Every year since 2019 we’ve gone deep into AP data, painstakingly crunching numbers from pass rates and over 3200 course reviews to provide an unparalleled analysis of how each AP class ranks for difficulty.
Here’s your tl;dr for the top 3 easiest and hardest AP classes:
- The easiest AP class in 2024 was Computer Science Principles, followed by Psychology, and Chinese.
- In contrast, the hardest AP class in 2024 was Physics C – Electricity & Magnetism, closely followed by Physics C – Mechanics, and Chemistry.
Want to know which AP classes to choose? We’ve got a ranking list, a comprehensive bubble chart and an interactive table for you. So let’s dive right into …
A definitive list of AP classes ranked by difficulty
The results are in: here’s your complete list of all the AP classes, ranked by difficulty from easiest to hardest. There are currently 28 main AP classes, plus a number of smaller and newer courses (see notes below).
Letters in [square brackets] reference a note given below. Click on a hyperlink to learn about our analysis of an individual AP class difficulty in more detail!
For each AP class we’ve noted our assessment, plus the average difficulty rating out of 10 (10 = hardest), determined by data from 3,295 reviews by real class alumnae (see Methodology section below for more details):
- Computer Science Principles: 2.9 – Very Easy
- Psychology: 3.5 – Very Easy
- Chinese: 3.9 – Very Easy, though much harder for non-speakers [a]
- Computer Science A: 4.2 – Quite Easy
- Human Geography: 4.3 – Quite Easy
- Environmental Science: 4.3 – Quite Easy, but difficult to score well [b]
- US Government and Politics: 4.4 – Quite Easy
- Microeconomics: 4.6 – Quite Easy
- Comparative Government and Politics: 4.8– Quite Easy
- Macroeconomics: 4.9 – Quite Easy
- Statistics: 4.9 – Quite Easy
- Art History: 4.9 – Quite Easy
- Seminar: 5.0 – Moderate Difficulty, most pass but 5 scores are rare [c]
- Spanish Language: 5.1 – Moderate Difficulty, though much harder for non-speakers [d]
- English Language: 5.2 – Moderate Difficulty, though 5 scores are rare [e]
- Calculus AB: 5.6 – Moderate Difficulty
- Calculus BC: 5.6 – Moderate Difficulty
- US History: 6.0 – Quite hard, and time-intensive to study [f]
- World History: 6.0 – Quite Hard, and time-intensive to study [f]
- Biology: 6.4 – Quite Hard
- European History: 6.4 – Quite Hard, and time-intensive to study [f]
- Music Theory: 6.4 – Quite Hard – though may be relatively quick to study [g]
- Physics 2: 6.7 – Quite Hard
- Physics 1: 7.2 – Very Hard – with a very low pass rate [h]
- English Literature: 7.3 – Very Hard
- Chemistry: 7.4 – Very Hard, especially if you’re self-studying [i]
- Physics C – Mechanics: 7.5 – Very Hard
- Physics C – E/M: 8.0 – Very Hard
Notes on the difficulty ranking, and some points you need to know:
[a] AP Chinese is often taken by people already familiar with the language, which perhaps explains why it’s considered so easy (3.9 / 10), so quick to study (3.4 / 10) and why the average score (4.0) is the highest of all AP classes. You’ll likely find AP Chinese much harder work if you’re new to the language!
[b] AP Environmental Science class alumnae rate it as a relatively easy class (4.3 / 10) BUT the pass rate is quite low (54%), especially for such an easy-rated class. Very few students graduate with the top grade of 5 (just 9% in 2024 – one of the lowest of any AP class we track).
[c] AP Seminar is a funny one: it’s rated as moderate difficulty overall (5.0 / 10), BUT is rated as quite challenging if you are self-studying (7.1 / 10). Most students pass (89%), but a very large number (34%) don’t recommend the class.
[d] AP Spanish is considered moderately difficult (5.1 / 10), but has a pass rate (83%) that’s behind only Seminar and Chinese. As with other AP languages, the class will be much harder if you don’t already speak some Spanish.
[e] It’s tough to get to the top: only 9% of AP English Language students scored a 5 in 2024.
[f] Clear your schedule: The three History APs all rate among the most time-intensive AP classes to study with scores of 7.3 / 10 (APUSH), 6.8 / 10 (Euro) and 6.7 / 10 (World).
[g] AP Music Theory is rated as relatively quick to study (4.9 / 10), but many people choosing the class already have a musical background. You’ll likely find it much tougher if not.
[h] AP Physics 1 has the lowest overall pass rate (46%) of all APs, and the lowest proportion of 5 scores (8%).
[i] AP Chemistry is rated as the hardest of all AP classes if you’re self-studying, at 8.4 / 10.
Small AP classes:
Some AP classes were too small for us to have sufficient difficulty rating data to include in our analysis. These were either foreign languages (Spanish Literature, French, Italian Language & Culture, Latin, German, Japanese), or courses in the Art & Design programme (2D and 3D Art & Design, Drawing).
New AP classes for 2024:
Two new APs were introduced for 2024 – Precalculus and African American Studies.
- Precalculus was taken by 152,000 students. 76% passed, and 25% scored a 5.
- The number taking African Amercian Studies has not yet been disclosed, but 73% of candidates passed, with 15% scoring a 5.
We will add Precalculus and African American Studies to our full analysis from 2025 onwards, once we have sufficient data on student difficulty ratings.
