What You Need to Know Before Taking AP Human Geography

AP Human Geography is arguably easier than all the other AP courses. There are no required prerequisites (previous knowledge from other courses), and it offers flexibility for self-improvement and self-awareness. Depending on your school, it tends to be the only AP class offered to freshmen. But that doesn’t mean this post doesn’t apply to anyone else wanting to take it! Don’t let the final exam overwhelm you; as long as you’re engaged with the course and study your notes consistently, you’ll do great.

The structure of the exam is split into two sections: Section I: 60 Multiple-Choice Questions (60 minutes long) and Section II: Free-Response Questions (75 minutes long).

The multiple-choice questions are as straightforward as they can be with any AP exam. However, unlike others, APHG offers five choices to choose from rather than four. Statistically, this lowers your chance of getting a correct answer by 5%. On the other hand, free response allows room for real-life connections with specific events or data. This course is buzzing with modern-day references, so feel free to use that to your advantage. Each section is graded equally, so if you’re lacking in one section, you could rely on the other for a better score.

Another difference from regular exams is that the grading system goes from 1 to 5—one being the lowest score and five being the highest. Go into depth on each grade since some colleges accept varying minimum scores.

Don’t worry if you don’t end up doing as well as you might’ve wanted to in the end. AP courses are a GPA booster, so regardless, you’ll have a great accumulated score in the course as long as you try your best!