Brutally Ranking My 12 AP Classes

Mahad Khan
28 Feb 202410:40
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe speaker shares their experience with 12 AP classes, humorously ranking them from A to D tiers based on personal preference and difficulty. They emphasize the value of AP Government for informed citizenship, AP Psychology for enjoyment, and AP Statistics for its practical applications. Despite majoring in Economics and experiencing the challenge of APUSH, they find AP Biology and AP Chemistry memorable for different reasons. The video ends with an invitation for viewers to share their opinions on the rankings.

Takeaways
  • 🚀 The speaker is motivated to go beyond limits and change the status quo, both for themselves and for YouTube.
  • 📚 They took 12 AP classes in high school, which contributed to their admission to Harvard, but also幽默, good looks, athletic ability, and humility played a role.
  • 🎨 The speaker skipped AP 2D Art and Design, implying a lack of artistic inclination.
  • 🔄 They randomized the ranking of AP classes using cards, preferring this to a chronological or biased approach.
  • 🗳️ AP Government is recommended for everyone to become informed citizens, with a manageable difficulty level.
  • 🧠 AP Psychology was a favorite and was instrumental in the speaker's choice to major in it at Harvard.
  • 💰 AP Economics, both macro and micro, was taken online and is considered D-tier due to its focus on graphs and line movements.
  • 🏛️ AP European History was enjoyable and relatable, despite initial apprehensions about the teacher.
  • 📊 AP Statistics is highly recommended for its practical applications and manageable difficulty.
  • ✍️ AP Language developed reading comprehension and writing skills, which were beneficial for college applications.
  • 📚 AP Literature was seen as a chore, especially when compared to AP Language.
  • 📈 AP Calculus AB was valuable for exempting from Harvard's freshman math requirement.
  • 🌿 AP Biology, while not math-heavy, required understanding cell biology and genetics, and was not as difficult as expected.
  • 🌍 AP Environmental Science had a high fail rate due to selection bias and lack of attention from students.
  • 🧪 AP Chemistry was challenging, especially with later topics, but the teacher's approach made it memorable for the speaker.
Q & A
  • What does the speaker aim to achieve by ranking their AP classes?

    -The speaker aims to share their personal experiences and insights about each AP class they took, providing a subjective ranking based on their own perceptions of difficulty, enjoyment, and usefulness.

  • How many AP classes did the speaker take in high school?

    -The speaker took 12 AP classes in high school.

  • Which AP class helped the speaker get into Harvard?

    -The speaker attributes their admission to Harvard not to a single AP class but to a combination of factors including humor, good looks, athletic ability, and humility.

  • Why did the speaker choose not to take AP 2D Art and Design?

    -The speaker chose not to take AP 2D Art and Design because they did not consider themselves to be artistically inclined, as evidenced by the marker streaks they left on the desk.

  • What is the speaker's opinion on the value of taking AP Government?

    -The speaker believes that AP Government is valuable because it teaches students about the three branches of government, how bills are passed, and how elections work, which are important aspects for informed citizenship.

  • Which AP class did the speaker major in during their time at Harvard?

    -The speaker majored in both Psychology and Economics during their time at Harvard.

  • Why does the speaker rank AP Economics at a D-tier?

    -The speaker ranks AP Economics at a D-tier because they found it to be more about graph-making and line-moving, and less engaging than other AP classes they took, despite having a degree in Economics.

  • What is the speaker's recommendation for AP Statistics?

    -The speaker highly recommends AP Statistics, as they believe it is one of the most useful AP classes to take, especially for those interested in fields like medicine, computer science, economics, or other sciences.

  • How does the speaker feel about AP Literature compared to AP Language?

    -The speaker prefers AP Language over AP Literature, as they found Literature to be more focused on analyzing fiction and poetry, which they did not enjoy as much, and they already obtained the necessary skills from AP Language.

  • What does the speaker suggest about the difficulty of AP Calculus AB?

    -The speaker suggests that AP Calculus AB is objectively difficult, but can be managed well with practice problems and a solid understanding of the rules, allowing students to potentially pass out of their freshman year math requirement in college.

  • How does the speaker's ranking of AP classes reflect their personal experiences and biases?

    -The speaker acknowledges that their ranking is subjective and based on their own experiences, biases, and interests, and they expect viewers to have different opinions on the rankings.

