<p>I have some doubts about A.P. classes and stuff so can someone answer my questions. </p>
<p>1) Isn't the whole point of taking A.P. classes to take the A.P. exams at the end of the year?
2) If the above is true then wouldn't self-studying be a really good idea? You can have spaces open for other classes. </p>
<p>3) People have said classes that you should self-study. Can anyone tell me classes that you shouldn't self-study.</p>
<p>IMPORTANTLY: IF YOU self study do you need to use just the review book, just the book of the course or both. PLEASE TELL ME THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION THANKS</p>
<p>1) That's half the reason. The other half is to immerse yourself in a subject which you are sincerely interested in.</p>
<p>2) You'll miss out on the whole classroom experience. What if you learn something wrong? Who will correct you? You'll also miss out on lab experience for the sciences, and colleges may not accept AP credit without lab experience. However, if YOUR only personal goal is to gain college credit or look good by getting an award, then I'd recommend self studying easy AP's you don't care about and taking the classes for the ones that actually interest you.</p>
<p>3) Don't self study the sciences (no laboratory experience). Don't self study anything that is too hard. Your main focus should be on your classes and activities, not extra AP's. Also, it depends on what your objective is. If you just want college credit, you may not want to take environmental science, psychology, human geography, or statistics, since the most elite schools usually don't accept credit for those exams. If your objective is to get an AP award, then definitely take those exams; they're probably going to be easier since they are the equivalents of semester-long college courses, unlike things like calculus BC and physics C, which are the equivalents of year-long college courses and would therefore be more difficult to self-study.</p>
<p>4) Depends on the exam. Like for psychology, you can easily get by simply with Barrons' review book. But for environmental science, you'd be better off with a textbook just because all the review books out there suck.</p>
<p>I tried self-studying physics B last year within a month and got a three. Then my friend spends two weeks self studying and gets a five. </p>
<p>Deciding to self-study really depends on you. Some can just absorb material from a page and others have to hear to learn. My problem is the pace at which i study: I study way too slowly and am too inefficient in actually learning stuff. If you've never really self studied before, the biggest recommendation I can give you is to start right now. Find out and see if you actually CAN self-study. If you feel like you can, then start a routine and accustom yourself to reading a lot. If you don't think you can, then learn how to. Study skills go a long way in basically everything you do in life.... literally.</p>
<p>Last year i felt that since i read two entire books, I would make fives. i came out with a 3 and a 4. Now i've made some changes in my personal studying habits, and hopefully will be able to achieve my score goals. Don't assume that since you've spent a long time studying, that you'll do well. Learn how to study effectively.</p>
<p>Personally, when it comes to taking AP tests, I think that learning how to take tests will benefit you more. My friend practiced for the SAT around 39 times... he scored a 1580(old SAT) and got 6 fives on APs (with rudimentary studying at best). One of the biggest changes I've made was actually practicing by taking more tests, instead of just reading more. And let me tell you... it is possible to learn how to test well.</p>
<p>You can self-study the math AP's quite easily, along with the CompSci A and AB(this one requires more effort, gotta have very thorough coding experience).</p>
<p>I self-studed calc BC as a sophomore while taking precal and got a 5. On the other hand, I took AP Stats as a freshmen and got a 4:((gives you an idea of what AP's are like. Preparing for test is important!!!).</p>
<p>sagar: LMAO!!... no offense but I find that hilarious... 4 on stat and 5 on calc bc self-study :P</p>