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Becoming a programmer is a cumulative process that builds up your skills day after day and year after year, and programming can be fun and rewarding (mentally, spiritually and financially). This guide does not promise to give a magically easy way to becoming a programmer, and the ordering of the steps is not sacred, but you'll get a general outline of how to become a programmer in one of the modern programming fields.Step 1 :- Take an introductory course in one (or all of them) of the following disciplines:LogicDiscrete mathematicsProgramming language (take a part into the different programming paradigms, starting from sequential/procedural to object oriented, after functional and logical programming. Preferable Ruby/ Python/Pascal for beginners and after some good understanding go deeper into C++/C#/Java )Step 2 :- Learn database concepts such as tables, views/queries and procedures. You can use any simple database package to do this, such as:MS AccessDB VFox ProParadoxMySQL is a good database to learn because it’s free, commonly used, and databases are commonly accessed with SQL queriesStep 3:- Decide what type of programmer you want to be. Programmers generally fall under one of the following categories:Web Programmer.Desktop application programme (OS) oriented programmer(tied to a single operating system or set of operating systems)Platform-independent programmerDistributed applications programmerLibrary/platform/framework/core programmerSystem programmerKernel programmerDriver programmerCompiler programmerProgramming Scientist.Step 4:- Learn the technologies and programming languages related to your programming field of choice. The following sections break down the tasks for different types of programming.Method 1 :- Web Programming :Know what Web programming entails. Web applications are software components designed to work on top of the internet architecture. This means that the applications are accessed through a web browser software such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. Being built on top of the Internet architecture does not necessarily require an active connection to the internet. It means that Web applications are built on top of standard web technologies such as:HTTPFTPPOP3SMTPTCPIP protocolsHTMLXMLColdFusionASPJSPPHPBrowse many diverse websites to learn about how they usually look. (Right click, then click View Source or press F12.) Look for diversity in the type/content of the website, not the quantity of websites visited. Generally, you will need to visit at least one of each of the following types of websites:Corporate presence sites (commercial corporations, not-for-profit corporate/organizations, governmental organizations)Web indexing engines (search engines, meta search sites, specialized search engines, directories)Data mining sitesPersonal sitesInformational/encyclopedic pages (wikis, data sheets, technical specifications, and manuals listing directories, blogs and journals, news and news agencies sites, yellow pages, etc.)Social sites (social portals, bookmarking sites, note-taking sites)Collaborative sites (this includes other categories mentioned above, such as wikis and blogs)Learn at least one brainstorming technique/method and a software that is used to implement that method. For example: brainstorming diagrams and MS Visio.Get familiar with website structuring. This is creating conceptual web diagrams, site-maps, and navigation structures.Take a crash course on graphics design. Try to learn at least one graphics editing/manipulation software package (optional, but strongly recommended)Learn the basics of the internet infrastructure. This includes getting a basic idea about:Base Web services protocols (HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and POP3 or IMAP4)Web server software (preferably, one for the platform you will be working on mostly)Web browsing software.Email server and client softwareLearn the HTML and CSS languages. You might also want to get the "What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG)" software package for editing HTML.Learn XML and XML related technologies, such as XSL and XPath (optional but recommended).Create simple static websites until you are familiar with and comfortable around HTML.Learn a client-side scripting language. Most users learn JavaScript. Some learn VBScript, but this isn't compatible with most browsers.Familiarize yourself with the client-side scripting language you learned. Try to reach your potential using only that language. Only go to the next step after you've at least become familiar with your client-side scripting language.Learn at least one server-side programming language. If you choose to restrict yourself to one server software, learn one of the programming languages supported by that software. If not, learn at least one programming language on each server software.Create a pilot project for yourself after you finish learning the server-side programming language.Obtain your own website and start experimenting online within your own page.Method 2 :- Desktop Application ProgrammingKnow what you're getting into with desktop application programming. Most desktop programmers write code for business solutions, so getting an idea about businesses, their organizational and financial structure will be a big time-saver.Learn about the different computer hardware architectures. An introductory level course in digital circuits design and another in computer architecture is useful; however, some see it as being advanced for a starting point, so reading two or three tutorial articles (such as this one and this one) might suffice. Then you can go back to this step later, after you learn your first programming language.Learn an entry-level (kids') programming language. Don't be shy to learn such a language just because you're older than being called a "kid". An example of these programming languages can be Scratch. These programming languages can ease up the pain in learning your first programming language tremendously. However, this step is optional. It can also be done before the preceding