ADVICE

**Below you will read the advice from this year's group (Mrs. Simmons' Manglesticks). They offer some warning and advice that you need to read!!** 1.My advice to all upcoming APUSH students is to study, study, study. This class is definately very material heavy. You're covering tons of imformation from the summer until May 10 or whenever your AP exam is. It's insane. Learn from some of our mistakes and start studying everyday. A lot of us didn't start studying until maybe two months before the exam, which seems like a long time, but considering that we were covering material at the same time it wasn't really a lot of time. Also, I don't recommend that you take more than maybe two AP classes at a time. I took three and that was a handful. All AP classes require a lot of time and attention. I payed the price studying for APUSH and neglecting my AP Biology. I felt so lost during my AP Biology exam. If you think you can handle more than two by all means go for it, but make sure you can manage your time, and make sure you know your due dates are. You'll have tons of due dates that will get all clustered up. A big thing that helped me manage my time was I bought a planner and wrote EVERYTHING down. I also had seperate binders for all my classes. A lot of people combine classes. DO NOT COMBINE ANY AP CLASSES. You will lose papers left and right.There are tons of benefits to taking an AP class, and they definately outway the drawbacks. AP classes help you prepare for college, they help you learn how to write better and probably one of the best things I learned was time managament. I can not stress enough studying and time management. It can make or break you in these classes.That's all I can really think of at the moment. Enjoy the class. It really sucks that you won't have Mrs. Simmons teaching you next year. She was an amazing teacher and if wasn't for all the slack she gave us we would have all failed. Thank you so much Mamma Manglestick! (:-- M. Roberts 2. Warning: APUSH 2012-13 Hello, my name is C. Roble. The class you have considered partaking in is a very grueling one. Though it is not required, you should try to devote most of your free time to this class. Though this was not the case for me, I was lucky enough to have a teacher who distributed immense amounts of extra credit. YOU will not have that pleasure. I have found that because of this class, I have been able, numerous times, to engage in collegiate discussions about US history. Though this may not seem like a big perk, the feeling you get when you actually understand higher level conversation is unparalleled. To the sports minded, club enriched, etc., APUSH does not really take up much of your time. You will find that your classmates will become your closest friends, and you guys can create study groups. Though the APUSH exam seems like a mountain, it will be like a hill once you've been through a full year of APUSH. Just stick with it for the first two months, then you'll feel like it's nothing. SIKE

3. Dear 40 unfortunate souls who decided to take APUSH, Let's just say if you think this is going to hard, or easy, you have no idea how hard this class is. This class is going to make you mature and become more responsible than I ever imagined. If you procrastinate, let's just say you better change that FAST. I started my summer work (and I only took this AP class) the last week of school, it took me untill the day before school to finish. You need to put all of your time and energy into this AP class to even get a C. You should start reviewing the first week for the AP test. I decided not to study as hard as I should and that test kicked my butt. PAY ATTENTION, READ AND TAKE NOTES. If you don't put everything you have into this course you will suffer. If you continue with this course, plan to get little to no sleep. Stay up late reading and taking notes. And having no social life. Honestly. Time management is most important with summer work, cut up the pages read like 50 per day. My notebook was 3/4 fullof notes for the 4 chapters and 5 of Lies My Teacher Told Me. Good luck taking APUSH. I hope you survive. :) R. Colvin 4. Dear new AP students, You probably think that AP United States History is going to be easy. Study, maybe… Do the assigned homework, perhaps… Take the exam in May, of course… At the beginning of next year, you’re going to walk into that classroom with the assumption that you’re going to do every assignment and ace the class. As my advice to you, count on that feeling going away. Some of you are going to have to choose whether to write a 5 page paper for AP English or do a quiz for APUSH. But you only have to do this if you don’t manage your time correctly. Take the time to actually study. Make note-cards and actually READ the textbook. Do whatever you have to do. It will help you tremendously when you walk into the extension center to take the final. Best of luck, S. Litten 5. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">APUSH is a very time consuming class, but I highly recommend taking it. It is well worth it though, and in the end you will appreciate taking the course. Be prepared for a lot of summer work, and I definitely recommend doing it before the last week! I learned that the hard way. It may only look like a little amount of work, but it isn't! APUSH will teach you new ways to write essays. Yes, you will learn how to write better in a history course. I am a student with a job, and I often work weeknights. I promise taking this class (and passing) is still possible; however it isn't easy. You can't come into APUSH thinking that it will be easy, but you will survive! M. Miller

6. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Dear future APUSH students, <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">So…..you want to take APSH? My first piece of advice is __DON’T TAKE IT__!!!! I’m serious! This class is not a walk in the park. I have heard that a bunch of people think it’s going to be easy. Let me inform you right now, it’s not! It’s not like an honors class, it is drastically different, and a 1,000 times harder. You will have to work as hard as a college student and be as dedicated in order to pass. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Second, I feel it would be helpful to have a love for history, or at least not a hatred for having to learn about the amazing past of our great country. Of course, we all have to take classes we don’t like, but this shouldn’t be one of them. There will be times you sit back and wonder why you even decided to take this course (all the time actually!) and enjoying what you are learning, would make the class a little more enjoyable. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Now, for some really good advice… Make sure you understand what you’re learning. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But you need to fully comprehend what you are learning, because you will be required to respond to a Document Based Questions known as DBQ or a Free Response Question known as a FRQ on some part in history. If you don’t fully understand what happened, who was a major person in that time period, what was the outcome of this event, then you won’t do well on these types of questions. It’s not just about knowing your history for that moment, or kind of getting it because those that score your paper will be able to see right through that. For these papers, you must be able to bring outside information and specific factual information to the paper. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">I find it helpful to create flash cards to study by. It’s an easier way to study than having to find certain people, battles, or terms by looking throughout your whole notebook. But that is just a personal preference and observation. You will develop your own style of taking down information and taking good notes is so important. At first, you might write down every thing you read (I know I did) but eventually, you will learn how to weed out the important information. I swear I could start a bonfire out of all the note cards and papers I’ve used taking notes. By the end of this course, I had 2 binders full of paper, 4 notebooks, and way too many flash cards for any class! But in the end, it all helped. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Also, you must read the chapters in the book. I’m not going to lie; some of the chapters are boring, and very wordy, with small print. Basically, I didn’t find it enjoyable to read about the Great Depression, or the Great Awakening, but its part of what shaped our country. You could ask anyone in my class right now, who is Barry Goldwater, and you will hear them begin a rant about, “Who the heck is Barry Goldwater, I cannot believe they asked about him on the test. Who is he?” And this is a true account of what happened because no one in the class had read that chapter and a question about him actually appeared on our AP exam. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">This piece of advice is a biggie, I do not know who your teacher will be next year or how his or her style of teaching will be, but an AP class is supposed to be like a college class. At first, Mrs. Simmons required us to do a lot of work. We took notes from the book, made flashcards, completed study guides, analyzed documents, and answered all the questions with it. You name it, we did it. But eventually, Mrs. Simmons said that none of that stuff would be required any more, so you’re asking yourself, why did she change her way of doing things? This course is supposed to prepare you for college, so she began treating us like college students. Now you’re saying, that sounds great, it’s going to be an easy class because there is no work to do. But you would be very WRONG!! You still need to do all of that work; it will really help to drill that information into your head. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">One thing that I was fortunate enough to have offered to me was many opportunities to earn extra credit points. I swear, if it wasn’t for all of the extra credit, I probably wouldn’t have the great grade that I have now in this class. But unfortunately for you, extra credit won’t be allowed next year, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. Which means, it’s all up to you to get a good grade. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Last but not least, you will lose a lot of sleep from this class, you will become stressed out, you will ponder the idea of dropping this class, and, you might even cry over this class (I know I did). I also know that I wasn’t the only one that experienced these symptoms because many of my friends have told me that they have also felt a multitude of these side effects from APUSH. My advice is to try and find something to love about this class, or it’s going to be a long year for you. I have recently realized that I have a love for history. I want to be a history buff; you know the kind of smarty pants that go on Jeopardy. I really do love history, and while I did not like the work load or the DBQ’s and FRQ’s; I love what I’m learning. Find something to love whether it’s who’s in your class, or your teacher, finding something to like about this class will make it a little more tolerable. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">So all in all, I really hope you take my advice to heart. I want to emphasize again, that this class is not easy, and has a heavy work load, but the payoff in the end is worth all the sleepless nights, tears, and all of the work you’ll do. I hope if you do decide to take this class that you enjoy it as much as I did. And, I hope your teacher is as smart, funny, and altogether as great of a teacher as Mrs. Simmons was. She was an amazing APUSH teacher. A. Kuhn

