Hi-
I took AP US history last year and that was a huuuge workload and definitely not self-studyable. (Although I did get a 4!!!:D) But anyways this year I’m taking AP Psych and I actually want a bit of a challenge since AP Psych is easy. I was considering doing AP Government on my own…Would anyone recommend this? I’m not sure if it’s an easy or hard test…any comments would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
I self-studied US Government and got a 5.</p>
It was definitely easy for me, but I have a strong background in government and politics. However, I did work quite hard memorizing different amendments, court cases, and terms.</p>
Also, I recommend practicing the free-response questions extensively. That really helped me a lot.</p>
You can do it, especially if you did well in US history. I say go for it!</p>
Definitely a course where self-studying is possible. There isn’t much material and I felt that Princeton Review was more than enough to teach me all the concepts. It lists out all the SCOTUS court cases, and then some. Although, the CollegeBoard only test you on a small amount of the court cases, it’s best to know all of them in case they throw in a curve ball. I’d say thoroughly reviewing PR (and maybe getting another review book to further solidify your understanding. Perhaps 5 Steps to a 5?) and doing all the practice tests will guarantee you a 4 and will probably get you a 5. </p>
As for the actual test, I personally found the MCQ much harder than the FRQ even though I had sufficient time at the end after both sections to check my work. Compared to previous year’s essays, the 2011 ones were much, much easier and I’m fairly certain I did better on that part of the test. Overall, however, it’s an easy test and your APUSH knowledge will prove to be extremely, extremely beneficial (my rudimentary understanding of US history was probably my weakest point). </p>
Side note: Like Freestyle, I have a deep-seated interest in US politics and government, so perhaps that was helpful for me. If you’re not, it might be slightly harder for you to be successful, but definitely not impossible.</p>
Anyways, good luck. I enjoyed this course and I hope you do too. PM/post here if you have any more questions!</p>