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The College Board’s grading system helps students get ready for college, according to research in the Research Journal of Education.
Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams for 2025 are a list of advanced learning courses for students. Taking these courses in 2025 can help students increase their chances of getting into college and get additional benefits in their studies.
What Makes an AP Class the Hardest or Easiest?
AP classes vary in difficulty. Let’s break down what makes a particular AP class harder or easier.
How Is the Pass Rate Determined for AP Classes?
A score of 3 or higher is considered passing. The pass rate is determined by the percentage of students who achieved a passing score in a given year. These percentages are compiled by the College Board and can be viewed on their website or other sites tracking AP exam results.
A low pass rate indicates the exam was difficult or students were not well-prepared. A high pass rate suggests good preparation and a less difficult exam.
What Is Score Distribution and How Does It Affect AP Exams?
Score distribution is a system showing what AP score (1 to 5) students got. The College Board releases score distributions each year. Understanding score distribution helps students evaluate the difficulty of an AP exam and adjust their learning plan to get a better score on the exam.
Below is a general table outlining how the College Board evaluates students for different AP scores.
| AP Score | Knowledge Assessment and Recommendations | Equivalent College Course Grade |
| 5 | Highly qualified | A+ or A |
| 4 | Well qualified | A-, B+, or B |
| 3 | Qualified | B-, C+, or C |
| 2 | Maybe qualified | – |
| 1 | No recommendation | – |
How Do College Admissions View Hardest and Easiest AP Classes?
Colleges give preference to students who have taken AP classes over those who followed the standard curriculum. Colleges also have to choose between students who have all taken AP courses. They prefer those who have completed more difficult AP classes in such cases. Such an AP class is one with a historically low pass rate. Colleges make this choice because it demonstrates a student’s commitment to their learning and strong knowledge.
Which AP Classes Are Considered the Hardest?
“I think that all kids are capable of hitting that level of AP work”
We will compare some AP subjects from 2023 and 2024 to see which classes are harder than others.
Is AP Physics C the Hardest AP Class?
The percentage of students who got a score of 5 on this AP exam in 2024 was 27% for E&M and 23% for Mech. This subject is quite difficult because it requires a strong understanding of physics and math concepts, but it is not the hardest AP class. Only 8% of students got a score of 5 on AP Physics 1 in 2024, making it much harder to learn and pass.
Why Is AP Chemistry Often Ranked Among the Hardest?
Let’s look at the table below to compare and see what percentage of students get a score of 5 in this AP subject and others.
| AP Class | Students with Score 5 in 2024 (%) |
| Chemistry | 17.0% |
| Calculus BC | 45.0% |
| Physics 1 – Algebra Based | 8.0% |
| Computer Science Principles | 11.0% |
| Computer Science A | 24.0% |
The table clearly shows this subject is not the hardest. The percentage for Physics 1 is much lower. This subject is also not the easiest, because less than 20% of students got a score of 5.
How Does AP Calculus BC Compare to Other AP Classes?
Now let’s compare Calculus BC with other subjects that also require math knowledge in some way.
| AP Class | Students with Score 5 in 2024 (%) |
| Calculus BC | 45.0% |
| Research | 12.0% |
| Physics 1 – Algebra Based | 8.0% |
| Computer Science Principles | 11.0% |
| Macroeconomics | 16.0% |
The table clearly shows this subject is much easier than other AP subjects because more than 40% of students got a score of 5. A higher percentage in 2024 was only seen in some language AP subjects.
Which AP Classes Have the Easiest Pass Rates?
We looked at which AP classes will be hard to pass in 2025, and not all students find them suitable. We will also look at classes with a high passing rate, which may be a better choice for some students.
Are AP Psychology and AP Human Geography Considered Easy?
