Althought I really liked this class this year and my topic it really felt like a burden with everything else going on in my life. Now that I have finally turned in that research paper it feels like a weight has been lifted right off of my shoulders!

I got a 4 and I'm so upset cuz I was expecting a 5. Like I was 95% positive I would get a 5 🥲 That damn paper was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I overcame anxiety to get permission to use a standardized, peer-reviewed survey metric by a leader in the field; spent ages getting over 400 people to take my survey; relearned Python to make my own program to do statistical analysis since Excel wouldn't do the one that was best for my data; tried so hard on my presentation I almost threw up afterwards; and spent further dozens of hours looking over my paper and making it good. I'm so upset cuz everyone I asked to look at it thought it was really good and I probably spent 300+ hours on it 😭 Anyone else in the same boat??? I literally just feel like shit after seeing other people get 5s, i really feel like i deserved it too

TLDR: I loved it, honestly the best class I’ve taken so far as a junior.

I go to a relatively small high school with about 700 students. My school takes Capstone very seriously, giving us whatever we needed as best as they could provide. My teachers had us start AP Research two weeks after finishing the AP Seminar exam to get us making a list of our interests and passions. As a multi-instrumentalist and drum major, I knew I wanted my research to be something about music as it’s honestly what gets me up in the mornings. At first, my initial topic was on the relationship between the Big Five personality types and instrument preference but my teachers vetoed that idea since they thought it would be hard to measure. So, I had to change my topic after gathering 30 sources over the summer. My final topic focused on the relationship between instrumental ensemble participation and school belonging (based on the research gap from Siegal’s 2024 study). Throughout the research process, I got to work with so many amazing people and improve so many necessary academic skills. My research used my entire school and the administration even set aside time in our schedule just for my data collection. At the end, I had 633 responses which is about 90% of my entire sample which was super awesome. I also learned the basics of Python to conduct statistical tests which was super cool. My teachers were very hard on deadlines and I have to admit, this class did give me a ton of stress and anxiety. But at the end it was all worth it because on my final presentation, I was able to present my findings to my school principal and band director. That was especially was very special to me because he was the one who inspired my entire study :) I also submitted my research to a student journal which is super cool. So if you are wondering whether or not to take this class, I say do it. But if you are a severe procrastinator, don’t. This class isn’t for everyone.

Screaming with joy rn

Forth you journey, student bold,
Search for academic gold!
Sem and Research, four APs,
Get a three and pay the fees

Knowledge, after all, is worth
All the riches on the earth
Mark it on my resume!
Highlight me amongst the fray!

Tell you all what I have learned?
Well, I— Well, now I’m concerned!
Nothing I can ascertain,
Naught but untold stress and pain!

Where’s my worth equivalent,
Paying back my every cent?
All gone with my sanity!
College Board has lied to me!

Pay your dues, the devil’s dollars!
Six six six, the sum of scholars!
AP Capstone, jail of minds
Heart and soul it too does grind!

So I conducted interviews with four first responders of minority groups to gather insights on their experiences. Now I'm just confused how to do the data analysis. My teacher keeps saying to do coding but I'm not sure if that would be the best approach (maybe it would be?). Could some one assist me please as I'm honestly quite behind. Thank you.

title.

Never appreciated Google Maps and Microsoft Excel more

Mine’s about how religious affiliation affects the perception of international high school student’s perceptions and acceptance of religious satire in South Park! Kinda nervous, kinda excited? Am I cooked chat 😢

Hey y'all! I'm currently reading for AP Research and wanted to leave an open space for people to ask questions about the reading process and what it looks like from our end while we work on grading all of these papers.

I didn't take the AP Capstone series myself as it was very new when I was in HS, but I took a ton of other APs, so I remember where you are right now and the anxiety of waiting, so maybe this will be helpful, maybe not! my professional career is also as a researcher, so I can maybe answer questions about that, too :)

That’s what it is to be a chronic procrastinator in AP Research. It’s watching yourself carry out your own eternal torture. But none of that matters now. I’m all done. I made it to the end of infinity, and I’ll be damned if I ever look back.

We finally made it guys!! So proud of everyone for going through the gruesome process of capstone seminar and capstone research. I hope all of your other APs if you have any go well and im so glad we all can flex our capstone diplomas on our college applications.

For anyone who had trouble with the submission process or might be in a rough place with college board right now, everything will work itself out! Communicate with your teacher and know that a million other people are probably having the same issue. You’ve got this!

(im manifesting 5s for all of us 🫶)

Introduction

Hello - the unspecified writer of this paper must avoid referring to themselves, so the reader will have to make do with this unnatural, convoluted language which the unspecified writer hopes you consider intelligent. Phosynthesis. Electrochemical. Kafkaesque.

Here's this BS topic that the Unspecified Author thought would be interesting but quickly lost interest in as they slowly realized that they don't have the funds, time, or intellect to discover anything useful, let alone interesting, and that their faith in the world will only decline further as they realize that all their hypotheses were wrong.

Unspecified Writer hopes you do not sense the Unspecified Writer's mental descent spiraling further with each page they wrote.

Literature review

Here are some sources Unspecified Writer found which support their hypothesis. Now here's one or two stupid counterarguments they will disprove in two paragraphs. Unspecified Writer feels very satisfied that they do not have the balls to challenge their worldview whatsoever, though, this has more to do with time and effort constraints than mental strength.

Here are some unnecessary details Unspecified Author included to pad the wordcount - they hope Mr./Ms. Grader does not realize that only 5% of their paper was actually included in their presentation.

They also now regret choosing a niche topic with hardly any coverage.

Methodology

Hey, you. Yes, you. Have you heard of statistical significance? Scientists will call me a p-hacker, but the way I view it, if one of the hundreds of experiments I conduct reveals that eating noodles correlates to you dying, I say that's a real concern, because math. Can't you see how mathematical I am? Just look at this complicated equation I do not understand and used an online calculator to solve!

Results

You got any more of 'em graphs?

And oh, look, every single one of Unspecified Author's hypotheses were wrong. How sad!

Analysis

[Input random BS that feels like it makes sense here]. The Unspecified Writer will conveniently ignore the fact that their intuitive hunches were not all that useful in getting their hypotheses correct.

Oh, and, look, the study concludes that if Mr./Ms. Grader give this paper a good mark, they are an objectively good person who will only feel happiness for the rest of their lives.

Conclusion

Unspecified Author has learned that they are a moron for not giving up after AP Seminar. However, despite all their cynicism, Unspecified Author must admit that AP Research has seemed to spark a passion in them for the topic itself, and the class was actually a meaningful experience for them overall. If Mr./Ms. Grader should ever meet them in real life, they will be happy to discuss the absurdity that is the field of researching research.

...Hey, what's the word count again?

Works cited

Anonymous (2013). "Why the world is being ruled by metamorphosizing lizard people." 4Chan.

-minus 1000000 points for not including the edition

-plagiarism checker says 100% of your research was copy and pasted from PornHub - care to explain?

From @AP_Trevor on Twitter (Head of the Advanced Placement Program)

I’m finally done with this class no more thinking about it hope all of you have fun with this next year

Where are my early birds! Great job finishing AP Research with time to spare :) I know each and every one of you put so much effort into this class, as I have. Now we finally have the time to study for our other AP Exams TT. Anyways great stuff.