It was a wild ride. I perhaps did what no other high school student has ever done.

A few days before spring break, I thought, "Hm. I should probably do AP Art Studio so that I can get 8 AP tests in by the end of junior year. Then I can get National AP Scholar. I mean, how hard can AP Art Studio* be?" I signed up for the test and got one of my school's lovely guidance counselors to be my teacher/administrator AP supervisor.

What I hadn't realized at that point was that most people taking the AP Art Studio exam take one to two years of in-school AP Art Studio classes. These classes are allegedly very rigorous and strongly contribute to the development of near-professional portfolios.

I hadn't taken an art course in years.

At the beginning of spring break, I started making a month-related concentration (rain for April, wind for March...). I decided midway through the break that this was a dumb idea for a concentration. I switched to a music concentration.

It hit me after spring break closed that I might have problems making 8 more pieces for my music concentration (which needs 10-12 pieces) and that I might have problems coming up with 12 pieces for my breadth section. Especially since I was signed up for 5 other (and more important, to be honest) AP tests, one of which I would essentially have to self-study.

Somehow, with the advice and encouraging compliments of a few friends, by the night before the portfolio was due, I managed to produce all of the necessary pieces. Of course, this led to my neglecting APUSH studying.

It all got done. The online portfolio was submitted on the due date, the quality section well before.

I got back my scores yesterday. I think you'll understand when I say that the score I'm most proud of is my 4 on the AP Art Studio exam. It's not a 5 (like the rest of my scores. bragbragbrag), but it represents the most work I have ever done for an AP test. It represents an almost insurmountable amount of stress and frustration.

You should go check out my portfolio, which is now very neatly stored and organized in my gallery. If you're interested in taking AP Art Studio Drawing, this should provide a complete example of what constitutes a 4 or at least what constituted a 4 in 2010.

Personally, I found looking at other people's portfolios very helpful in understanding where my artistic ability and pieces fell. I was hoping for either a 4 or a 5 and expecting a 3 or 4.

I hope this helps someone!


*AP Art Studio Drawing:
Breadth Section - 12 original pieces in different media
Concentration - 12 original pieces on one theme
Quality Section - 5 original pieces physically submitted/sent to the College Board (they give you a big envelope!)

To take this exam, you will need a teacher/administrator supervisor at your school. I presume that this is mandatory so that the College Board can make sure that no art theft occurs.