step.Get an introduction to the procedural, object oriented, and functional programming.Take an introductory course in one of the procedural programming languages.No matter what language you choose later to be your language of choice, it will require procedural programming at some level. Also, procedural programming is reported by most programmers to be the easiest to use as a starting point to get the idea of programming in general.Learn at least one advanced modeling technique such as UML or ORM.Start writing some small console or console-like applications. You can make use of common small exercises in programming languages books. For this, choose a tool for writing programs in the programming language you are writing in.Take a more advanced course in your chosen programming language. Make sure you understand the following concepts well and that you can apply them with relative ease before going forward:Inputting and outputting information to users of a program.The logical flow and the execution flow of programs in procedural languages.Declaring, assigning and comparing variables.Branching programming constructs such as if..then..else and select/switch..case.Looping constructs such as while..do, do..while/until, for..next.Your programming language syntax for creating and calling procedures and functions.Data types and manipulating them.User defined data types (records/structs/units) and their use.If your language supports overloading functions, understand it.The memory accessing methods of your language of choice (pointers, peeking, etc.)If your language supports operators overloading, understand it.If your language supports delegates/function pointers, understand itApply the advanced techniques you've learned.Object-oriented paradigm.Take an introductory course in at least one more programming language in another programming paradigm. It is recommended to learn one programming language of each paradigm, and most advanced programmers do, however, you usually start with one, work for a while applying your knowledge and practicing it, then learn the other later on, after you already had a real-life experience in programming. Try one of the following language areas:Logic programming paradigm.Functional programming paradigm.Try to compare the two programming languages you learned so far. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Usually this is done by:Taking simple samples of your early work in the first programming language and re-write it using the second programming language.Creating a new project and try implementing it using both languages. Sometimes, depending on your choice of project and languages, you might not be able to implement the project in one of the languages!Writing a cheat-sheet or summary-table comparisons between similar constructs in the two languages and features unique to each of the languages.Try finding ways to mimic features that is unique to one of the two languages using the other language.Learn visual programming concepts using one of the languages you learned. Almost all programming languages have versions/libraries that support visual programming and others supporting console or console-like programming. This can be accomplished by:Get an introduction to event-driven programming. Most visual programming relies in some level on events and events handling (using the programming language you choose).Try as much desktop software as you can and understand what the software does. Most software development companies offer beta-testing versions of their products which you can use to test the software. Keep up-to-date on user interface advancements.Read some articles or tutorials on graphical user interfaces.Start applying your knowledge on small software projects you design. Try applying your programming expertise on problems you face in your day-to-day life. For example, write programs that rename files in mass, compares text files visually, copies the names of files in a directory to memory/text file, and things like that. Keep it simple at first.Create a virtual graduation project. Complete this to the end, applying the techniques of visual programming you learned so far.Widen your understanding of the visual framework/library/package you learned before by taking advanced courses, paying extra attention to detail and learning more tips and tricks for your framework from online resources.Search for other packages/libraries of visual elements for your programming languages and learn them.Take a course in graphics (not graphics design). It will be very helpful for programmers wanting to write appealing user-interface elements.Become a games programmer (optional). Game programming is considered, in most of its parts, desktop programming. If you intend to become a games programmer, you will need to learn more about game programming after you finish these steps. A graphics course is a must for game programmers and the second language of choice in the preceding steps should be a logic/functional programming language (preferably Prolog or Lisp).Method 3 :- Distributed application programmingTackle distributed applications programming. Distributed application programming is considered by many to be one of the hardest to learn and requires diverse knowledge in computer and communication technologies.Take a speed introduction to telephony systems and their hardware. This step is optional. However, it is very useful in understanding network topologies.Familiarize yourself with networking hardware architectures and devices such as hubs, switches and routers.Take a course in networking protocols and essentials. You need a good understanding of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, Ethernet, IP, TCP, UDP and HTTP before you start programming distributed applications.Learn the XML language and familiarize yourself with it.Start by learning a shell scripting language. For Windows-based programming, that would be any script that works with Windows Scripting Host. For Linux-based programming, Bash scripts and Perl will be sufficient. JavaScript is strongly recommended for this in both platforms for the following