If you’re interested in computer science and you’re in high school, one of the best ways to learn the “art of computer programming” is through the AP Computer Science A class. But what if you don’t have time for the AP class in your schedule, and you still want to take the AP Comp Sci exam (and possibly do well enough to get college credits)? Read on for my story on AP Comp Sci….
Background
As a kid who went to a vocational school with no room for electives, classes such as AP Computer Science and other “non-core” classes weren’t as much on my radar. But I was really was (and always have been) fascinated by computer programming. Being able to tell a computer exactly what to do through logical steps was such an interesting concept to me. Despite all the odds being stacked against me, I decided to sign up to take the AP Computer Science A exam at the end of my sophomore year, without taking the class. And hey, if I did well on it, I’d get some college credit! No reason not to try, right?
Preparation
Prior Knowledge
Preparing for the AP Computer Science exam was fairly simple. Honestly, I already knew a lot about programming going into it. Pre-high school, I would spend hours upon hours writing code that would add-on to my favorite game at the time, Minecraft. These “add-ons” were called mods. Every day, I’d open up Eclipse, and trek my way through Java, despite having had no prior experience. There were tons of videos online explaining how to write mods for Minecraft, so I would watch them in hopes of picking up whatever scraps of knowledge I could.
How did I prepare in the months leading up to the exam?
Early in 2023, as the AP exam date neared, I just found reasons to work on code as a way to practice and prep. I would find projects, no matter what they were, and just… tackle them. This helped me gain a much better understanding of Java and object-oriented programming as a whole. Rather than accessing a specific, canned curriculum, I felt I could learn better by doing, and by making mistakes and fixing them to build upon my programming foundation.
The Day of the AP Computer Science Exam
I took the 2023 AP Computer Science A exam in May of 2023. I highly recommend taking a look at past exam questions to help you know what to expect on the exam. The exam is split up into two parts – multiple choice, and free response. The multiple choice is fairly simple, requiring a basic knowledge of Java and how concepts such as inheritance and polymorphism work.
The free response is the hard part. Luckily, in computer science, there are many ways of solving one problem. Take this simple example:
If you need to get from square C to square B, only being able to move in the cardinal directions, it can be done in two ways. You can move to square D then to square B, accomplishing your goal. Or, you can move to square A then to square B. As you can see, despite these being different methods, they both lead to the same answer. While you won’t get questions that are this simple on the AP exam, the same concept applies. In order to get to the metaphorical B square that could be anything, you can take multiple paths with computer science.
You won’t get docked points for doing it one way or the other, as long as you follow the instructions. For example, if I told you to get from square C to square B without touching square D, you’d only have one option. Certain questions on the AP exam will corner you into doing something a certain way, but for everything else: As long as the code runs and does its job, you won’t be docked points.
The Result
The result of all of my unique preparation for the AP Comp Sci exam was that I got a 5!
Having done everything I could to give myself the best chance of succeeding, I would have been happy with any score. But I wouldn’t make a blog post called “How I prepared for the AP Computer Science exam and got a 1”. My AP scores came out while I was in Spain for a summer abroad program, but I saw the notification come through from The College Board, and was elated to find how I did!
Conclusion
Computer science can be complex — so it’s completely understandable why it’s intimidating to many. If there’s one thing I hope to share by writing this blog post, it’s that computer science is incredibly interesting, can be learned by rolling up your sleeves and trying to solve problems, and that the AP exam questions can be interpreted in many ways. With the AP exams coming up, I wish all of you preparing for the AP Comp Sci A Exam the best of luck. Keep on coding!
Until next time.
