Did you know that in 2016, about 23% of test takers scored a 1 out of 5 on the AP Computer Science exam? Because, coincidentally, my first grade of the year in APCS was also a 23%.
Last year, I decided to take AP Computer Science. I didn’t have much experience, but I liked the idea of coding. Over-confident, I thought that the class might be a bit challenging, but as long as I studied a little I would easily get an A.
Turns out, it was a lot harder than I expected. The test that I got a 23% on was about string manipulation, one of the easier concepts in the course. If I couldn’t grasp that, how was I going to be able to comprehend arrays and polymorphism?
Throughout the year, I tried my best to follow along in class. I steadily improved, but I still struggled at solving the most complex problems. On the bright side, I was scoring much higher than 23% on my tests, so at least I had that going for me.
In March, my class finished the curriculum and moved on to AP exam preparation. The teacher gave the class a review worksheet on recursion, an important topic. I found the problems incredibly confusing, and I couldn’t figure out how to solve any of them.
This was a major wake-up call that I might fail the AP exam and final. The
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Do I really see myself as a computer scientist in the future?” For as long as I could remember, my sights were set on something in the engineering field, but taking coding classes in high school helped me realize that there were actually other sciences out there that I wanted to focus on as well. It became clear to me that the only reason why I wanted to succeed so badly in computer science was because I truly had a passion for the subject.
In the end (after a lot of work), I got an A on the final and a 5 on the AP exam. It felt great knowing that all my studying and hard work paid off, that I truly was capable of coding, and that I wanted to pursue programming in the
Now, of course I had APUSH at the end of the day. So it left me plenty of time to think about and become exhausted over the dread that was building up inside of me for just receiving back a test. I couldn’t focus in any of my classes, and didn’t think about anything other than “I can’t believe I failed.” The instant I walked into the classroom my knees almost buckled to the point where I collapsed. All I could do is sit in the corner with my hands on my head as Ms. Bradley said “Some of you did amazing on this essay!
Despite the many hours I worked on the class, I still could only get C’s on the tests. I spent most of my free time correcting my quizzes and rewriting notes from the class. I was struggling- so much that I let my other classes slip away. At home, I would fight with my mother about my grades. She would yell at me saying, “Your brothers could always get As!
My plan is to attend a four year university full time at University of Washington Bothell and major in computer science field because I am passionate about working with technology, and I want to understand how we can continue to draw knowledge from it. In addition, I plan to attend graduate school while working in the computer science field after I finished with my undergraduate school. I want to be able to give back to the society for all the resources it provided me to reach this point in my education and continue working toward fulfilling my life goals. The Intro to Computer Science class at Roosevelt is helping me understand what it takes to be a computer science major student. One thing I learned from the class is that success comes from patience and effort.
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
I took my first AP class during my sophomore year. The class was AP Biology which was incredibly difficult, but with hard work I was able to succeed. The year after I decided to enroll in AP Chemistry. I thought that if I was able to succeed in Biology, I would have no problem succeeding in Chemistry. The first week of junior year arrived along with AP Chemistry.
Everyone may be talking about how hard the AP exam is, and how much you have to prepare for it, but it wasn't that difficult. As long as you don't stress out about the little things, you will do fine in AP
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
Zuhei. M GLPO Spring Essay This is second semester soon to be a senior, it's nerve wrecking but exciting at the same time. Throughout my second semester I have grown in investigating the world and communicate ideas and grown my knowledge and College Career Readiness as a student. This semester has me stressed more than I have before, so stressed about AP exams and college readiness.
The Benefits of Taking AP Classes in High School Why spend hours doing homework in college, when you could have done it in high school? “The Advanced Placement program has revolutionized high school classrooms around the United States. The program offers rigorous, college-level education to motivated students, and offers the benefit of college credit.” (Mattimore A33).
In life, you can go through a lot but only a few people actually can bounce back. In High School I’ve gone through many trials and tribulations to get to the point I’m at now. I’ve been held to high standards based on the classes I’ve taken. My Honors classes built the foundation for me to start challenging myself and kill the procrastination problem I possessed in my young academic career. The Honors classes prepared me for the Advanced Placement classes that were offered.
In putting together my portfolio, I could definitely see that I have made an incredible progress from the foundation of this class. My practice of grammar, words and the general structure of my papers has improved massively. Reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses as a writer, as well as things I have learned in my own writing process is a big accomplishment.
As a college freshmen, there is no doubt that I still have a long ways to go in order to achieve my academic goals. And through this journey, I know that I will encounter highs and lows just as I experienced in the past, most notability in high school. I keenly remember instances around this time where I doubted my abilities when subjects like math was proving to be difficult, even when I was trying to put in effort to stay on track. I was struggling in math because I did not try to identify my weaknesses, and never tried to come up with solutions to fix my problems. Rather, I chose to give up on math and settle with a grade barely passing.
My life has been a struggle at times, but my hard work, self-confidence, and eternal passion for my education and my community will outstandingly prepare me to be a successful member of this community at East Carolina University. I have had many different educational experiences that I feel have been beneficial for me. These things include Advance Placement and Honors classes, clubs, and volunteering for different organizations. I am a hardworking and challenging student, who likes to take Advance Placement and Honors classes and challenge herself. I have taken 3 AP classes previously, and currently enrolled in 2 for senior year of high school.
Being good in science, mathematics and having a natural inclination towards programming since early school days has shaped my future ambitions. With a strong determination and a focused goal to become a software engineer, I pursued the Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree in Information
There was no doubt in my mind that I tried my hardest in the classes; I just did not have as much faith in myself when it came to the test day. In AP U.S. History, I did my homework religiously every weekend on Sunday afternoons by delving into each chapter as much as possible and enjoying what I was reading. For AP Language and Composition by creating a word wall in my room in order to improve my vocabulary. All the weekends spent doing homework and more for these classes paid off in a way I never would have imagined. I finally was able to believe my hard work towards achieving a goal could actually be rewarded.