reasons:It is supported by almost any scripting host in any operating system (Windows Scripting Host supports JavaScript by default, most Linux distributions has a package for JavaScript scripting console support).It is considered to be easier to learn by many developers.It has an ALGOL derived syntax which familiarizes you with much more other programming languages when you need to choose a second programming language (C, C++, C#, Java and J# all have ALGOL derived syntax).By learning JavaScript, you familiarize yourself with client-side scripting of web pages which is a bonus side-effect!Apply only procedural programming using your scripting language of choice at first. Later, you can use more advanced programming techniques and paradigms according to your scripting language and what it supports. All scripting languages have some procedural programming aspects at some level.Use the scripting language you learned to write scripts that perform communications between machines. Learn what is necessary for doing that. Simple communications will suffice.Make a transfer to a desktop scripting/programming language. Preferably, one that is a multi-paradigm language such as Python. Take a simple introduction to that second language. Java is considered by most programmers to be the language of choice for many reasons. However, C# is gaining momentum fast in this field. Java and C# are preferred for the following reasons:They are object oriented programming languages which shields programmers in large teams from implementation details as they both supports components (units of code, pre-compiled, that perform a certain task and can be used in other programs).They support event-driven programming, as well as OO and procedural programming at some level.The framework that the language is built upon is distributed by nature (in the case of Java).The availability of many ready-made packages that deal with networking, both as open-source code and framework built-in packages; this makes it easier for programmers to build upon the work of others.Concentrate more on the core features of the language, especially those supporting networking. Pay less attention to user-interface elements such as outputting, window design and techniques, and user-interface elements.Take a course on distributed applications design and architectures. This can be done using books, online tutorials or academic courses. However, understanding the architecture of distributed applications and its concepts is necessary.Learn about building serviced components and services using your programming language of choice.Learn one or more of the following technologies. It is recommended that you get at least an introduction to all of them. Most distributed application programmers do not stop at one or two programming languages, but learn at least one programming language on each operating system. That is because if you want your application to be "distributed", you should provide a version of it at least for each major operating system.Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM).NET RemotingXML Web ServicesMethod 4 :- Library/Platform/Framework/Core ProgrammingKnow what core programming is. Core programmers are merely advanced programmers who made the transfer from programming applications to programming code units to be used by other programmers.Learn a programming language that supports building reusable components/packages, if you have not done so already.Take an advanced course in UML and ORM. Most library developers use one or both of them.Take a course in software engineering.Learn at least modular, component-based, object-oriented, and event-driven programming techniques and concepts. The more programming paradigms and languages you cover, the more successful you become as a library/package programmer.Learn more about the different operating systems and programming frameworks supported by these operating systems.Focus your learning efforts on platform-independent frameworks, programming languages and technologies.If the programming languages you learned so far have ANSI/ISO/IEEE/W3Cstandard versions, master the standards. Try to use standard code whenever possible.Try to mimic simple, already established libraries, especially open-source ones.This is useful during the early phase of becoming a library/package programmer. Start with simple packages like units conversion and intermediate scientific calculations packages. If you are a college student, make use of your non-programming courses by trying to implement their equations and scientific core as libraries.Search for and try open-source packages in your field of programming. First download binaries/executables of the package. Try to use it and find its strong and weak points. After you've done that, download the source and try to figure out how it was done. Try to recreate those libraries or parts of them. At first, do that after you've seen the code and later before you see the code. At later phases, try improving those libraries.Learn the different approaches used to distribute and deploy components to programmers.Usually, library/package programmers tend to think recursively and/or iteratively of all problems they are presented with. Try to think of each problem as a collection of smaller problems (a sequence of simpler tasks) or as a repeated process of reducing the problem's scope to smaller scopes and then piling those scopes upon each other.Library/package programmers tend to generalize. That is, when presented with a simple specific problem, they usually think of a more general problem and try to solve that general problem which will automatically solve the smaller one.Method 5 :- System ProgrammingUnderstand what system programming entails. System Programmers deal with the science of programming not the specific implementations of it. Do not tie yourself to a specific platform.Follow the first three steps for Desktop Applications Programmers.Take an introductory course in Linear Algebra.Take a course in Calculus.Take a course in Logic and/or Discrete Mathematics.Introduce yourself to different bare operating systems. This can be