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">7.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Well, it's a really hard class. It will definitely seperate the men from the boys if you know what I mean. Plus, since you guys won't be having Mrs. Simmons and the new No Extra Credit nonsense, most of you guys probably won't have a passing grade after the first two weeks. I highly recommend that you don't come into this class acting like you will get a good grade, cause most likely this class will kick your butt. Really, It kicked mine...Hard. Though it is hard, it can be a lot of fun and I actually learned a lot. So have fun guys. No really, it's still a hard class. So hard that if you plan on taking a ton of AP courses, you will be in for a rough time. Literally, back out now. I regret not dropping out. If you are someone that doesn't do any work, just go to guidance and drop out. I mean it. Seriously, this isn't an easy class. I mean it. It's really hard. It's so hard it makes climbing Mt. Everest look like a piece of cake. Okay, maybe not Mt. Everest, but it definitely makes Mt. Kilimanjaro look really easy to climb. Like really? You should drop the class. Maybe I'm just trying to scare you...or am I? This is a hard class. You need to rethink your plans about taking this class. It's hard. Really, really hard. I'm not just trying to scare you. Go wrestle a tiger and if you win then you can take the class. I'm being totally honest if you didn't even know that Yellow Journalism pushed the American people into the Spanish-American War. Then just don't take the class. If you can't even tell me what generation the massive counter culture movements were in then just stop reading this. I think you should just drop the class, I wish I did. If you slack then you will not have a good night. Be prepared for notes every night. Trust me, it will not be fun. The AP exam is not easy at all. Just stop now, before it's too late. If you read all of this then you are a champion. Trust me, love you, bye. ;) K. Cosnahan

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">8.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">To those who believe they will succeed,

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">I hope you have the dedication to endure through a year's worth of tedious, endless work. I hope you don't mind working until 3 in the morning, especially if you have other AP classes. I hope you don't mind dealing with the fact that you will not be simply given an A. I understand the feeling of confidence that you probably feel, that egotistical pride that makes you feel invincible. Well, you're wrong. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Please understand that I don't mean to crush your confidence, I just want to assure you that this class is not "casual". It involves losing all your personal time, spending hours reading and studying, and an occasional mental breakdown. The best part is that after you drag yourself into the classroom after an endless night of studying, you get to take a pop quiz the next day. Rule number 1, __<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**expect the unexpected** __<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">. AP teachers love to see the faces of depressed and hopeless children. Don't let them experience that pleasure, prove to them you can handle whatever they throw at you. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">There are no words powerful enough to express to you the agony APUSH is. The only advice I can give is to be prepared to work instead of live, throw your TV out the window, and take LOTS of notes. Can you handle it? <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">K. Gardner

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">9.

Dear Apush Scholars First of all let me start by saying AP US history is not a walk in the park. This class is probably one of the toughest classes you will take in high school and you have to make sure you always do your work and turn it in on time. The first mistake you must not make is not doing your summer work and getting it in on time. Next making time for studying is crucial and key to getting a 3 or higher on the final exam you have to make time whenever possible. The best way to study the material is to take note cards with good details written on them and always do your reading given to you by your teacher. With closing words though let me just say just because it may be difficult plenty of benefits will come to you by taking this class. Sincerely, M. Shelton

