<p>Hey guys, I'm thinking of self-studying 4 APs on top of taking 2 APs as classes next year (Junior Year). Does anyone have experience self-studying these APs? I'm not only looking to pass, but to get 5s on all of the APs. Any advice would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Classes-
AP Chemistry
AP US History</p>
<p>Self-Studying-
AP Environmental Science
AP Stats
AP Comp Sci A
AP Physics B</p>
<p>Also, I’m taking Honors Physics as a class next year. Would that help me for AP Physics B?</p>
<p>Well my friend took comp sci, and she said that it’s not really a class that can be learned easily by yourself. It’s better if you had a teacher.</p>
<p>Yeah, Computer Science would be hard to self study. The others should be easy though.</p>
<p>I think ap stat would almost be better as a self-study.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. Any more subject-specific advice?</p>
<p>Wow I don’t think I could ever self study.</p>
<p>I NEED a good teacher to spoon-feed me the material. Wait, except for history which, obviously, even WITH a teacher, is still much self study. Which is strange because I think you should self study APUSH instead of something hard like physics. In our school, even with teachers (or perhaps because of them? lol), people HATE physics.</p>
<p>physics is easy, but history is hard for me</p>
<p>everyone’s different…</p>
<p>It all depends on what you are good at and what you want to do after high school. Do NOT self-study just because you think it will make you look good for colleges. Honestly, the only things I think you should self-study are those that are not at all applicable to your future major (like if you are going to be an engineer, only self-study history or other humanities classes). You want a solid background in those things you are going to use again. I self-studied 2 subjects this year, but only because one was Comp. Gov and the other was Human Geography which are both humanities. I am going to be a ChemE, so there is really no reason for me to use these two subjects in my future career. Therefore, self-studying, imo is ok. Now also it takes a lot of dedication. Right now you might be saying “oh ya, I’ll have it all planned out and work on these subjects through the year”. I know that’s what I thought, but usually it doesn’t end up that way. So it’s up to you. Good luck</p>
<p>"the only things I think you should self-study are those that are not at all applicable to your future major "
I agree with that! You can learn more (both knowledge and methods) and remember longer if you take the year-long AP class than just taking the relatively easy AP exam after weeks of cramming with a test-oriented review guide.</p>
<p>What about self studying for ap macro-economics ?</p>
<p>Have you considered flipping the arrangement: Taking three or four classes in school and only self-studying two of them?</p>
<p>Some people have schedules that make it incredibly difficult to take more than 2 APs. For example, my school uses a 4x4 block schedule, where we complete 4 classes each semester. It sucks for full year classes because they take 2 of those classes… so we can take a maximum of 4 full-year APs. Add to that the graduation requirements… and yeah. </p>
<p>Self-studying 4 APs is definitely doable; I self-studied 5 this year (although World History shouldn’t <em>really</em> count, as I learned it last year). I took Chem and Lang, while self studying Psych, World, both Econ, and Human Geography. </p>
<p>It would also depend on what APs you’re planning on self-studying.
Compsci? If you already know a programming language, or if you’ve taken a class in algorithms, then it shouldn’t be that bad.
Physics? <em>MOST</em> people find Physics to be nasty even with the course. I don’t recommend self-studying it. It’s not like most self-study APs where you can simply read Barrons the day before the test and manage a 4 or 5; Physics requires a LOT of practice.</p>
<p>Honors Physics and AP Physics B should cover almost the same material. Environmental Science and Stat should be easy depending on what kind of student you are. Comp sci will depend on how good you are at using computers.</p>
<p>I will probably be self-studying both Econ’s and both Gov’s. 4 is definitely possible if you manage your time well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the all the advice guys! Unfortunately, 2 APs as classes is about the max I can take as a Junior at my school. Though my school offers a majority of APs (20+), it’s hard to take more than 2 a year if you’re not a Senior (when you can take about 5-6 a year). My main motivation for self-studying is to learn subjects that I’m interested in, but don’t think I’ll be able to take in the future. I also want to get the National Scholar Award before the end the of Senior Year, which will require me to self study 4 APs this year. I’m aiming to go into Medicine, so these classes fit Salve’s advice about self-studying APs not related to my future major. :)</p>
<p>Whether you’re successful with self-studying depends on your motivation. The first month of self-studying usually seems to be okay and then it really comes down to your motivation. Keep in mind that all the exams are in May so not only will you not be able to study so much between exams, but you’re going to be tired after writing the first one(s).</p>
<p>I self-studied environmental science for four days- last weekend plus Monday and Tuesday- and took the makeup exam today, and it was by far the easiest exam I have taken. I’ll be shocked if I don’t get a five. That exam will definitely be doable for you.</p>