AP classes ranked by difficulty: a visual
Not sure what to make of where the AP classes you’re interested in fall in the rankings? Let’s take a look at our signature bubble chart to examine the main 28 AP class difficulty rankings a different way:
There are five main factors to look out for as you compare the bubbles:
- The easiest and least time-consuming classes (as rated by alumnae) are in the bottom left corner, led by CompSci Principles.
- The hardest and most time-consuming classes (as rated by alumnae) are in the top right corner, led by Physics C – E&M.
- The colour of the bubble indicates 2024 pass rates. Red is low, green is high, and brown is average (College Board, 2024).
- The bubble size shows how many students took the class in 2024. The largest classes were English Language and US History.
- A red outline indicates that more than 15% of students do not recommend the class. Whilst that’s a lot, don’t get discouraged – the majority of alumnae still recommend taking these classes!
- This rating applies to Seminar, Physics 1 and 2, English Literature, Macroeconomics and Music Theory.
Interactive table: AP classes ranked by difficulty
Now, that bubble chart provides a great visual overview, but what if you want to get into the details and compare specific classes?
Well, then you can explore this information-packed interactive table, which lets you sort ALL the data from our AP classes analysis, in any way you want.
By easiest or by hardest? Yup, got you covered. By self-studying ratings? You can do that too! Simply click the column headers to sort by the different metrics.
This table includes data for each class for:
- Difficulty rating out of 10 (10 = hardest)
- Time required rating out of 10 (10 = most time-intensive)
- Ease for self-study rating out of 10 (10 = hardest to self-study)
- Percentage of alumnae who do NOT recommend the class
- 2024 average score
- 2024 pass rate
- Percentage of examinees who achieved a 5 rating in 2024
Want to learn more about our methodology and how we came to these conclusions? Check out the methodology section below.
| AP CLASS | Our OVERALL ASSESSMENT | HOW DIFFICULT? (10=Toughest) | STUDY TIME NEEDED? (10=Most) | EASY TO SELF STUDY? (10=Hardest) | % Alumnae who DON'T Recommend | 2024 Average Score | Pass Rate (3+) | % 5s (Perfect Score) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science Principles | Very Easy | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 13% | 2.9 | 65% | 11% |
| Psychology | Very Easy | 3.5 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2% | 2.9 | 61% | 18% |
| Chinese | Very Easy - though much harder for non-speakers | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 5% | 4.0 | 87% | 50% |
| Computer Science A | Quite Easy | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 2% | 3.1 | 66% | 24% |
| Human Geography | Quite Easy | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 9% | 2.8 | 56% | 18% |
| Environmental Science | Quite Easy - but difficult to score well | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 9% | 2.8 | 54% | 9% |
| US Government and Politics | Quite Easy | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3% | 3.2 | 73% | 16% |
| Microeconomics | Quite Easy | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 2% | 3.1 | 65% | 17% |
| US Comparative Government | Quite Easy | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 7% | 3.5 | 73% | 24% |
| Macroeconomics | Quite Easy | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 17% | 3.0 | 62% | 16% |
| Statistics | Quite Easy | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 5% | 3.0 | 62% | 17% |
| Art History | Quite Easy | 4.9 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 5% | 3.0 | 63% | 14% |
| Seminar | Quite Easy - most pass, but 5 scores are rare | 5.0 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 34% | 3.3 | 89% | 9% |
| Spanish Language | Moderate Difficulty - though much harder for non-speakers | 5.1 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 9% | 3.5 | 83% | 21% |
| English Language | Moderate Difficulty - though 5 scores are rare | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 6% | 2.8 | 54% | 9% |
| Calculus AB/BC | Moderate Difficulty | 5.6 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 4% | 3.9 | 80% | 45% |
| Calculus AB/BC | Moderate Difficulty | 5.6 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 4% | 3.2 | 64% | 21% |
| US History | Quite Hard - and time intensive to study | 6.0 | 7.3 | 6.3 | 8% | 3.2 | 72% | 13% |
| World History | Quite Hard - and time intensive to study | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 7% | 3.1 | 64% | 12% |
| Biology | Quite Hard | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 3% | 3.1 | 68% | 16% |
| European History | Quite Hard - and time intensive to study | 6.4 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 13% | 3.3 | 72% | 13% |
| Music Theory | Quite Hard - though may be relatively quick to study | 6.4 | 4.9 | 6.5 | 18% | 3.0 | 61% | 19% |
| Physics 2 | Quite Hard | 6.7 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 22% | 3.1 | 68% | 15% |
| Physics 1 | Very Hard - with very low pass rate | 7.2 | 5.9 | 7.4 | 19% | 2.5 | 46% | 8% |
| English Literature | Very Hard | 7.3 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 23% | 3.1 | 72% | 13% |
| Chemistry | Very Hard - especially if self-studying | 7.4 | 7.0 | 8.4 | 17% | 3.3 | 75% | 17% |
| Physics C - Mechanics | Very Hard | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 5% | 3.4 | 75% | 23% |
| Physics C - E/M | Very Hard | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 6% | 3.3 | 67% | 27% |
Behind the scenes with our Data Analyst and methodology
Exam Study Expert founder William Wadsworth is a Cambridge University trained psychologist and data analyst. Since he first started crunching AP data in 2019, over half a million AP students have used his difficulty ratings analysis to choose their AP classes.
Additional research, graphics, and article review by Dr Kerri-Anne Edinburgh
Analysing AP class data: the methodology
We wish to be transparent about how we research, collect and analyse all the AP data we use to provide you with our assessments and class rankings. This methodology gives a brief outline of our source material and analytical processes:
Please note, you can also click here to learn more about our rigorous editorial policies here at Exam Study Expert.
