<p>I'm homeschooled, and plan to self-study for the APUSH next year. I have copies of The American Pageant and the AMSCO prep book (which are each about 10 years old, but I'm not sure if that makes much difference). However, I'm not very sure how to prepare for this exam. </p>
<p>I'm going to start going through The American Pageant in September, but what else should I do? When do I need to start using the AMSCO book?</p>
<p>Thanks :).</p>
<p>-Python</p>
<p>Read The American Pageant (up until reagan)… I think that’s about 40 chapters?
So if you start early, do a chapter a week? Either way, plan to finish LEARNING a month before the test.</p>
<p>Really understand what it all means, etc.</p>
<p>Mm. A month BEFORE the AP, I recommend buying the Baron’s flash cards (500), they’re THE BEST! Review them as you wish.</p>
<p>Also, I recommend using any review book PR, Baron’s, whatever, a month before the AP, to refresh your mind, etc.</p>
<p>so, to answer your question, don’t use too much crap at first, just use American Pageant… use more towards the end :P</p>
<p>Also, I recomend looking at CB’s website for previous essay/DBQ formats, etc. And examples of previous answers, whatever, so you’ll familiarize yourself with test format.</p>
<p>Ty ^^. Is it OK if I use old copies of the American Pageant and the AMSCO book (I think the former was published around 1993)? I’m not sure how much, if any, material I’ll be missing out on if I do so.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard that the exam contains some essays - when should I start practising for those? I’m not very good at writing essays.</p>
<p>The test rarely goes past the 60s (and MAY have one or two questions about stagflation in the 70s), so your books won’t really be too outdated.</p>
<p>Be sure to memorize Crash Course from REA a couple days before the test.</p>
<p>Although this year, there was a question about the Clinton administration so it never hurts if you have a little extra time to study beyond the 70s. </p>
<p>As for the essays, I’ll advise you to get started on that as soon as possible. I don’t know about the old version of the book but in the version I used (the newest one) there are practice DBQ questions in the back and prep books should have more FRQ/DBQ questions. And you can look over the past AP questions collegeboard released. Especially if you’re not good at timed writing, practice makes perfect. About 2 hours for 2 FRQs and 1 DBQ seems like a decent amount of time but once you see the question for the first time, you’ll start to panic and wonder what the heck to write. My advice is to do as many timed essays as possible and maybe try to contact a school near you to see if an US History teacher (preferably an APUSH teacher) could look over your essays? Good luck!</p>
<p>I didn’t self study but here’s my two cents.</p>
<p>[AP*</a> United States History - Key Terms, Outlines, Sample Tests](<a href=“http://www.mrburnett.net/APUSHistory/APUSHistory.htm]AP*”>AP* United States History - Key Terms, Outlines, Sample Tests)</p>
<p>I didn’t use this but some of my classmates did. I used the Kaplan study guide and I thought it was pretty good, but I’ve heard that the AMSCO book is better. Make sure that you do a practice essay at least every couple weeks, but hopefully once a week.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice :). I’ll start practising on the essays regularly as soon as I start going through The American Pageant.</p>
<p>I self-studied APUSH, and got a 5. </p>
<p>Seriously, it was tough. Avoid my mistakes: start reading amsco early!
Set a day-to-day schedule (i suggest google calendar) starting in March.</p>
<p>I must admit, I did ZERO DBQ before the exam. I wrote one essay on the civil war. But I knew what SHOULD be included. Read the essays posted on apcentral. Look at their structure, thesis construction, transitions. Also, use your google skills to find past AP exams. I found like…10. They were immensely helpful. I have some really good teacher websites that I used consistently. PM me if interested.</p>
<p>American Pageant is not necessary, as is with any other textbook. Get amsco, and get good teacher supplements from the web.</p>
<p>Anyone who self-studied, in all seriousness, knows that it was not Crash Course that helped him on the exam.</p>
<p>I used REA and the Free-Response questions on the AP Central website and looked up anything I didn’t understand on [Travel</a> and History](<a href=“http://www.u-s-history.com%5DTravel”>http://www.u-s-history.com). That site was my savior.</p>
<p>I didn’t self study, but from my experiences in reviewing for the test, I think that the sparknotes list of terms + Princeton Review book are two good resources. Of course, the American Pagent is a great book, but it’s sometimes hard to distinguish the important and trivial information contained in it.</p>
<p>there is no need to start preparing for it in september. What I did was make my own personal notes throughout the entire school year. I then use those notes for midterms/tests. Finally when crunch time comes (march-april), i already had a compilation of all the things i need to know, and pretty much condensed my 1,000+ page textbook into 30 pages. This saves you time and keep your performance up throughout the year. As far as review books go, they are good for practice tests and stuff. For all i know, you already have all the stuff needed. Don’t stress out about it so early, just study a little bit at a time that is consistent with your course curriculum. btw, i got a 5 :D</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>@vellelity
Can you tell me the link of your teacher supplements & past AP exams you found? Please & Thank You!</p>
<p>I read direct hits in a flash and took practice multiple choice tests. Not much else but I do have a love for US history</p>
<p>AMSCO and REA are super helpful.</p>
<p>Read the books. I would recommend AMSCO and REA Crash Course. Both can be found online. Don’t read crash course until there is under a month left for the AP exam and read it very thoroughly, it will help you answer 10 more questions on the AP exams. Take practice exams. There are released exams online(1984,1988,1996,2001,2002,2006, and 2008) and mymaxscore has one too. If you do this, you’ll get a 5 for sure</p>
<p>I read half of AMSCO and crammed REA Crash Course twice before the AP exam (because i was really more concentrated on my 6 other exams lol) and i got 5</p>
<p>But i was horribly stressed and that was a terrible idea…besides AMSCO was a really good review book and i learned a lot from it, so a nice, thorough read through will be extremely beneficial. Also take practice MC exams and learn how to write a DBQ, as those are essential to getting a good score</p>