10. Piece of Cake?? APUSH is a demanding class like other AP courses. It's a lot of work and unless you actually do all the study guides, terms, and taking notes, then you will not pass the class let alone the AP exam. If you like taking notes for an hour and a half straight then this is the course for you. You need to read each chapter all the way through and go ahead of the rest of the group to get the grade you want. It's hard taking all AP courses and you won't be able to put the time you need into this class. This is a HARD course, if you think this will be easy, then march straight to the guidance and get it changed to honors. That will be the only way to have an easy year. DO NOT PROCRASCINATE. Do your work when you have free time, because before you know it you will have homework in all other classes and you won't be in bed till 3 in the morning. Trust me I've experienced it. STUDY STUDY STUDY. Yes their are notes online but it would greatly help you to read the book chapter by chapter, and then use the online notes to make your personal notes better. At times it will be strenuous, but in the end it will overall help you. If you still want to stay in this course i give the best of luck to you.... you will need it. C. Meidinger

11.

Many of you have signed up for this class because you enjoy history and want to be academically challenged in a way you would not be in honors US History. Others have signed up for the GPA boost, and to be honest, it really does help. But you have to understand that you are not going to just fly through this class with absolutely no work put in. The first big obstacle to tackle is the summer assignment. It is long, it is boring, and it might seem that you can just halfa$$ the assignment and get full credit. Rule number one, never assume in APUSH. Pace yourself. Allot a certain time each day to read and take notes on about 10-20 pages. Start as soon as you can and you will find yourself with a lot less stress and a lot more summer. If you wait until the end, you will be rushed to complete a whole lot of notes in a little bit of time, and the class will be stressful from the start. If you refuse to do your summer assignment, your grade will never fully recover to give you the average you were hoping to achieve. Rule number two, do your summer assignment. It may seem like a bunch of work, and it is, but it’s not worth ruining your grade over, so just do it! The next big obstacle to tackle is the amount of work you will be subjected to once you are finally in the class and past the review of the summer assignment. When the real workflow starts to come in, you have to remain calm. Rule number three, do NOT loose your cool. APUSHinitis is a real and deadly disease, do not succumb to it. You will be going through two chapters or more per week, and as you already know from doing your summer assignment, the chapters are not short. Keep your cool and you will be fine. The last obstacle to tackle is the AP test. It is long, there are three essays that take a very specific format, and you are given nothing but your knowledge to write them. You have 55 minutes to go through 80 multiple choice, most of which are the dreaded EXCEPT questions. Rule number four, study. Even if it’s not time for the AP exam yet, you will not be able to retain all this knowledge in the few days before the exam. It may, towards the end, seem like too much to handle, but stick with it. The possible payout for getting a 3,4 or 5 on the AP exam is well worth the torture you will endure throughout the class. So remember: never assume, do your summer assignment, keep your cool, and above all, study. This class was amazing, a huge benefit for me in my pursuit of retaining as much historical knowledge as possible. It was tough. I will not lie, I struggled. But stick with it, and you will be happy you accepted the role as the Manglestick class of 2012-2013. E. Tate

12.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">For those who are enrolling into APUSH for the 2012-2013 year you should know it is NOT a "walk into the park." Sleeping in class, not doing your homework, or just slacking throughout the year will not earn you a 2,3,4 and most definitely not a 5 on the AP exam. Be prepared to lose part of your life too! To get through about 400years you must be dedicated to do your work. This includes extra extra note taking, reading the chapters, and not waiting until the last minute to do an assignment. Luckily, APUSH isn't all bad. You learn some of the most interesting things and take field trips to amazing places. Honestly, if you are thinking of taking more than just one AP class, don't take four! I did and I stressed so much, but most of my dedication went into the APUSH class. Extra credit helped a lot, but unfortunately there isn't any more extra credit in the new school year, so that definitely means you have to at least try to work hard. Study for EVERY test! So my advice is for you that want to succeed in this class do your work, pay attention, and don't get to overwhelmed! A. Simmons

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">13.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">To the Incoming APUSH Students:

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">To start off, this is NOT a class in which you can slack off. If you think that you’ll be able to slide by without reading the textbook or taking notes, you are in for a surprise. There is no possible way that you can pass this class and not do any work. That being said, this class is great if you have an interest in history or you want to learn more about this nation’s past. If you really do try and you really do pay attention, this course can be quite enjoyable. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Another important tip: __DO YOUR SUMMER WORK__. Do it completely and do it well; it’ll only benefit you if you do it thoroughly. S. Gottschalk