Source material for AP data:
When crunching the data on the difficulty of all the AP classes, we use two primary sources of data:
- Pass rate data from College Board itself, including the proportion of students who pass overall (3+ score) and the proportion of students who score a 5. This data is taken from the College Board website plus tweets from Head of AP Trevor Packer, which includes the score breakdown, and sometimes, numbers of students taking each class.
- Student reviews posted by users from r/APStudents who actually took the AP courses (as of 2024 the dataset includes 3,295 reviews). These reviews include a rating for:
- Overall difficulty rating
- Difficulty if self-studying
- How much time is required
The data we post is based on College Board’s June data release, and may shift slightly as late-arriving exams are scored. This shift has historically been negligible.
How we evaluate and use the data on AP classes:
We consider class alumnae’s difficulty ratings to be the most reliable indicator of difficulty, more so than pass rate.
Pass rate, or percentage of students scoring a certain grade, is a misleading metric for two main reasons:
- Some classes attract highly able students, so may have a high pass rate, but this is more a reflection of the calibre of students taking the class. This particularly applies to language classes.
- Research has shown that popular, widely taken AP classes tend to have lower passing rates. So a low passing rate could indicate a larger variety of student skill, not necessarily class difficulty.
Our assessments of course difficulty
We have given each every AP class a graded ranking of difficulty (“Our Assessment”) based on the data we analysed, in particular class alumnae difficulty ratings. Many other important factors are taken into consideration when making recommendations for how easy or hard you may find the AP course, as can be seen in the “Notes” section above, and in our individual in-depth course articles (all hyperlinked above).
The rankings are determined as followed:
- Very Easy – scores less than 4.0
- Quite Easy – scores between 4.0 and 4.9
- Moderate Difficulty – scores between 5.0 and 5.9
- Quite Hard – scores between 6.0 and 6.9
- Very Hard – scores more than 7.0
You should take every available metric into account when making your choice of AP classes. Remember that some students tend to find certain fields easier or harder than others, based on pre-existing experience.
And remember, as College Board’s Trevor Packer reminds us, an AP score is only one indicator of student learning and achievement.
Zooming in: the easiest AP classes you can choose
Let’s examine the top easiest-rated AP classes, according to the data from over 3,800 alumnae difficulty ratings.
To recap, the three classes that ranked as the easiest out of all available AP courses are:
- Computer Science Principles: Very Easy
- Scored 2.9 / 10 for difficulty and 3.7 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had a 65% pass rate in 2024
- And 87% of alumnae recommend taking the course
- Psychology: Very Easy
- Scored 3.5 / 10 for difficulty and 3.4 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had a 61% pass rate in 2024
- And 98% of alumnae recommend taking the course
- Chinese: Very Easy, though much harder for non-speakers
- Scored 3.9 / 10 for difficulty and 4.3 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had an 87% pass rate in 2024
- And 95% of alumnae recommend taking the course
Here’s a chart comparing the scores of the top 10 easiest AP classes, ranked by difficulty according to class alumnae. N.B. a low score and lightest green colour denotes easiest and/or high pass rates.
Zooming in: the hardest AP classes to take this year
Now let’s consider the opposite end of the spectrum. Which classes have been rated by alumnae as the hardest AP courses to take, according to the data from over 3,800 alumnae difficulty ratings?
To recap, the three classes that ranked as the hardest out of all available AP courses are:
- Physics C – E/M: Very Hard
- Scored 8.0 / 10 for difficulty and 7.8 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had a 67% pass rate in 2024
- And 96% of alumnae recommend taking the course
- Physics C – Mechanics: Very Hard
- Scored 7.5 / 10 for difficulty and 6.9 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had a 75% pass rate in 2024
- And 95% of alumnae recommend taking the course
- Chemistry: Very Hard, especially if you’re self-studying
- Scored 7.4 / 10 for difficulty and 8.4 / 10 for self-studying difficulty
- Had an 75% pass rate in 2024
- And 87% of alumnae recommend taking the course
As you can see from these statistics, the hardest-rated courses have equally high pass rates as the three easiest classes, and are highly recommended by course alumnae.
Here’s a chart comparing the scores of the top 10 hardest AP classes, ranked by difficulty according to class alumnae. N.B. a high score and red colour denotes hardest and/or low pass rates, where as green indicates a high pass rate.
Self-studying for APs: difficulty rankings
Let’s examine the easiest and hardest AP classes to self-study. As with overall course difficulty rankings, the scores we give each AP class are determined according to data from the 3,800+ course alumnae reviews.
If you want to take a deep dive into where the AP courses you’re interested in fall in the self-study difficulty rankings, I recommend browsing the interactive table above.
The top five easiest AP classes to self-study are (1 = easiest, 10 = hardest):
- Psychology (3.4 / 10)
- Computer Science Principles (3.7 / 10)
- Environmental Science (4.0 / 10)
- Microeconomics (4.1 / 10)
- Computer Science A (4.3 / 10)
In contrast, the AP classes ranked as the hardest to self-study are:
- Chemistry (8.4 / 10 )
- Physics C – E&M (7.8 / 10)
- Physics 1 (7.4 / 10)
- Seminar (7.1 / 10)
- Physics C – Mechanics (6.9 / 10)
The big question: which AP classes should you take?
The final section of this article offers our recommendations for which AP classes you should take, depending on what you’re looking for and what your interests are.
What are the benefits of taking AP classes in high school?
Before we kick off examining some different scenarios, I thought it worth pausing to recap why it’s worth taking AP classes in the first place.