done by:Getting an idea on how operating systems are installed.Learning how to install different operating systems on one PC (optional, but recommended).Installing more than one operating system. Do not install any helping packages on the systems; instead, use the bare functionalities provided by the operating systems.Take a course (or alternatively, read books) on computer hardware architecture.Develop an understanding of the different computer hardware platforms.Get an introductory familiarization with the assembly language of the hardware platform/operating system of choice. You will later learn the assembly of other platforms/systems.Learn the ANSI C and C++ languages, along with the concepts of procedural programming.Understand and practice C/C++ standard libraries on the platform of choice.Pay particular attention to Standard Template Library (STL) and maybe Active Template Library (ATL).Search online resources, books and courses to get an understanding of the C-flavor of your specific platform.Practice creating advanced code with C and C++.Learn more advanced Assembly.Take a course in operating systems design.Find and read documentations of your specific platform of choice. This will be easier if you choose a Unix-based operating system. Understand the system you will be working with later very well.Practice your acquired knowledge. First create small system utilities. It is usually useful to:Trying to recreate small tools that are already there on your system.Trying to port utilities available in other operating systems to yours.Learn languages in the most helpful order. This is the only place where the first programming language matters. Learn ANSI C first, not C++, not C#, not Java and not D. Then learn C++.Restricting the first language to C and C alone is because systems programming requires that the programmer be familiar with the following concepts:Real and full compilation of source code.Low-level object output files.Linking binaries.Low-level machine-language/assembly programming. The C language is said to be a disguised/easier to learn assembly by some. It also supports inserting assembly language code in code whenever you please and it is only procedural (like assembly).Method 6 :- Programming ScienceKnow what a programming scientist does. Programming scientists are very advanced programmers who, instead of working on developing applications, work on developing computing technologies such as encryption, programming languages and data mining algorithms. This level is seldom achieved without academic study and dedication.Accumulate the scientific knowledge equivalent to a four-year degree in computer science. This can be done either by:Taking an actual academic degree (which is what usually happens).Getting the courses' outlines for such a degree from one of the modern universities and taking the courses either by self-study or as separate courses. This could be achieved theoretically, but the recommended path is the first.Decide a field of specialty. The more specific, the better. This depends on your preferences. However, here is a list of some of the major topics in computer programming science:Algorithm design (searching, sorting, encryption, decryption and error detection in communications are some examples)Programming languages/compiler design/optimizationArtificial intelligence fields (pattern recognition, speech recognition, natural language processing, neural networks)RoboticsScientific programmingSuper computingComputer aided design/modeling (CAD/CAM)Virtual realityComputer graphics (Computer graphics is usually wrongly confused with graphical design or graphical user interface design. Computer graphics is the field of studying how to represent and manipulate graphics in computer systems.)Consider getting a higher academic degree. You might wish to pursue a master's degree or a doctorate.Learn the technologies and programming languages related to your programming field of choice.

Replace? NO.Get extended? Maybe Yes. Depends.But why does it depend?Well, the question according to me is not very well framed or is highly ambiguous. And the part of the question that brings in ambiguity is the use of 'computer programming'.Computer Programming is something that many people understand widely differently, and has different meaning in different contexts.About half the people who have answered before me have assumed the words to mean teaching students to use technologies and equipping them with tools to deal with modern systems that largely consist of comuter-based technologies. And as rightly answered by many, while this should be taught to children, it should not be given priority over something like mathematics or literature.It surely doesn't make much sense to prioritize building an intranet twitter over Euclidean geometry.But it does make sense to give atleast as much importance to developing techniques(/algorithms/methods) to solve sudoku, if not more than what is given to something like proving quadratic formula.Many people would agree over the meaning of computer programming as the skills of designing algorithms and devising scripts and techniques to perform tasks. In fact I would take an even further purist viewpoint, and claim programming to refer to only the logical development and synthesis of algorithms, systems, and methods to process information, largely in the spirit of SICP, as Hal Abelson notes"[Computer science] is not really about computers -- and it's not about computers in the same sense that physics is not really about particle accelerators, and biology is not about microscopes and Petri dishes...and geometry isn't really about using surveying instruments. Now the reason that we think computer science is about computers is pretty much the same reason that the Egyptians thought geometry was about surveying instruments: when some field is just getting started and you don't really understand it very well, it's very easy to confuse the essence of what you're doing with the tools that you use.And in that sense, I believe, programming is not only interesting and useful, but also necessary. It allows the student to think