Hi, I am a sophomore in high school thinking about self-studying for AP Psychology this year. My school doesn’t offer it and I am interested in the subject. Do you think it is worth it? Will colleges gives credit for it? Also, since I am not taking any AP classes this year I want to at least take one exam.
There are different opinions on this subject.
A self-studied AP isn’t going to make or break an application. Colleges don’t care much about AP’s and would prefer to see the grade from the class. You don’t have that option, of course. Some colleges may give full credit for scores of 4 or 5. Some will offer placement out of intro level courses. It varies widely. You need to see what various colleges say about it.
It’s fine if you self-study AP psych. The best reason you gave is that you’re interested AND your school doesn’t offer it, both valid reasons for self-studying. My own kid self-studied it for the exact same reasons. Her college offered her placement for the class, which she didn’t utilize. While she had a 5 on the test, she took the intro level course and was glad she did because studying on your own is probably never going to be as rigorous as an actual class.
Go for it, with the caveat that you definitely shouldn’t allow it to have a negative impact on actual grades or extracurricular activities that matter to you. It should be low priority.