College Board, who administers the AP program, highlights five compelling benefits of taking AP exams:
- AP classes are challenging courses, and help your application impress and stand out to college admissions officers, especially at selective colleges.
- AP scores will often count towards your college credit. That can save you time at college, potentially allowing you the flexibility to pursue more college classes, and may even save you money if you ride the head-start to an early graduation date.
- Your AP scores can often boost your GPA – check with your school / guidance counsellor for details.
- APs are college-level courses, so you’ll get a feel for what it’s like to work at college level. The jump between high school and college can be a difficulty one, but as an AP graduate, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.
- As well as the material you actually learn on each AP class, many AP students find they develop important transferable skills: they improve their ability to manage their workload, cultivate critical thinking, and write great academic pieces. All invaluable skills for success in college – and in life!
So it’s a great idea to take some AP courses!
But which to choose? Let’s take a look at some common scenarios:
Looking for any AP to pick up some easy credit?
If you’re just looking for an easy AP, the following should all be good options:
- Computer Science Principles: the lowest difficulty-rating (2.9 / 10), an average pass rate (65% in 2024) and the lowest time-required rating (3.3 / 10) of any AP.
- Psychology: a very low difficulty rating (3.5 / 10) and low time-required rating (4.7 / 10). Pass rates, however, are a little lower than average (61% in 2024).
- Human Geography: a low difficulty rating (4.3 / 10) and quite low time-required rating (4.9 / 10). Pass rates, however, are a notably lower than average (56% in 2024).
N.B. Psychology and Human Geography show pass rates a little lower than average, despite low difficulty scores. These tests are entered by very many candidates each year, which is likely to contribute to a lower pass rate than more niche APs that attract specialists in particular fields. (This is one of the reasons we use alumni difficulty ratings to determine which classes are hard or easy, rather than pass rate!)
All three courses are widely recommended by course alumni, with the slight exception of Computer Science Principles which is not recommended by 13% of alumni – that’s a little higher than normal.
Looking for a challenging AP class to really test yourself?
Love a challenge? Really want to impress potential college admissions committees? Then consider the following four AP classes, which rate as the hardest tests you can take:
- Physics C – E&M (Electricity & Magnetism): rated the most difficult (8.0 / 10), with the second-highest time-required rating (7.1 / 10). Pass rates are average (67% in 2024), with a high perfect-score rate (27% scored a 5 in 2024).
- Physics C – Mechanics: rated as very hard (7.5/ 10) and time-intensive (6.5 / 10). As with E&M, pass rates are high for those who stay the course (75% in 2024), with 23% earning a perfect score of 5.
- Chemistry: rated as very hard (7.4 / 10), time-intensive (7.0 / 10) and the hardest to self-study (8.4 / 10). However, a previously below-average pass rate (53% in 2022) is now high, at 75% (2023-24).
- English Literature: rated as very hard (7.3 / 10) and quite time-intensive (6.0 / 10). A previously very low pass rate (44% in 2021) has improved in recent years to 72% in 2024, but 23% of alumnae do not recommend this course.
Tips on choosing the right APs for you
The Head of AP, Trevor Packer, has some great advice on how to choose the right APs to suit your own needs and skills, and you can find his full tweet threat here.
But I want to focus on two of the points he mentions, which are really important for every future AP student to remember:
1. Don’t overdo your AP class-load:
One big reminder is that “students should resist pressure to take large numbers of AP classes“.
Why? Well, as Trevor points out, College Board offer 40 AP courses in a wide variety of subjects – because they want to give options to lots of students. NOT because you should be taking them all!
In fact, he notes that: “Our research finds that taking just 1-2 APs per year optimizes a student’s readiness for college. Take more only if the subject matter truly interests.”
You can access College Board’s research on the topic of AP class-load and performance right here.
2. Your AP scores are only ONE indicator of your learning and achievements:
Trevor reminds us that “AP scores’ only valid use is for placing a student out of a corresponding college course” and “have not been designed nor validated for evaluating student growth, student potential, or teacher quality“.
And never forget that your exam scores do not reflect your academic potential, capacity for growth or “what matters most: curiosity and eagerness to continue learning“.
Choosing APs by subject area: which class should you pick?
Not sure which AP class offers you the best chance of success within your chosen field of study? Got limited time and can’t take them all? This final section offers a comparison of the similar courses within each subject area:
History: what is the easiest vs hardest AP to take?
There are three history APs, and US History (APUSH), World History and European History are all similarly ranked as quite hard and time-consuming classes:
- US History: a hugely popular AP class, and the joint easiest history AP at 6.0 / 10 difficulty. The 2024 pass rate was 72%, however in 2022 and 2023 pass rates were just 48%.
- World History: also a popular course, similarly rated as 6.0 / 10 difficulty, and had a 64% pass rate in 2024.
- European History: the hardest history AP at 6.4 / 10 difficulty. The 2024 pass rate was 72%, up from 59% in 2023. Please note this is a much smaller course, likely taken by students who are keen historians.
If you’re considering taking an AP History course, be sure to check out our full AP course difficulty analyses for US History, World History and European History.
English: Literature or Language?
Literature is rated by alumnae as much harder than Language, and requires more study time. But if you can handle the Literature course, you’ll likely stand out from the crowd!
- English Language: a popular AP course with a 5.2 / 10 difficulty rating (Moderate Difficulty) but just 54% pass rate in 2024 (below average)
- English Literature: a slightly smaller course with a 7.3 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Hard) but higher 72% pass rate in 2024
If you’re considering taking an AP English course, be sure to check out our full AP course difficulty analyses for English Language and English Literature.