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">14. <span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">To you, the poor, confused children who decided to take APUSH,Your junior year of highschool is the time when the people who will succeed take their step towards success, and those who won't will simply fall behind. Choosing to take AP classes is definitely a great step towards success, but only if you're truly ready for it. AP classes in general are rediculously hard, but this class, AP U.S. History, is like nothing else. If you're one of those students who just do well without ever studying, like me, then you'll be in for a great surprise come the start of your junior year. There is absolutely no way you'll be successful in this class without studying. Drop your pride, get off the couch, turn off the TV, and be prepared to spend hours every night studying, taking notes, and staring at dates until they all seem to blur together. I can't tell you how many school nights I've stayed up until early morning doing just my APUSH homework, and that's in addition to all of my other AP and honors classes' homework. Summer work is not optional. Walking into class on the first day with nothing in your hand is automatically promising you to be a failure within APUSH. If you're not planning on putting the time and effort in both this summer and during the school year, then I advise you to walk to the guidance office, and drop this class NOW. Unlike your past classes, the bare minimum will simply not suffice in APUSH. Yes, you will be taking LOTS of notes this summer! And no, that doesn't mean one page of notes per chapter, oh no. You'd better take clear, and consise notes, because when you walk in on the first day, the lovely new teacher is going to hand you a pop quiz, and all you can use for guidance is your feeble mind, and the notes you took during the summer. Are you scared yet? You should be. I know all of this may sound a bit overwhelming but I'm here to tell you that all of the hard work pays off in the end. High school is NOT the time to go partying every weekend, and to slack off. It doesn't make you cool, it makes you stupid. Years from now, do you really think you'll be patted on the back and praised for wasting all of the opportunities school gives you? No. This is the time for you to take advantage of everything, and the first step is by taking AP classes, just keep this in mind. AP classes not only separate you from the slackers, but they will put you at the top of your class if you're successful within them. Being in the top tenth of your class with a 4.5 GPA is something you can be very proud of in years to come,and with the limited number of AP classes offered at this school, succeeding in APUSH is essential to this goal. The fact of the matter is, if you think this class is going to be easy, then you are very, very wrong my friend. It involves tedious hours of hard work, many pop-quizes, and it requires a motivation that outshines those around you. Within the first week of school, I can almost guarantee that at least a fourth of you will drop this class; but to those of you who don't, and stick through until the end, the benefits will be a rewarding surprise.

<span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Sincerely,K. Messier

<span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">15.

Dear misunderstood humans, If you are taking this class just because you think it is a “piece of cake” then you are seriously idiotic. You must be fully committed to this class in order to receive a good grade. When I first came into this class, I thought it was going to be fairly easy, I BELIEVED I was going to pass this class without trying, I was wrong. You must do your work, the DAY it is assigned, no waiting until the last minute. If you do, you’re literally screwed. You won’t be able to finish the assignment and if you somehow magically finish it, then you won’t remember a single thing the next day, or you’ll fall asleep in class because you stayed up all night. Trust me, I went time to time without doing my work, and I came in the next day to a quiz, and stared at the paper not knowing anything. **SO (>‘o’)> DO <(' .' )> YOUR <('o'<) WORK** I had fun in this class tbh. But it was hard. We went on a couple field trips, had a blast, we watched some movies in class, interesting, we played games sometimes, amazing. I mean honestly, the class is hard yeah, but if you just do the work when it’s assigned, study maybe two or three times a week for a good hour, and do any extra credit that is available, then you will pass the class, no doubt. But things you must know and do in order to pass: Have fun hope you fail c: J. Gross ( ✿◠‿◠ )
 * Take good, detailed notes.
 * Note cards on any unfamiliar term, put a simple summarized sentence on the back so you know it is and are able to remember when the term is said.
 * Don’t fall asleep, just don’t.
 * Pay attention. I mean you can stay awake and not pay attention, but do it.
 * Study.
 * It’s a fun course trust me.