in meta about information, to work at various levels of abstraction with ease, and to learn to identify the patterns of his own thought and be able to mechanise those.This understanding of programming, which I believe many would share, tells us not only of a way of thought acquired by programmers and its importance in any model of education, but also fits the popular viewpoint, which I believe is right, that permanent ideas should be given importance in education (Talk by Tony Hoare), unlike technology which is only a matter of time.Should this be given priority over mathematics would be a tough problem, but given a little thought to it, had the computing machinery and development of ideas like operations research, lambda calculus, and cybernetics been seperated subtatially by time, these ideas would've been called mathematics instead. But it is slightly different from how mathematics is done, and that slight difference is probably why this became named informatics. This way of looking at ideas, the programmers' view, has enabled some very prolific ideas about concurrency, big data empiricism, logical inference, numbers and strings, structured forms of data, knowledge representation, and patterns found in configuration of systems.In fact this school of logic I promote as programming (while some call computing science) finds wide application through science, biology, management, economics, etc. and is not limited to computer and web technologies.It would really be unjust to unite all sorts of styles of wide variety of programmers under this "programmers' way of looking at things", as I call it, but really the difference between knowledge representation and concurrent systems is only as much as that between linear algebra and calculus.So probably its better to teach programming, the logical path to deal with abtractions, and the ability to think and metathink of processes over information. To give a more sophisticated and elementary, at the same time, outlook to the old school philoshophical fields of ontology, semantics, and self-reference, and teach logic as a way to build, analyse and simulate (in thought) various systems, independent of their physical existence.But is it really worth doing all this? Maybe No. Because since the questions asks regarding priority of programming against mathematics, I am not sure what the real answer should be (Yes, after typing all that, I'm still not sure)The current state of mathematics education is in itself so pathetic (atleast as much I have seen, in my country), that it currently serves a very bad introduction to both mathematics and programming anyhow. Why? Because the kind of mundane problems students are made to deal with gives only a slight idea of what mathematics really is, the really beauty of patterns and results, but also inspires students, in a slightly wrong way, to develop tricks and techniques to solve these (so in the process they are indeed mechanising the job and then rote learning the method). This is a really sad state of affairs, and actually counts as negative education.But while there are various methods to learn and know of mathematics (not many though), it seems an idea far-fetched to say that programming should be equally well be pushed into curriculum.As Alan Perlis satirically noted :It goes against the grain of modern education to teach students to program. What fun is there to making plans, acquiring discipline, organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be self critical.

I will preface this by noting that I go to a Math & Science Academy, so my strongsuit is in STEM for sure. Also, I am one of those students who has to work very hard because concepts don’t come super easily for me. I’ll rank them from easiest to hardest (along with the score I received on the exam and the year I took it). Keep in mind that difficulty of the classes themselves strongly depends on the school and the teacher, albeit some more than others. I will say that the quality of your teachers really makes or breaks your experience in AP courses, as they define your enjoyment throughout the year.1 ) AP Human Geography - (Scored 5; 9th grade)This was my first AP class, so I definitely worked way harder than I needed to, but it was a good warm-up to what AP is like. I actually thought the class was really interesting, but I can easily see why some think it is boring. Take it if you like learning about the world and patterns of humanity. Not a hard class, just lots of memorization and some writing. Easy exam.2) AP European History - (Scored 5; 10th grade)Originally, I thought this class was super hard and that it was harder than APUSH, but looking back on it, I think it is slightly easier. Obviously, you need to like history to enjoy this class and do well in it. The reason I rank it easier than APUSH is primarily because, due to the complex nature of European History, the class necessarily offers a broad overview of events across multiple countries and centuries rather than focusing on specific events in detail (minus a few such as the French Revolution). This isn’t to say it’s easy because it’s not. It’s a lot of memorization, and the essays require a complex understanding of patterns in history and the ability to form arguments and draw informed conclusions by synthesizing one’s knowledge with given documents. However, I absolutely LOVED this class, and still consider it to be one of, if not my number one, favorite class taken in high school.3) AP US History - (Scored 5; 11th grade)APUSH is very similar to AP Euro in style, except, as described above, the class focuses in on every major event in US history practically year by year due to the small period of time that America has existed compared to that of Europe. There is a TON of memorization, and it got to the point where I couldn’t retain much of the stuff I was learning for longer than about a month (especially the constant changing of political parties and power, etc. across each Presidency). This class was a lot of work, but the exam was not as bad as the Euro exam. Definitely will not appeal to those who don’t like history as this class can