Let’s compare the exam scores for these subjects in 2023 and 2024.
| AP Subject | Score 5 (%) | Score 4 (%) | Score 3 (%) | Score 2 (%) | Score 1 (%) |
| Psychology (2023) | 17.0% | 23.0% | 20.0% | 12.0% | 28.0% |
| Human Geography (2023) | 16.0% | 20.0% | 18.0% | 14.0% | 32.0% |
| Psychology (2024) | 18.0% | 23.0% | 20.0% | 12.0% | 27.0% |
| Human Geography (2024) | 18.0% | 20.0% | 18.0% | 14.0% | 30.0% |
The table shows the difficulty of these subjects is about the same, and neither is easy. Less than 20% of students got a score of 5 in both subjects. More than 25% of students got a score of 1 in both subjects.
What Makes AP Environmental Science an Easier Choice?
Only 9% of students got a score of 5 on this subject in 2024. 20% of students got a score of 1. AP Environmental Science is not the easiest subject because it requires a good understanding of math, logical thinking, and argumentation. Some students find it easier because the concepts in this subject are basic and easier to understand.
How Do Language AP Exams Compare in Terms of Difficulty?
These exams are not too difficult for students who learned well and reached a fluent level. Students who do not meet this level may have many problems with these subjects because they often need to translate and understand difficult texts from old literature or historical documents. Chinese and Japanese usually have more than 45% of students getting a score of 5. Students in other AP language subjects show lower results.
How Do AP Exams Influence College Admissions?
Let’s understand why students choose to take AP courses and exams.
Do Colleges Prefer Students Who Take the Hardest AP Classes?
Colleges give preference to students who have taken the hardest AP classes over those who followed the standard curriculum. Different colleges have different minimum AP scores for credit. Many colleges accept a 3 or higher. Selective colleges often need a 4 or 5.
Here are examples of different colleges and the AP scores they require for college credit.
| College | Minimum AP Score |
| Harvard University | 5 |
| Stanford University | 5 |
| Boston University | 4 or higher |
| New York University | 4 or higher |
| University of California | 4 or higher |
| Florida State University | 3 or higher |
| Arizona State University | 3 or higher |
Сheck with a specific college for exact details.
How Important is the AP Exam Score in College Admission Decisions?
A score of 3 or higher is a passing score. Many colleges accept students with these scores. Here are some examples of such colleges:
- University of Florida
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Michigan
- The Ohio State University
- Pennsylvania State University
Students need to check a college’s statistics to see if their score is good for admission to the college they are interested in.
What Role Does the AP Course Load Play in College Applications?
Colleges look at how smartly a student chose and managed their AP classes. Students who take more than one AP course and balance it well with their regular schoolwork stand out to colleges. Colleges do this because it shows a student’s desire to learn and their ability to reach goals with good time management. Colleges welcome such students because they are ready for the next level of education.
How to Prepare for the Hardest AP Exams?
Here are some tips for students who take AP exams with a low percentage of high scores.
What Study Strategies Work Best for Challenging AP Subjects?
There are many useful strategies for students. We will focus on five strategies anyone can use:
- The Pomodoro Technique. This method helps you stay focused. Set a timer for 25 minutes, study with full concentration, then take a 5-minute break. Repeat this cycle to have enough energy for learning
- Work with long-term memory. Go back to previous topics from time to time to make sure you don’t forget them after learning new material
- Practice tests. Look for sample exams online. Practicing with real questions will help you understand what you’re good at and what you need to work on before the actual exam
- No to rote memorization. Focus on truly understanding concepts so you can answer any question, rather than hoping for familiar ones
- Ask for help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to teachers or classmates when you’re experiencing some problems. They will help you solve all the issues
Contact Legacy Online School to get more strategies and professional support from our experts.
How Can Practice Tests Improve AP Exam Performance?
Three practice exams are usually enough for students. Kids get used to the exam format and the time limits for each section. These tests help with analysis, showing students which topics they don’t know well and need more time for learning. Regular practice with these tests increases students’ chances of earning a score of 5.
Are There Resources Recommended for Difficult AP Classes?
Legacy Online School has been helping students to achieve their best results on this exam for years. Our school provides a lot of AP classes and study resources in different formats. These formats make them ideal for every student. Teachers in our school give books and other materials based on the latest updates from the College Board, so students use the right resources. Students can also review official College Board resources and guides to better understand what to expect on the exam this year.