Macroeconomics or Microeconomics: which is harder?
Macroeconomics and Microeconomics offer a similar, relatively easy, difficulty level. However, Micro is more highly recommended (98%) than Macro (87%):
- Microeconomics: 4.6 / 10 difficulty rating, 65% pass rate (2024)
- Macroeconomics: 4.9 / 10 difficulty rating, 62% pass rate (2024)
N.B. Micro is rated ever so slightly more time consuming than Macro. Though Micro is also more interesting, in my personal opinion – I love microeconomics, such a cool field!
If you’re considering taking an AP Economics course, be sure to check out our full AP course difficulty analyses for Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.
Math: is Statistics or Calculus the better choice?
Simply put, according to alumnae reviews, Statistics is much easier than Calculus:
- Statistics: 4.9 / 10 difficulty rating, 62% pass rate in 2024
- Calculus AB: 5.6 / 10 difficulty rating*, 64% pass rate in 2024
- Calculus BC: 5.6 / 10 difficulty rating*, 80% pass rate in 2024
* Calculus AB and BC were asked as one subject in the alumnae review.
So if you’re just looking for an easy math class, take AP Stats. In fact, many reviewers say Stats almost doesn’t feel like a math class at all, and is very accessible to people who don’t normally feel “good at math”. (Though check out YouCubed’s article on growth mindset for math!)
However, you’ll likely want to take Calculus if you want to be well-prepared for more advanced study in Math and other quantitative subjects, like Engineering and Physics.
If you’re considering taking an AP Math course, be sure to check out our full AP course difficulty analyses for Statistics and Calculus AB/BC.
The Sciences: which is the easiest vs hardest class to take?
There are a lot of science AP classes, some (Psychology and Environmental Science) ranked as very easy, but most (Physics and Chemistry) as very hard:
- Psychology: 3.5 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Easy), 61% pass rate
- Environmental Science: 4.3 / 10 difficulty rating (Quite Easy), 54% pass rate (below average)
- Biology: 6.4 / 10 difficulty rating (Quite Hard), 68% pass rate
- Physics 2: 6.7 / 10 difficulty rating (Quite Hard), 68% pass rate
- Physics 1: 7.2 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Hard), 46% pass rate (that’s very low!)
- Chemistry: 7.4 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Hard), 75% pass rate
- Physics C – Mechanics: 7.5 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Hard), 75% pass rate
- Physics C – Electricity & Magnetism: 8.0 / 10 difficulty rating (Very Hard), 67% pass rate
And here’s the data for the Physics APs – they’re all considered hard!
So how to choose the Science AP for you? Consider that:
- Psychology, Biology, Chemistry and Physics 1 are all popular courses.
- Psychology and Environment are rated very easy to self-study. However, the others are rated hard to self-study, especially Chemistry.
- Chemistry and Physics 1/2 are tough courses and 13-22% of alumnae do not recommend these courses.
- In contrast, Physics C is both harder and highly recommended by it’s alunmae (95-96%).
If you’re considering taking an AP Science course, be sure to check out our individual full AP course difficulty analyses for Psychology, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics 1 & 2, and Physics C – Mechanics and E&M.
Good luck!
Wishing you the best of luck in choosing the right AP classes for you!
If you’ve found our AP class difficulty ranking helpful, have a question for our Data Analyst and AP expert, William – or just have some thoughts to share: please leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
Exam Study Expert founder William Wadsworth is a Cambridge University trained psychologist and data analyst. Since he first started crunching AP data in 2019, over half a million AP students have used his difficulty ratings analysis to choose their AP classes. William’s research on effective study strategies has been presented at top education conferences and reported in The Times, and he also hosts the top-rated Exam Study Expert podcast, with 1 million downloads to date.
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I am a sophmore who started school around three weeks ago. My school doesn’t let freshmen take AP classes, otherwise I would have, so this year I am taking AP Bio, AP World, and AP Econ. The first week of school was rough in terms of workload but I think I’m managing things pretty well now. My school only offers AP World and AP Euro to sophmores and you’re not allowed to take them both. I really want to take AP Euro so I found an online course that would help me self study for it. I know that during midterms and the AP exams things will be insane. I’m just looking for any thoughs on AP Euro. I will probably self study a fourth class either way, so I’m really just going between AP Euro (which I’m more intrested in) or AP Psych (which I’ve heard is much easier). For context, all my other classes are honors and I’m on a varsity sports team with a pretty big time commitment (but because of COVID the season ends at the begining of November). I know a lot of people find the AP History classes to be some of the hardest, but I’m pretty good at history, and struggle a ton more in science.
I am going into my junior year and I am taking Calc AB and BC, AP Chem, AP Lang, and AP Comp Sci Principles.
I am planning on self studying and taking the exam for either: Psych or Macroeconomics. Which one would be easier?
Psychology is much easier, I guarantee you that. But its also useful to know economics just for the real world.
I self study for both psych and macro. In my opinion psych is easier. 5 for psych and 3 for both micro and macro. All you have to do for psych is to define vocabs. So if you can remember things easily psych will probably be easier for you. Macro involves some thinking and analysis which I’m not good at so I ended up with a lower score. All based on personal preference. I study with the 5 steps to 5 series of prep books for all three of these exams. Hope this helped!
Hi! I’m wondering what you used to self study AP psych? I’m considering it rn but I only have the barrons book.
