ipl-logo

Personal Narrative: My Experience With AP Calculus

511 Words3 Pages

This letter outlines my experience in AP Calculus for any ambitious students who are looking to see what it takes to conquer the AP Calculus exam. Going into my winter break, I was glad to be finished with my fall semester classes, especially those that brought me tremendous stress. In fact, for a brief moment, the only thing on my mind was the all-nighters of watching movies and playing video games I was ready to pull off. Then I remembered the commitment I made by signing up for AP Calculus, a course so many dread and one that I was expected to complete in one mere semester. I wondered what it was that made the class so difficult for most people and, though I had the option to use all of my spare time on the much more pleasurable route that …show more content…

I devoted several days to watching videos and lessons there. Though the material was difficult at times, I persevered through it and learned from the mistakes I was making. After a while, I completed the entirety of the first unit with a good understanding of the concepts. By the time winter break ended I did what I set out to do and was prepared for the start of AP Calculus. I learned a good amount of calculus on my own and developed important study skills, both of which stayed with me throughout the course. Though I felt accomplished I knew this was just the beginning of a long-term effort to achieve my end goal of scoring a 5 on the AP exam. I continued my efforts by carrying myself with the same system from winter break: watch and take notes through every video I was assigned, complete all classwork, frequently study/recall material, and learn from mistakes I made along the way. To some, this sounds truly exhausting, but I was able to perfect it so flawlessly that my efforts culminated in a finish of a 100 as my class grade after every semester and an understanding of AP Calculus that was more than enough to pass the AP exam with my desired score. Because I believe what I did was a bit excessive, I know that if anyone else tried the same system for themselves and had partial success, they would logically still come close to achieving the same result of passing the AP

Show More
Related
693 Words | 3 Pages

Some of the units are hard to understand, but if you put yourself down over one bad test grade, then the next unit you will be so focused on the bad grade you may do bad again. My best piece of advice and what I did was pay attention to the lectures, take notes on stuff you don't know (especially vocab) and study before test. If you are an overachiever wand want to have an A+ all year, watch reviews on youtube or study. For reading quizzes, just make sure you read. Mrs. Rose will tell you to annotate the book, but it didn't really help me much.

Read More
575 Words | 3 Pages

Blues burst from the shadows of the buildings, contrasting with the vermillion glow from the nearby windows, while sickly greens still lurked in the curtains, illuminating his whole being. Clinging to the curtain in the middles of the chaos, he looks toward his apartment, not in fear, but in euphoria. I first saw Conrad Felixmüller’s Death of the Poet Walter Rheiner near the end of my sophomore year of high school. The past year and a half had been hard for me. Freshman year I struggled in AP World History.

Read More
147 Words | 1 Pages

While taking AP Physics Mechanics, I had a teacher who taught strategically, leaving out critical information that would be on an assessment so he could teach it after people fail. After bringing most of the class down to a 50 percent average, I began to panic. I couldn’t believe that I was so behind; therefore, I decided to meet with my teacher, not asking for pity but for tips on how to prepare for these seemingly impossible tests. He confessed he is full of tricks, so I developed a coping method. I perceived the class as a game where I jump over every hurdle to win.

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

It wasn’t the hard class or the teacher or my studying style, but it was my mentality that was holding me back. I thought that what I had was confidence, when it was really just arrogance. That arrogance blinded me from the fact that AP calculus BC isn’t a typical high school course, it’s an actual college level course. It dawned to me that

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

The first 9 weeks of AP Calculus went amazingly. Perhaps it’s just because I personally enjoy math and could do it all day any day, but I’ve enjoyed the class so far.

Read More
278 Words | 2 Pages

I am taking an AP course this year, and despite taking this course, I have been able to

Read More
605 Words | 3 Pages

Some may take the easy way out, but others challenge themselves and take on what the world throws at them. Even though they may not achieve the results they would like, they keep pushing themselves and don’t give up. Not everything in life comes easily, so some sacrifices have to be made for the long run. Of course there will be those whose only goal is to just pass, nothing less, nothing more, but there will also be those who go above and beyond. We, as AP students, know that for a successful career, college is the first step and colleges look for students who challenge themselves in a tough course rather than getting a 100 in a regular course.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

Dear AP Calculus student! AP Calculus AB has been the most instructive of all my classes during my entire senior year. Although it's challenging, I feel well-prepared for the AP test and am optimistic about scoring decently. If my score isn’t high enough to earn college credit, I’ll simply take Calculus 1 in college, where I’m extremely well-prepared. On the first day of school, you may walk into this class and, much to your dismay, find a seating chart displayed on the screen.

Read More
241 Words | 1 Pages

A good question can mean so much to different types of people. So many people look up questions on google daily due to what they are currently dealing with. A good question must spark an interest in someone. A good must also be relatable to what the reader's current thought process. For example, in high school, when I am stuck on a Calculus problem.

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

My dad’s job opportunity halfway across the country would later be one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life, so far. I laughed, hysterically on the verge of tears, the moment I left ISC for the first time. Looking at my mom I said, “they don’t offer ap-calc, and I’m signed up for drama.” Not only did I lose my place of belonging, but now I was signed up for classes I didn’t need. I had lied back then, it wasn't just that I couldn't take ap calculus, it was how my mindset was focused on not being able to influence lives.

Read More
471 Words | 2 Pages

I worked extremely hard in the classroom and at home trying to grasp the concepts in the packets. I knew cheating would give me the advantage in class, but not while taking the AP exam. I exhausted many of my resources that year, which ranged from a free tutor website that the public library offers, Khan Academy, tutoring with the Upward Bound Program, and

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, AP classes are not worth suffering through, there is no guarantee that the classes

Read More
471 Words | 2 Pages

I was upset for some time, considering dropping the course altogether, but after some scrutiny, I acknowledged that giving up would not solve my problems, only allow them to follow me into my college career. My goal is to be a chemical engineer, and if I thought I could do that without understanding calculus, I would never get to live my dream. I took the failing grade as a motivation to do better next time; I put more effort into studying and practicing, even when work was not assigned, and I was miraculously able to earn an A for my semester grade, and a passing score on my AP exam. As cliche as it may sound, the failure helped me by motivating me.

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

This class positively impacted my high school career because I need a good foundation in algebra for AP physics. After this course, I feel confident about the content of the course and I have the basics that I will need to succeed in AP physics. This class also made me more confident in my math skills. I had previously struggled with polynomial functions, however, after coming to this class, it made much more sense and I finally understood it.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

Being a successful AP student can be a lot of work, and sometimes it is not fun, but the reward is worth the pain. Many people are AP students and there are many different views on what it takes to be an accomplished one. The all-time best way to become successful in any AP class is the simple tactic of repetition. Repetition will get you through the year with good grades and successful preparation, and it will be most beneficial when it comes to test time.

Read More

More about Personal Narrative: My Experience With AP Calculus

Related Topics

Open Document