16.

Dear Rising Juniors,

This class is no walk in the park. The assignments are never ending and the reading begins far before the school year does. Do not come into this class with a slack attitude, because it will ruin your grade. Although, if you manage to complete the reading and pay attention in class then you should be successful. Do not be content with just getting by because the AP exam is not designed for mediocre effort. FRQs and DBQs are something that will test your skills in writing, as well as incorporating a lot of outside information learned into them. H. Ferebee

17. Dear Rising Juniors, Do you really want to take this class? Like, seriously…think about what you are getting yourself into. Time management is a key part of taking this course, especially if you are taking more than one. If you struggle with getting your assignments done by the time your teacher asks, don’t take this class. If you can’t stay awake during lectures or PowerPoint note taking, don’t take this class. If you don’t take notes, DON’T TAKE THIS CLASS! If you aren’t committed to writing long, fact filled, coherent essays please don’t take this class. Essays are always a part of your test and will be a big part of your AP exam. Honestly this class isn’t too hard if you keep up with READING. Reading and note cards will help you pass quizzes, tests, and even last minute reviews before a Pop- FRQ. By the end of the year you will be AP Scholars. Whadduppp Marisa Breathwaite! :) C. Clark

18. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">AP United States History is one of THE toughest, most rigorous, involved, horribly difficult classes I’ve taken. If you hate reading, don’t take this class. If you aren’t going to put any extreme effort into making study guides, flashcards, and doing what you’re assigned, don’t take this class. If you hate writing essays, or can’t write very fast, or can’t pull a bunch of SFI’s (specific factual information) out of your derriere, DO NOT take this class. But, if you are willing to put at least an hour per night into this class, learn the complex and fascinating history of our great nation, and take an intense, 3 hour test in May, then sign up and just make sure you get an A. So honestly, unless you really have time to work your tail off, a good grade in this class will be impossible. Not trying to scare you off, but well good luck and I shall see you at your impending funeral. Cause of Death: Stress Overload. C. Martin

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">19.

AP US History will be a challenge. There is no other course that requires you to cram so much information, from so many formats, into your mind for one single test. The history covered spans from the Columbus era to present day and trust me, you will realize just how far America has come. The difficult part is knowing what key figures and dates to memorize for the exam, which results in just memorizing them all. Not only has this course improved my historical writing in drastic terms, but it has also taught me the significance of comprehending a textbook instead of just reading one. Be prepared to manage your time like never before, especially if you have a few other AP courses in your schedule. Most of all, find joy in understanding our history as Americans, because if you don't, this will be a class to dread setting forth in every (other) day. "Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company."George Washington

J. Jackson

20. Dear Rising Juniors who are Taking AP US History, AP US History is not like any “honors” social studies course you have taken previously, trust me, it is extremely time consuming and if you don’t manage your time well it’s absolutely overwhelming. I advise you to commit at least a fourth of your night at home ACTUALLY READING the chapters assigned and start studying for the APUSH exam on the first day of school, scratch that- the first day you get your textbook. Learn to love that textbook like you love some good Facebook drama. Facts, facts and more facts- know them. Now, the chapters you have to read aren’t just 10 or 15 pages each. We’re talking 20 to 35 pages of dates, names, and minimal pictures all in size negative 12 font so they can be hard to read, but they are absolutely vital. So READ READ READ. Especially if you’re taking multiple AP classes, you need to learn to manage your time correctly, that is the key to your AP life. Don’t be discouraged if this is the first year you don’t make all A’s, and if you’re someone who freaks out over getting a 93 on a test- don’t take this class. Just save yourself the heartache. I hope this doesn’t discourage you completely, just serves as a wake up call for some of you who think its going to be a “piece of cake.” Honestly, as long as you do ALL of your work and READ, you gifted, sophomore prodigies will do fine.