I use the Myers textbook, you can find good summaries of it on wikinotes and on a Youtube channel called “Social Sciences Simplified”. I would recommend using both of those resources and taking notes, and then making flash cards for vocab. If you go over the flashcards every few days just to make sure you know all the vocab then you’ll be fine
Should I take AP Statistics if I’m bad at math? The teacher is strict but gets annoyed when you don’t understand the concept. I feel like it will look good but I’m also already taking 4 other AP’s for senior year.
I found it easy at times and difficult at others. Definitely worth it though, and you can always ask past students for help so you don’t annoy teachers. It’s a lot of memorization.
I am going to be a Sophomore this year and I plan on taking: AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Environmental Science. I am experienced to AP classes, as I took WHAP freshman year; but my teacher wasn’t the greatest (solely based the class on self study). I also plan on getting a job this year; but I don’t know how rigorous these courses are. (These 3 classes along with Algebra II are my only core classes this year) Are there anythings I should consider with my future plans?
it honestly depends on your school’s ap program and how busy you are outside of school and your job. you might be okay just because you aren’t in an advanced math class, but it will definitely be a lot of work and you’ll have virtually no free time if you want to do well.
AP English Language was not too bad. I took it this year as a junior and passed the AP exam. Honestly, the hardest aspect of it are the multiple choice questions, far more than the essays. Just follow along with your teacher’s lessons and examples and you should be fine. Also, the class mostly involves analysis on arguments.
Hello. I am taking AP European History as a Sophomore. Is that class very hard?
Yes it is extremely hard, additionally it is slightly more difficult than APUSH and AP World History. AP Gov is by far the easiest AP history class.
it’s not hard don’t listen
i suck at history and i passed so
I loved my AP Euro class so much! I passed the exam with a five and the class itself was a lot of fun. Pro tip if you aren’t understanding a topic watch Tom Richey’s YouTube videos.
I plan on taking a few ap classes online, are these classes hard to self study in one semester?
The first semester I plan on taking:
Ap Statistics AB
Ap Government- U.S
The second semester I plan on taking:
Ap Human Geography
Ap Microeconomics
AP HUMAN was pretty easy and you just had to listen in class and do your hw
Yeah APHuG was really easy. Just listen in class and do the readings. I didn’t do any studying besides what we did in class and I ended up with a 5 on the exam. Though the teacher for HuG at my school is really well renowned so I may have had it a bit easier.
You used the wrong kind of graph for the distribution of difficulty ratings of Physics, it should be a bar graph.
Star student – was just testing you 😉
Seriously though, thanks for pointing that out – you’re quite right of course and I’m annoyed at myself for not catching it sooner. I just checked the stats, this page has had 115,000 hits to date, and you’re the first person to mention it!!
So well done, and thanks! On my to-do list to fix next week.
someone did their bit of AP Stats.
Hey I’m going to be a junior next year and I need help choosing my courses 🙁
I have to take:
AP Language
AP Calculus BC
AP Euro History
AP Computer Science
AP Statistics
but I’m not sure if I should take AP Bio or Chem
I took Honors Bio in 9th and Honors Chem in 10th so I’m debating
i think AP Bio and Chem are equally difficult. Just think about what career you want to go into, and which one you liked better. I took both in high school and I am majoring in Biochemistry.
I am going into senior year and was wondering whether I should take AP Statistics or AP Spanish Language. Which class is easier and will benefit me in college?
AP statistics, if you had 2 or more years in Spanish then for sure for for ap statistics because it can help you in college and life
I am going into sophmore year. I plan to take AP Biology, AP Chinese, APUSH, and possibly one more. My school doesn’t allow freshmen to take AP classes and doesn’t recomend sohpmores attempt more than two or three. I already speak fairly good Chinese so I might self-study that one. All of my other classes are honors. I don’t know much about the workload from these classes, and although I want to be challenged I don’t want to have an insane amount of time studying (to the point where I can’t keep up). I am also on a competitive sports team which takes up time, but I don’t mind staying up late to study, and I’m pretty used to being sleep-deprived 😉 Just wondering if taking on a fourth AP would be insane. Thx!
Honestly i think it would be. Im going to be a sophomore also. Freshman year i took APUSH and ap prep English. English wasnt that difficult but apush was. I was just able to get a b+ each marking period. We also had about have the class drop out half way through the year. I wouldn’t advise you taking 4, especially if this is something youve never done before. Unless your insanely smart and have good time management skills, id stick to just a couple. You can always take more next year if you think youre up for it. Either way good luck?
Your gonna need it
Depends. I took 3 (CSP, Gov, self studied for Bio during COVID) and it was just possible. 10th grade I’m taking Phys C, Java, Calc BC, and APUSH. I’m probably going to quit my JV sport because of the class load, but if you know some Chinese, and you study a bit over the summer (just going on Khan Academy and finishing some units) it definitely helps. Just remember that you have to have a reason to take all of your APs. For me, 2 (APUSH and Java) were essentially required, but I’m only taking the other two because I want to get an internship that I’ve seen some of the upperclassmen get. If you just want to take an extra AP for the hell of it, think it through. Also don’t let your parents influence you. AP classes aren’t meant to be your one achievement you show if you want to get into good colleges. A competitive sport is great, but unless you’re a world class athlete, you need good GPAs and test scores, and really just something that makes you interesting (read How To Become a High School Superstar, it’s a cheesy title but is really great to understand what really matters and what doesn’t). Also it sucks you couldn’t take APs freshmen year, but ya know you just have to take it as you get it.
