<p>I go to a school where I have yet to meet a person who has took a class over the summer to get ahead, besides health of course. I was just wondering the benefits and how I should go about doing it if it really is worth it. I don't really know anything about self studying other than a friend of mine from TJ said it was really useful, so if anyone knows anything about it, or has done it in the past, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton!</p>
<p>BTW, I am a freshman from a top-60 public-school in the country, so I have no idea why I have never heard of anyone doing it lol.</p>
<p>Do you mean like testing out of a class?</p>
<p>not really, I mean like literally taking the class on your own over the summer so you are 1 ahead the next year. For example, skipping precal to go from AlgebraII to calculus over 1 year, or skipping calcAB to go from precal to BC.</p>
<p>What are your school’s policies on this?
How do they make sure you’ve mastered the material before they allow you to go to the next level? Would you get credit for the class you studied?</p>
<p>When I skipped classes I studied them on my own and took the final as a way of getting credit and demonstrating my knowledge.</p>
<p>You may also be able to take free online or in person summer school through your district - kids at my school do this frequently to get ahead (and also to take classes that will count towards the tiered diploma system - strictly self-study classes don’t, and classes with AP exams don’t get you any closure until next spring. You can take the CLEP or the SAT subject test to place or odd certain classes in college, though, but it doesn’t really help in the admissions process, if that is what you are going for.)</p>
<p>Honestly, self-studying for the sake of officially getting ahead depends on the individual school. For example, I self-studied math up to Cal I and was ready to prove it, but my school refused to allow me to skip classes like Alg. I, II, and trig even after I offered to take an exam and prove it to them.</p>
<p>First make sure that your school will allow you to test out of a class, and then self-study for it. If you’re planning to self-study for an AP class, the best bet would be to buy a book or two (Barrons, Kaplan, etc.) and read up on those. Understand the concepts, work the problems, and do the material until you’re satisfied.</p>