Sincerely, A. Meadows

21. Dear future APUSH risk takers, A.P U.S history may kill you. The endless hours of reading, writing, and studying may drive you to the point of tears on a weekly bases. Most of you signed up expecting the class to be a “walk in the park”, but you are definitely WRONG. This class is by far the most stressful course I have taken. Between One FRQ (Free Response Question) and two DBQ’s (Data Based Question’s) you need to know everything! They can be on anything that happened in any time of history or anyone in history. The questions must be answered in a detailed essay and finished under the time limit. If you don’t begin studying for the exam the first week of school, the old material may just be put in the back of your brain until your final cram session (which you shouldn’t have to have!!). The exam is 80 questions on everything in history ranging from the simple facts to the things average citizens haven’t even heard of. Knowing everything and everyone in history is the key to passing this course. My main advice though, Do not fall behind in the class, Be prepared to not have an ‘A’ and Study. Or just drop the course now, which I would have done if I had the knowledge our class has given you. S. Drew

22. <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> So you chose to take APUSH your junior year. Well that may be a mistake. This year APUSH was pretty hard and that’s with extra credit and not a lot of writing assignments. Next year there is no extra credit and as far as the teacher’s style goes you’re in uncharted waters man. It’s like on one of those old maps where in a corner it says “here there be monsters.” Well that corner where that is written that’s APUSH. I can’t tell you how close I was at the end of the AP test just to draw a picture over all the essay spots. It’s a drain on you. Oh and for those of you who think yeah man I’ll take this class and go out and party every weekend or do a million sports…no just no. It’s possible but it won’t be a cake walk. Many hours will be eaten up studying for tests and writing 9 worthy papers. My biggest recommendation to you is if that doesn’t sound like the class for you…run. As fast as you can and don’t stop until you’re sitting in Mrs. Ellis’s office shaking her by the shoulders and screaming “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ENCOURAGING ME TO DO THIS!!!” But if you can handle that the field trips were fun. C. Lee

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">23.

Greetings future AP History lads, If you believe you are capable of handling this course then obviously you were dropped as a child. This course is worse than being kidnapped in Tijuana on vacation or finding out that all you got for Christmas was a striped turtle neck sweater. You will have to read, study, and write more than you have in your 16 to17 years of life. You have to be fully committed to this course. It takes up a lot of time. If you read one chapter, took notes and made flashcards, it would take you at least 6 hours. And that’s just for one chapter. If you like having fun don’t take this course. If you enjoy going to the roller derby with your friends on the weekends don’t take this course. But if you think you can handle this course, take it. It will really benefit you in the end. You will learn how to write 10 times better and maybe even earn a college credit depending on how well you do on the exam. YOLO. Sincerely, K. Baker

24. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue','Nimbus Sans L',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Dear Fellow Historians, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue','Nimbus Sans L',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you are considering taking AP US History then prepare for all nighters, millions of note cards, and endless pages of notes. AP US History is not walk in the park; it’s an 8.9 mile run in the deep, dark jungle of Grenada. I was just like you young one; wanted to take all AP classes, make straight A’s, and be the number one college candidate. In reality, after taking AP US History, my social life diminished. Friends? What are those? My History book became my best friend since we spent so much time together. My weekends became holidays to complete previous reading assignments and catch up on notes, I would review facts in my head before I fell asleep, and I started metal detecting to find Civil War bullets because history is so interesting. This class is a COLLEGE class, not your everyday walk in the park honors class. You will be challenged and you will want to give up. Try balancing this class with your other AP classes like Calculus and English. Also, procrastination is not tolerated. You MUST have your time managed on reading and note taking assignments or… well… you fail. All I can say is good luck.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue','Nimbus Sans L',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Sincerely, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue','Nimbus Sans L',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">M. Matulewicz

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue','Nimbus Sans L',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">25.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Dear Future APUSHers,