be an information overload. I don’t believe that the information is necessarily as complex as AP Euro, but the sheer amount of information made it overwhelming at times.4) AP Biology - (Scored 5; 11th grade)Some will disagree with me about the difficulty of this course, but biology always came to me pretty easily. I definitely have an advantage over many others as my program offered a class that was basically watered down AP Bio called Magnet Molecular Biology, and taking that as a sophomore made AP Bio a breeze as a junior (compared to the other 4 APs I took that year). The class is the only science AP that is not math heavy, so this is a good choice for those interested in delving deeper into a specific field of science but may be intimidated by the math in some of the other classes (and rightfully so). AP Bio definitely contained some hard units that required a relatively deep understanding of highly-specific molecular mechanisms such those of photosynthesis, respiration, and DNA replication, but I think it is extremely rewarding when a big idea finally comes together after a long time studying specific steps and reactions. The class is essentially split into two sides of biologist, molecular and ecological. I much preferred the molecular side. It is worth noting that the exam is absolutely ridiculous compared to the depth of content learned in most AP Bio classes. The skills tested by College Board ranges from basic statistics to analytical reading, and I strongly disagree with what they’ve done to the exam. Nevertheless, I think it’s a great course.5) AP English Language & Composition - (Scored 5; 11th grade)It’s hard to argue that this class is easy. I understand that some people are much better at writing than others, but the styles of writing demanded by this class are almost definitely foreign to most high school students. I hated the class at first but grew to like it because I appreciated how helpful it really is. If you have a good teacher, AP Lang WILL make you a better writer, and even if you don’t, College Board’s requirements for the class will force you to develop skills critical to college-level writing if you put in at least a little effort at self-improbable. The exam was hard for me, both multiple choice (due to the complicated and often old-era reading passages) AND the essays, but that’s because I tend to try and perfect my writing and have a hard time working under strict time constraints. This class isn’t for the weak, but it is 100% worthwhile.6) AP Calculus BC - (Scored 5; 11th grade)I did not take Calc AB before taking BC, so this class challenged me unlike a math class ever did before. However, being a math-minded person, I absolutely loved calculus. The concepts in this class are undeniably advanced and require students to think in a more abstract way about math than have likely been taught in prior high-school level math classes. It’s a great introduction to upper-level math while still being bearable and not too mathematically rigorous (ex. no heavy reliance on proofs) for high-schoolers. I worked hard to get a 5, but it didn’t feel like much of a chore because I loved the material. Do not take BC Calc without a solid background in algebra and trig.7) AP Physics 1 - (Scored 4; 11th Grade)Physics is hard. It’s a subject that requires a different way of critical thinking and applications of math than any other class. My teacher was new to physics, so I had to learn much of the material myself. While the concepts are not too advanced in the eyes of physics as a whole, this class is difficult due to its demanding of a solid understanding in everything you learn. Doing well on the exam requires the ability to explain physical concepts in detail, and College Board always seems to find a way to create problems, situations, and scenarios that we’ve never seen before. That’s what makes the class hard - success will not come by memorizing how to do certain types of problems, period. You have to be able to apply your knowledge and problem-solving abilities to unique problems on the fly. The difficulty of the exam is impressive considering there are practically no mathematical calculations, rather relying almost exclusively on qualitative thinking. I had no physics knowledge prior to taking this class. It was one of my least favorite classes ever, but some people love it- I’m more of a chemistry person. Also, I studied the most for this exam, yet it was the only exam on which I got a 4. I think this had a lot to do with making some stupid careless mistakes since the 5-rate cutoff is so absurdly low for some reason considering the difficulty of the material.8) AP Chemsitry - (Scored 5; 10th grade)It’s worth noting that this was my first science AP, and I took it as a sophomore, but make no mistake - this class kicks students’ butts nationwide. I had an excellent teacher (who also taught my 9th grade magnet chemistry class) who was more dedicated to ensuring her students’ success than any other teacher I’ve ever had. The concepts in AP Chem are advanced regardless of which year in high school you take it. There was an obscene amount of work, taking up an average of 4 hours of my time outside of class to prepare for each successive class meeting. I firmly believe the large amount of practice and external self-teaching directly resulted in my success, but I worked extremely hard to get a 5. The FRQs on the exam test a huge variety of material and are especially difficult because they demand students to synthesize concepts across multiple units (for example, one long FRQ involved subsections related to stoichiometey, molecular geometry, kinetics, and equilibrium). This class is a beast, but can be extremely rewarding if you put in the work. Apparently it serves as a great prep for college introductory chemistry.So those are the AP classes I took and feel qualified to speak about. I am currently taking AP Government and Politics, AP English Literature and Composition, and AP Music Theory as a senior, and so far all of these classes are relatively easy as far as AP goes.Hope this helps anyone considering which AP classes they should take :)