APUSH

For those not familiar with this acronym, it stands for A.P. US history, a generally 10th or 11th grade history class, and one of the hardest A.P. classes in the business. Others include Spanish Language and Calculus based Physics.

My opinion? Don't take it. Or do, but don't take it rashly. Know what you're getting into, and that it's a lot of hard work. Manageable,but it never fails to be ridiculous. A few bits of advice, though:

• Organization is crucial. This is not a class that builds, so you will want almost every paper at the end of the year. I personally keep everything save multiple choice tests, and only not those because we only get the answer sheet.
• I use a divided binder, with sections such as lectures, homework by unit, class guidelines, resources, and random articles. 
• READ THE CHAPTER
• no excuses
• but if you don't, or need a refresher, I recommend coursenotes.com
• Tests are hard, so do your homework. It is the best safety net. 
• Tests are hard, so study hard. Evolve your studying strategies to see what works best. Don't feel bad if it takes a while to get in a good system. If you're really having trouble, talk to your teacher. 
• Study groups. This class is a lot of work, so whenever it can be divided or can be done in a way that makes it seem to go by faster, do it. If you can't work out a meeting place, use Skype. 
• If meeting in person works best, and you're avoiding your own houses, try a public library or Starbucks
• Don't freak out. Well, freak out enough to study and prepare yourself but try to find something to calm yourself down if it starts getting too bad. Personally, I do math. (yes. with an a) 
• If you don't have time to make notes or flash cards, other people do. Check out quizlet or similar websites

High School: a summary

High School is hard. So, so hard. But there are things that are harder, and the first that is worth worrying about is doing well in high school. Which isn't as hard as that even sounds, until it becomes doing well in high school while simultaneously doing well in sports, clubs, jobs, and/or internships. And that doesn't even count family responsibilities.

But despite the hardships, high school is far from impossible. A 5.0? That depends on what school you go to, but I wouldn't freak out if I didn't have one. Correction: I don't have one and I'm not freaking out. And if you're wondering what that even means, I'm from Arizona (I know, I know, we suck at education, but I go to one of the better schools, and our A.P. teachers are the best) and in my district we have weighted G.P.As, meaning an A in an honors/ A.P. class is worth more than an A in a general class.

Anyway, how do you do well in high school? Personally, I'm in the top 1% of my class, and I do it, in part, kind of naturally. I don't have to study as much for math and chemistry as my friends do. I just get it. And that helps a lot. But not everyone is like that. So to those of you that aren't, and those of you that are, the key things are:

• Do your homework. It doesn't matter how small, everything counts. You'll be glad you have the security it provides when finals come around.
• Study. Seriously, it helps tons. And just doing homework doesn't count. Read your text and take notes or make flash cards (Personally, I find a list of key items from the chapter and make quizlet cards that I finish as I read in classes like Bio, Chem, and history.)
• Relax. Hate yourself for the day after, but it's so worth it. Spending all your time doing homework and studying will lead to too much stress and not enough focus. Especially when it comes to reading assignments, it simply won't be as easy to comprehend when you're too stressed or overworked.