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> As you prepare to enter the A.P student world there are many helpful hints about this course that you NEED to follow. Like everyone says the major thing for you to do is read. When you read the information and annotate the text you need to take strong detailed notes. If you don’t get the information it is impeditive that you reread the information because you have pop quizzes and tests are hard. Get in the habit of taking good notes with lots of specific factual information. When you take tests you will find out that there may be more then one correct answer which means you have to dissect that test until you find the more correct answer. Its a lot of information to learn and a major study tool that helped me more then anything is flash cards. MAKE FLASHCARDS FOR EVERY HISTORICAL TERM. I have hundreds of flashcards and I probably wouldn’t of learned half of the information without them. Other then studying you butt off and putting loads of time into this course you will enjoy the class as a whole, you learn information that will stick with you and have the knowledge to correct anyone who attempts to outsmart you in history. Have fun and enjoy history because it isn’t just a boring old subject, I know I enjoyed history and can say it was by far my favorite class.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> Alexis G

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">26.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">Dear future APUSH students

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">I don’t know where you got this delusional idea that AP U.S. History was going to be easy, but whoever told you that is obviously on LSD. This class is NOT easy in any way, shape, or form. This class destroys any hope that you would be able to have fun during your so-called summer break. If you have an early bedtime don’t take this class because you will be up all night making note cards and reading chapters out of the most heinously boring book in the world. However, if you apply yourself to ACTUALLY reading the chapters and memorizing specific factual information; you will be halfway prepared for the horrendous quizzes and tests that this course requires. T. Grandy

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">P.S. Don’t listen to Engel v. Vitale because as long as there are students enrolled in APUSH there will be prayer in public schools.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">27. <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Dear future APUSHers (maybe), <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">The advice I’d give all of you is to drop the class if: <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">A.) You do not like US History (and by this I mean you have to like it so much that you are willing to carve “I love APUSH” into your forehead.) <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">B.) You do not like to read (Why are you even taking an AP class if you can’t even open a book?) <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">or <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">C.) You’re a procrastinator (in other classes you might have gotten away with procrastination easily but in this class if you procrastinate, 90% of the time you will not be able to turn the assignment in by the due date. And just because it’s late doesn’t mean you’re not able to turn it in at a later time. But you also have to take in the fact that now you also have this late assignment and maybe 2 more assignments to finish too.) <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">My advice: <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> This class is called AP US History for a reason. Not HONORS but AP. AP as in Advanced Placement. I hear that some of you think it’s easy but I also assume some of you haven’t taken an AP course yet. It is not the same as an Honors class or a little bit harder than an honors class. Think about it. Think of the gap between the classes. There are some of you who took more than one AP course and to you super human children get used to the words “sleep deprivation” :D You have to take into fact that while also learning about US History in 1 year (which is NOT enough time) but you also have to learn how to analyze and write a DBQ and FRQ for ALL AP courses (so If you took APUSH and AP Language, you’ll quickly see the difference in writing styles.) Also some of you may even have sports and even a job. If you do take this class, you’ll soon realize that your social life is non existent and your junior year is ruined (atleast for me it was). <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> The gist of this is “STUDY READ READ READ READ!!! STUDY!” Extra credit helped a lot in this class but next year Extra Credit is banned from the school and also if you’ve missed an assignment you go straight to ZAP (<-oh look, one form of taking away your social life) <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> You guys are lucky that you get to get advice. I didn’t and I wish I did (because I would have dropped this class in a heartbeat). Some of these advices seem like they’re designed to scare you (they are; I mean we finished the class already so might as well have fun right? XD) but can you see the similarities in all the advices? We’re not lying. WE’RE TRYING TO HELP YOU! *shakes you* <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> so……..run…..run to guidance…..now….like right now. <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">p.s. after reading this over I noticed I’m pessimistic so here’s something on the bright side: <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">J. McDougal
 * <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">You’re pushed to the edge so you can test your limits.
 * <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Your note taking skills improve tremendously. (Which is a big help for college^^)

28. <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">New APUSH students, <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> This course was a challenge for me and will most certainly also be a challenge for you next year. Throughout the year you will be required to read from your textbook and take in-depth notes. You will have to do a lot more self teaching in this class than you have been accustomed to throughout your past school career. The class moves very quickly and you are required to not only memorize specific details but also be able to write about them and how they shaped and influenced our country over time. The most difficult thing for me to grasp was the note taking by myself; I suggest that you not only pay very good attention in class but also be dedicated outside the classroom if you wish to do well on your tests and the final exam. W.J. Fallon