AP Environmental Science Self Study

Hey guys!

I’m thinking about self-studying AP Environmental Science next year. I heard it was an easy course and wanted to know what you guys think. College Board statistic state that only 12% of the people who took it last year got a 5. Does that mean that it is not as easy as everybody says it is?? Should I take the risk?? (I want to get at least a 4)

Also, I were to self study it, which textbooks and prep books should I use? For those who are currently taking AP environmental science at school, what textbooks are you guys using and was it effective in preparation for AP??
Also, which prep book is better- Princeton Review or Barrons??? Or any other one, those are the only brands I know…

Lastly, any tips for AP Enviro or just self-studying in general???

Thank you!
(PS this is my first time self studying an AP…)

Make sure to get the Princeton review and the 5 steps to a 5 500 question booklet for environmental science.

The best text for apes is living in the environment 18th edition

Thank you @InstantEco
Do you happen to know any online classes that would be helpful?

If the class it is offered at your school, I’d honestly just take that. The actual class goes much more in depth and you will get more out of it than the study books which I found to be really general. Know tectonic plates and also have specific examples you can pull from in the free response. It is for this reason that I say taking the class is helpful because you will have a repertoire of case studies to pull from whereas the review books are a general overview. Also the labs and independent projects we did made it worth doing. I’d say the test was medium level, easier than chem but harder than psych.

Also check if the schools you are applying to accept AP credit for the course. Not all of them do and some only accept a certain score. You want to make sure it will be worth your time.

Thank you @shawnspencer I will keep that in mind as I make my decision.
Would it be easier if I was taking AP Biology next year and self- studying AP ES. Do the two course somewhat overlap?

@katied123 I don’t know of any online classes, sorry. It would not do you any harm to take ap bio next year. I took ap bio and apes at the same time.

InstantEco or others who took both AP bio and AP enviro (not necessarily at same time), how much harder is bio than enviro? (For a non-science type). Need to choose, but don’t want transcript to be marked “lite”! (not worried about the college credit, just the rigor of HS studies for applications). Thanks!

@InstantEco might you have opinion about above question? many thanks!