My school only offered 1 AP class sophomore year so what you’re doing looks great! Both AP Bio and APUSH are quite time consuming so I wouldn’t recommend taking 4 AP classes sophomore year. But do whatever is best for you. Good luck!!
I will be taking AP Bio in junior year and I want to also do either AP physics or Ap chem also. I am going to do both before I graduate but I’m not sure which I should do first. I took chem honors this year (I’m a sophomore) so then maybe I should take ap chem junior year because chem honors will help with ap chem?
I just finished junior year and took AP chemistry. I also took chemistry as a sophomore and I found AP chemistry pretty easy to understand. I would suggest taking it now before forgetting everything you learned in honors chemistry. Just make sure you read the textbook as you are taking the course and you should be fine.
Don’t take AP Chemistry or AP Physics in the same year as AP Biology. That would be extremely overwhelming. If you took chem honors, AP Chem should be OK for you. However, if I were you, I would take AP Chemistry, AP US History (or whatever AP History there is for Junior year), an AP in whatever math you’d like, and AP Lang. Don’t take two really hard AP sciences in one year. Space it out a little.
Two sciences are gonna be hard. If it really comes to it take AP Biology and AP Chem junior year and then Phys C senior year. But most place won’t even really care if you didn’t take all 3, just take two with good scores and with good SAT 2 scores and you’ll be fine. Unless ofc you choose to major in biology then only take chem and phys c
I am going to be a senior next year and was thinking of taking AP Calculus AB, AP Biology, AP Statistics. Does this seem too much? At first, I thought of taking AP Spanish language instead of statistics, but I don’t know which class is easier and will benefit me in the future if I want to pursue a career in science.
I’m going to be a senior next year as well. I took AP Stat this year and found it was pretty alright. Not a lot of math involved but you do have to understand the major concepts. There a few basic things you have to learn such as how normal models work and calculator functions. After you learn that it’s pretty simple. In the second semester, we went over different confidence levels and confidence tests. For the most part they are basically the same formula with a couple changes. Almost all the questions are long word problems and you need to write a lot. I would recommend taking the class if you want to take AP and you aren’t that great at math like I am. Just make sure you learn learn the fundamental stuff and you will be fine. I also took AP Bio and it was pretty easy. The start of the year you’ll be doing basic chemistry stuff. I did super poorly in chem and hated it but what you do in AP Bio isn’t bad. In Bio you have to learn various concepts that aren’t too difficult. I would also recommend taking it.
AP Stats is relatively easy and looks better than AP Spanish if you want to pursue a career in STEM (science). I don’t think you will be overwhelmed, though Calc AB is HARD (in my opinion even more difficult than BC). You should be good!
Hello I am a rising senior and I am really worried. I don’t know what to do. I have been accepted to 4 AP courses and I am not sure if I should take them. My AP courses are:
AP Literature
AP Government
AP Calculus
AP Psychology
What do I do? Should I take these courses? I don’t mind the rest AP’s but should I take AP Calculus? Not to mention that during my senior year I need complete college applications. Won’t that be more stressful? What should I do? Is handling 4 AP classes too hard for senior year?
ap psychology definitely. i am self studying this. if you think you can, it would be a good challenge to take at least 3 of them
I’m currently a rising sophomore and I’m thinking of taking APUSH, AP Environmental Science, and AP Microeconomics. I’m not really sure how rigorous these classes will be, and how time consuming each one is. If anyone has taken these classes, will you please give me some tips and advice on any of these AP exams? Which one do you think is the hardest to understand and perform well on?
I have not taken AP Environmental Science nor AP Microeconomics, but I have just finished APUSH. I’ll first note that my APUSH experience was different from the traditional experience because the last two units were cut off from the curriculum and the test was only a 45 minute DBQ due to the pandemic. Impressions about APUSH differ greatly from person to person and from school to school. It’s not like AP Psychology, which is almost universally thought to be easy. Some people find it to be very easy to remember the content of APUSH. I found APUSH to be manageable with studying one or two days before each exam and understanding how to effectively write LEQs, DBQs, SAQs, and HIPP analyses. Ideally you would learn this in your APUSH class, but, if your teacher does not teach all of these, make sure you learn how to write these as they are on the exam.
I am taking Ap chem, Ap capstone, and Ap computer science in my senior year. Can anyone speak from experience on how hard these classes are?
AP computer science principles is fairly easy, but I’m not sure about AP computer science A. AP chem is manageable if you have a good teacher, but it is quite difficult to self study. The Barron’s AP chemistry test prep book is very helpful for preparing for the AP chem test. AP capstone isn’t really hard, but if you procrastinate too much you will get left behind and cramming is not good in this course. That’s all I know, I hope this helps!
I’m taking AP Lang, US History, Seminar, and Physics 1 as a junior in the fall. How are the classes and do you guys have any tips/advice.
I have taken all of these courses other than AP Seminar. During my sophomore year, I took AP Physics 1. During my junior year, I took AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Physics 2.
APUSH: I have just finished APUSH. I’ll first note that my APUSH experience was different from the traditional experience because the last two units were cut off from the curriculum and the test was only a 45 minute DBQ due to the pandemic. Impressions about APUSH differ greatly from person to person and from school to school. It’s not like AP Psychology, which is almost universally thought to be easy. Some people find it to be very easy to remember the content of APUSH. I found APUSH to be manageable with studying one or two days before each exam and understanding how to effectively write LEQs, DBQs, SAQs, and HIPP analyses. Ideally you would learn this in your APUSH class, but, if your teacher does not teach all of these, make sure you learn how to write these as they are on the exam.
