<p>I come from a low competitive school that will only allow me to take AP classes in Senior year. (They only offer 2) Would it be a good idea to self study lots of AP's? My current course load will require basically no work outside of school. </p>
<p>The more AP's the better, correct? Obviously the harder the more beneficial, but as a general rule, the more AP's I take, the more I'll stand out?</p>
<p>yes…</p>
<p>Anyone to confirm that? I’ve gotten opposing views…</p>
<p>the more APs you take,the better.
Obviously,getting 2-3 on them would look bad.
But if you pull off a 4-5,they’ll surely look amazing and will show your hardwork to the colleges :)</p>
<p>Only take APs if you can do well on. No use taking 6 APs and getting 3s on all of them. You want a solid string of 5s on your resume. </p>
<p>Also, limit the number of APs that don’t interest you. For example, Psychology may be the easiest AP to self-study, but what is the use of taking it if you don’t care about it at all? If you know what you will major in, take all related APs. </p>
<p>For instance, a student going into physical sciences could take/ self-study: Calc BC, Chem, Physics B, and Computer Science, Physics C, and Stats. The student should throw in a few humanities APs just to be well-rounded, but don’t go after the easiest APs just to lengthen your list. It can be quite obvious.</p>
<p>Ok so try and just focus on self studying the AP’s which are related to Biology then? (That’s what I plan on majoring in)</p>
<p>So that would mean I should take all science and math AP self studies I can while still making 5s or 4s? But then I should toss a few humanity, English, etc, courses in?</p>
<p>Also would it be a good idea to take AP Music Theory, since I’m quite passionate about music (as you can tell by my username)?</p>
<p>AP Music Theory is quite a difficult course if you do not have either a teacher at school or a private teacher. I come from a music background too, but I’ll tell you firsthand, music theory is comparable in difficulty to AP Physics C, at least for me, and I love music theory.
Also, only self-study AP’s you know you can handle. This year, I self studied AP Biology, AP Environmental, AP English Lang, AP Micro, and AP USH. While it would have worked perfectly if I had given myself enough time, sometimes people procrastinate and push off INTENSE studying until a month before the exam.</p>
<p>Only be prepared to take those courses which you know you will study intensively for. Taking more than you can handle will only hurt your application in the long run.</p>
<p>Contrary to what some may have you believe here on CC, the AP tests are not a piece of cake, and the tests are expensive. The weeks leading up to the AP tests tend to be stressful because it’s also when things are ramping up at school for the end of the year.</p>
<p>Don’t bite off more than you can chew.</p>
<p>I realize that AP Tests are difficult. But my school isn’t challenging in the least, specially with the only courses I’m allowed to take currently. So for me it’s basically just these AP test ill need to study for.</p>
<p>Also I agree, Music Theory is insanely difficult. I’ve already been introduced to it through Jazz Improv. It’s jut so much information to take in…</p>
<p>Idk I mean I might be a bit being ignorant here, but AP’s are not that hard. Every year about 40% (give or take depending on the test) of students get 4 or 5’s… About 20% get 1’s, and getting a one takes no effort. If you go through the ap study book thoroughly for the subject (just the ap prep book, like Barron’s or Princeton) , I can almost guarantee you’ll get a 4. I’ve never self studied before so it might be a bit different but if you’re dedicated you’ll succeed dude.</p>
<p>Thanks man 
I was thinking of self studying AP Biology as a trial run, since I already know most of the content. </p>
<p>Should I just read prep books or should I try snd sign up for some cource online.</p>
<p>And* course*</p>
<p>Bump…</p>
<p>“movemetoo” is right about AP tests being expensive when the school district does not pay for them. Also, I actually will disagree with some of the advice given in terms of only studying what you want to major in. I say this because once you get to college APs are very useful to getting you out of general education courses (courses not related to your major). So I would recommend that you take the common “gen-ed courses” through APs-even if they do not relate to your major. For example, English is a general education course required by a lot of schools. It may not be related to your major-but your college will almost certainly make you take a freshman English course unless you have AP credit.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>@Oboefreak, oh jeeze, majoring in Bio means that you will probably self-study some of the hardest APs out there!</p>
<p>Definitely focus on the AP Bio test, but I’d warn you against taking the AP Chem test (despite how connected they are). If you want a good solid background for your future, then taking that class in college is MUCH better than self-studying it. It’s all about concepts and understanding how labs work and stuff. Many believe it’s the most rigorous AP.</p>
<p>AP Bio can probably be studied using free online resources and prep books. If you want to economize your self-studying, I highly recommend getting several (not 1) prep books from Half.com (from popular, high rated book sellers), and googling AP Bio resources online (KhanAcademy is a good online resource).</p>
<p>As for Music Theory, I have the same exact question. My school offers the course, and I am slightly into music (not much, just in Band), but I would like to know if it is wise to take the AP test just to show colleges that I’m well rounded…</p>
<p>@BurnOut
That doesn’t sound too good! I’m mostly in it forthe knowledge, so I guess I’ll wait that out.</p>
<p>Also most people that I’ve noticed online say Music Theory is to difficult, rather it is extremely time consuming…</p>
<p>Also I was thinking, if I took an Honors Chem class (my school JUST might offer one), and just used some prep book on the side to prepare for AP chem, would that possibly work?</p>
<p>Doing AP Chem along with Honors Chem would be a great choice. The main perk there is that your teacher (who should be solid with all of the hard concepts in higher level Chem) can help you whenever you run into difficulties. Just let your teacher know that you plan on self studying AP Chem next year as you take his/her class. Maybe your teacher will have resources you can use, advice for you, etc. </p>
<p>However, it will still be difficult. You should also learn (at least) the Honors Chem curriculum over the summer. From other CCers, I’ve heard that AP Chem covers the Honors Chem curriculum in about a week, then goes deeper in each topic. </p>
<p>With great dedication, it should be possible!</p>
<p>Alright, considering all the classes in my school are going to recquire minimum effort, I really need an outgoing self study schedule.</p>
<p>Yeah, good luck!</p>
<p>I was just wondering, what is the size of your school? I had to undertake a similarly challenging self-study schedule because my school is ~150 kids per grade, and it offers only APUSH, AP Gov, AP Lit, AP Lang, and AP Music Theory. No AP sciences this year (we will probably get them next year). However, your school sounds even less challenging than mine :(.</p>