Outlines
00:00
🚀 Embracing Risk for Personal Growth

The speaker begins by quoting T.S. Elliot and expressing a desire to push boundaries, indicating that the video will be transformative for both the speaker and YouTube. The speaker then humorously transitions into discussing their experience with Advanced Placement (AP) classes, highlighting the number taken and the impact on their academic journey, including a playful jab at being mistaken for their brother. The speaker also mentions their decision to rank their AP classes, using a random method to add an element of fun to the process.

05:00
📚 Ranking AP Classes: A Personal Journey

The speaker dives into a detailed ranking of various AP classes they took in high school, sharing personal anecdotes and insights. They discuss the relevance and difficulty of each class, from AP Government and Psychology to Economics and European History. The speaker also shares their reasons for choosing certain classes and the impact these classes had on their academic interests and career choices, such as majoring in Psychology and Economics at Harvard. The rankings are presented with a mix of humor and reflection, showing a subjective but engaging perspective on the value and experience of each AP class.

10:02
🎓 AP Classes and Their Impact on College and Life

Continuing the discussion on AP classes, the speaker shares more about the practical implications of these classes on their college experience and personal development. They delve into the usefulness of AP Statistics, the challenges of AP Literature, and the strategic value of AP Calculus AB. The speaker also reflects on the unexpected interests sparked by AP US History and the complexities of AP Biology and Environmental Science. The segment concludes with a candid admission of the subjectivity in their rankings and an invitation for viewers to share their own perspectives on the matter.

🌟 Inviting Feedback and Closing Thoughts

In the final paragraph, the speaker acknowledges the subjective nature of their AP class rankings and encourages viewers to share their opinions in the comments. They also express a willingness to create a follow-up video ranking all 40 AP classes by difficulty if there is enough interest. The speaker ends the video on a light-hearted note, sharing their exhaustion from the early morning recording session and signing off with a playful dance, leaving the audience with a memorable and engaging end to the video.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡AP Classes
Advanced Placement (AP) Classes are college-level courses offered in high schools, which can potentially earn students college credit if they score well on the corresponding AP exams. In the video, the speaker discusses his experiences with 12 different AP classes and ranks them based on his personal preferences and experiences.
💡Ranking
In the context of the video, ranking refers to the process of evaluating and sorting the AP classes the speaker took based on his personal opinions and experiences. The speaker uses a tier system to rank the classes from best to least favorite, providing a subjective evaluation of each course.
💡College Board
The College Board is a non-profit organization that develops and administers standardized tests such as the SAT and AP exams in the United States. In the video, the speaker humorously refers to the College Board as the 'S-tier' entity because they are responsible for creating the AP exams.
💡Harvard
Harvard University is a prestigious Ivy League institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The speaker mentions Harvard multiple times, indicating that he attended this university after high school and using it as a benchmark for the value of the AP classes he took.
💡MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is another renowned institution, known for its strong focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The speaker humorously clarifies that he did not attend MIT, but his brother did, and uses this to poke fun at a potential confusion.
💡Memorization
Memorization refers to the process of committing information to memory through repetition and mental effort. In the video, the speaker mentions that certain AP classes, like AP Psychology, require a significant amount of memorization, which involves remembering facts, concepts, or data for later recall.
💡Graph-making
Graph-making is the process of creating visual representations of data or relationships between variables. In the context of the video, the speaker refers to the act of graph-making as a significant component of his experience with AP Economics, where understanding and illustrating economic concepts through graphs is crucial.
💡Study Techniques
Study techniques are methods or strategies used to learn and retain information effectively. In the video, the speaker discusses various study techniques such as practicing problems and understanding concepts, which he applied to succeed in AP classes like AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB.
💡Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret written text. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of reading comprehension in AP Lang, stating that the class helped him improve his ability to read and understand complex texts, which was beneficial for his college application process.
💡Personal Narrative
A personal narrative is a story or account told from an individual's point of view, reflecting their experiences and perspectives. In the video, the speaker uses personal narrative to share his experiences with various AP classes, adding a subjective touch to his rankings and making the content relatable to the audience.
💡Selection Bias
Selection bias occurs when a sample is not representative of the population it is drawn from, leading to misleading conclusions. In the video, the speaker discusses the high fail rate of AP Environmental Science and attributes it to selection bias, explaining that students may underestimate the class's difficulty because it is perceived as easy.
💡Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the quality of being based on personal feelings, opinions, or biases rather than on observable facts. In the video, the speaker acknowledges that his ranking of AP classes is subjective, meaning it reflects his personal experiences and may not align with others' views.
Highlights

The speaker aims to rank their AP classes, sharing their personal experiences and insights.

They attended 12 AP classes in high school, which contributed to their admission

Transcripts
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