AP Lang: This class teaches you structures and techniques for making effective arguments and analyzing the arguments of others. During this class, you should learn how to analyze a passage and respond to difficult multiple choice questions. You should also learn how to write three types of essays: rhetorical analysis essays, argumentative essays, and synthesis essays. This class allows teachers to be flexible in what passages and books they assign to students, so students from different schools often have less similar experiences with AP Lang.
AP Physics: I’ll assume you are taking AP Physics 1. With AP Physics 1, many people struggle understanding the concepts. This makes the entire year difficult for them because, in AP Physics 1 especially, all the concepts build off of each other. For example, you cannot effectively understand friction if you don’t understand kinematics or dynamics. You need to make sure you understand the concepts. You will also learn many equations during this course. When I took the course, I memorized every equation during the year and could remember them all during the exam. This was helpful, but it was not necessary as they provide you with a sheet of constants, equations, and assumptions during the exam. However, there are some helpful equations that are not provided, so it may be good to memorize these equations.
I am going into junior year and I am taking AP US history, AP physics,and AP language… does that seem like a heavy load? Or is there anything I should know before going into some of those classes?
I just finished my junior year and I took APUSH, AP Lang, and AP government and politics. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to use your time wisely, always stay on top of your work and try your hardest to get ahead. Never wait to do an assignment and try your hardest not to procrastinate. Also make sure to check on your mental health because it will effect your work ethic if it is not taken care of properly. I made As in all my AP classes this year and it took tons of late and stressful nights but in the end it was all worth it. I hope the best for you and pray for good outcomes.
I’m going to be a freshman this year and I’m not sure whether or not I should take AP world history.
You should! Take it to get a feel of what AP classes are like.(and Heimler’s History on YouTube really helps)
I took AP world this past year and it wasn’t hard at all for me. There is a lot of reading that comes with the class but its not bad.
Hey, does anyone have any tips on how to self-study AP world history: modern? (Like which things to take notes on)
Thanks!
crash course and sample tests
Check out the AP world history CED(course and exam description) it is a lengthy pdf but has everything needed to study and heimler’s history on YouTube is also a great resource!
Also, I recommend watching Heimler’s History throughout the school year on YT.
hi everyone!
I’m about to be a senior and I’m thinking of taking biology AP and computer science A AP. my grades in biology are very average , so I’m a little worried about how I’m going to do on the AP.
how hard are the exams and how do you guys recommend I study efficiently for them .
thank you!!
Hi! This year I took ap bio and didjt exactly find it extremely challenging. The course is designed to be an intro to college bio and nearly every chapter you learn Is someone’s college major, so you don’t learn much depth, making it kind of easy. Additionally, your foundation in bio from your current class will give you an edge on the exam.
I’ll be a junior next year and plan on doing APUSH, AP Chemistry, AP Lang, and AP Human Geography. I did AP World History this year and thought it was really easy and got an A. I was also in regular chemistry and found it easy and got an A but I know Ap chem is a lot harder. Will I be okay?
You’ll be fine dawg human geo is a joke lang is pretty easy and ap chem I’ve heard is easier than honors chem at least at my school wish I took it not sure about APUSH tho
I’ll be a junior next year too and I am also taking AP Lang and AP US. I took AP Human Geography freshman year, and I strongly recommend it. It is a very useful course because you get to focus more on current events that are going on in the word as well as memorizing locations, ethnicities, languages, religions, and countries around the world. But as for the analysis part, you get to learn about how people modify their surrounding environments and how some actions are sustainable and not sustainable. The course is mostly about analyzing human development, while also briefly getting into learning about migration, demography, and cultural tradition. For me personally it was a really fun and not too stressful course, yet it’s also somewhat challenging, especially if you have to answer 75 multiple choice questions in an hour on the exam. But other than that, it is a really useful and analytical course and I’m glad you decided to take it next year. Have fun!
apush is probably the hardest ap I’ve taken, but it was because my teacher had a health complication in the middle of the year, and a new teacher had to take over, which made things a bit messy. but regardless, I got a 5 on the exam and really enjoyed the course. if you’re a big history buff, you’ll love it. lots of memorization though, but you can do it. before you take chem, make sure you’re good at math word problems. it’s a lot of stoichiometry, aka “mole math,” and is definitely worthwhile if you want to go into the field, but know what you’re getting into. lang is probably the weirdest english class you will EVER take; at times, you’ll feel like you’re learning nothing, and then it’s TIMED ESSAY WOW FUN! not my favorite but I still really liked it. definitely worthwhile because the essay on the sat is a dumbed down version of rhetorical analysis. never taken human geography, but 4 aps seems like a lot! if you’re genuinely interested in doing it, do it! I took psych, chem, and lang my junior year and apush in sophomore year, and I enjoyed each of those classes even when the workload got heavy. make sure you put your interests first. hope that helped! <3
I took Lang my junior year and APUSH my sophomore year. In my experience, Lang isn’t bad at all and the test was pretty easy for me. I think that if you did really good in AP World you should be alright for APUSH. I don’t know about Chemistry but I’ve heard that Human Geography is easy.
AP chemistry is okay if you have a good teacher but unfortunately I didn’t have that good of a teacher and ended having to self-study much of the material…it was not fun. By the way, do you have any tips on how to do well in AP world history? Because I’m trying to self-study that right now. Thanks!
Excuse me, you shouldn’t disrespect me like that especially when I worked hard to teach you all year Mr.Zhang. I worked very hard to teach you and for what? SO that you could make a 67 in my Chem class?