Ranking AP Tests I’ve Taken By How Much They Attacked Me, From A Burnt-Out Junior

By Catie Giesen

7. AP Precalculus (2024)

Honorable mention goes to AP Precal. I did a grand total of 1 FRQ practice before taking the exam, left an entire FRQ blank, and had a horrible headache during the test, but the actual exam wasn’t bad, and neither was my score! 

6. AP Lang (2025)

LOOK AT ME. 

I know. You can’t. 

AP Lang takes 6th place because none of the essays were horribly difficult in my opinion, and the MCQ was relatively straightforward. It’s #1 in post-exam inside jokes, though! 

5. AP World (2024)

Our DBQ was over the ONE unit I didn’t review before taking the test. That was not fun. Aside from that, the AP exam was significantly easier than every test I took in Mrs. Manchac’s class all year. To this year’s WHAP kids, you were well prepared! (Sorry about this year’s DBQ, though…)

4. AP Spanish (2025)

I couldn’t understand a word of what that Peruvian chef was saying, but the essay prompt made up for it! Overall, a mixed bag, but I think I did well. 

3. AP US History (2025)

Not bad but not fantastic, in my opinion. Very glad I reviewed the earlier units! SAQs were pure evil, DBQ and LEQ were relatively easy to respond to. 

Ranked this high because of those SAQs. 

2. AP Physics 1 (2025)

I was expecting way worse from Physics 1, and while it wasn’t terribly difficult overall, the form J FRQ 2 was not good. At all. I think the question was terribly written, and most people I’ve talked to since the FRQs were released online did part of this FRQ wrong. Still, it could’ve been much worse. I think College Board went easy on us because of the changes to the exam this year. 

1. AP Calc AB (2025)

No comment. Especially on that non-calculator MCQ. Would not recommend. Unfortunately did a lot of FRQ parts wrong :( The only part of this exam that wasn’t a direct attack on my wellbeing was the lack of optimization problems. Thank you, College Board, for that and that only.