and anywhere from 6-7 on all your essays should be good enough to pull you up. </p>

<p>Just remember, the curve is your friend… it always has and always will be =)</p>

15

<p>Skipping ones where you have it down to two is silly, but still you were okay.</p>

<p>Your biggest mistake was choosing the essay you knew less about - they don’t care which one is picked less. You really should have written on the one you knew more about.</p>

16

<p>sarorah, here is my feeling, as a parent, regarding AP exams. I have been repeating this to my D for weeks and I can only hope she took it to heart during her exams. If you pass the test/get college credit, that’s just icing. If you don’t pass the test/don’t get college credit, it’s no big deal … just think how much you’ll already know when you take one of those classes in college. Everyone, including my D, is in such a hurry to get their classes out of the way and move on. PLEASE, I beg of you, listen to me when I tell you to take things at a steady pace and enjoy the remainder of your high school time and enjoy college. Don’t get me wrong … there’s a difference in enjoying and slacking. I’m saying to take things in stride and have fun while doing it. Don’t be in such a rush to get out in the “real” world. I remember rushing everything during my college years … take time to stop and smell the roses.</p>

17

<p>The proctor guy is kinda old…well into his 70s…he kinda left some stuff out while reading the directions. </p>

<p>Okay guys thank you all for the support, you seriously made me feel so much better. I was getting these crazy ideas earlier in my head like canceling and retaking it next year…or stealing the test and fixing it…I guess I seriously got too uptight about this. It’s just a test after all.
I completely forgot about the curve too, thanks for reminding me.
The thing is, it’s only 1/4 pt off for each wrong one, so I could miss up to 4 to actually deduct 1 correct answer point…but it’s over, nothing I can do about it. I’ll really try to take it easy this weekend and smell the roses.</p>