I was thinking about self studying for AP gov/ politics (I am very interested in the subject) or AP human geo this year. I’m not going for ivies or anything crazy, so is this a thing that average colleges want to see? Am I better off taking a similar sort of class at a local community college or am I totally wasting my time?
any suggestions would help 
As has been said pretty much everywhere on the site, self-studying does not impress admissions. If you want to take the class at a community college, I would make sure that the credits would transfer to the university of your choice before you choose to enroll. However, I do not believe that you would be wasting your time if you self-studied either one. If you profess a solid interest in government than learning more, in my opinion, would never be a waste. I’m sure with enough motivation you could easily pull a five on either. Best of luck to you!