Next year as a sophomore I am only enrolling in one AP class, European History. This unfortunately is the only AP class my school offers for sophomores. I decided that I want to get 5 AP tests done by junior year and I prefer to do 3 junior (English, Calc, US History) rather than 4. I just ordered the Barron’s prep book which I plan on reading over the summer. Do I need any other books? What should I do to prepare from now til next may? Is it worth it to self-study for the exam? History tends to by my best subject.</p>
<p>Or if you recommend a different AP course, let me know. It’s not difficult to simply switch the book on Amazon!</p>
<p>AP World is not a class to self-study for. It is not worth it to look at it at all by yourself, as alot of the concepts are really hard to understand, in addition to the vast amount of knowledge needed to do well on the course. </p>
<p>If I were you, I’d study something like AP Psychology or AP Human Geography, something that could be easily studied for, or even crammed in at the last moment.</p>
<p>^I disagree…I found World to be pretty easy to self study, at least for the old version of the exam. I was fuzzy on stuff before 1500, but I knew general trends, and that was usually enough to guess right on MC and BS the FRQs.</p>
<p>World is an easy self study. You should do it.</p>
<p>2:1…keep the input coming!</p>
<p>Also for those of you who say yes, what do you recommend I do to study?</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>Actually sef studying for the ap exams are easy yes it is alot of information but starting will help you, thats what I did and i got a 4 on my first ap exam. There are also pratice notecards you can buy for the ap world. They are very helpful.</p>
<p>I don’t understand. Why do you feel the need to buy a Barrons book and consider that a self-study of a course? Those books are designed strictly for the exam. What’s the point in taking an AP exam if you really haven’t learned anything about history? I’m just really disappointed that our education system has come down to how many AP classes are offered when the quality of learning is what should really matter. How about you just take classes that you’re genuinely interested in, and don’t focus on how many APs you can take in highschool.</p>
<p>Astults13,</p>
<p>I feel obligated to respond to your criticism of my decision. First off, I do have a genuine interest in history (considering getting a minor in it in college). I entered into the AP European History class because I do actually like it. Studying world history would extend my knowledge and it would go along well with European (I think). I’m not interested in taking that many AP tests, for those are the only two I’m taking next year. I posted on here to ask how to study for it and if I should bother taking the test. That’s all, no need to harp on why our education system is obsolete.</p>
<p>World History may complete a World Civilizations GE 
To study for the AP exam, all you have to do is cram the concepts in. Know all the key facts about each civilization as you past through the time periods, this is essential for the Compare and Contrast essay ~ what helps about a review book is that it gives you ideas on the similarities and differences that you may reference to later. For the change and continuity essay, it is good to know a gist of each time period–it’s like compare and contrast but with time periods (sorry I can’t think of the better explanation right now).</p>
<p>I highly recommend looking at the 8 point sample response essays on the College Board website and to use the same general format for your thesis and bodies. Look at the grading rubric and make sure you do everything on there even if you have to put something down that you think you studied but are not completely sure about accuracy. The DBQ often can be done well just off of the documents if you know how to use them.</p>
<p>Are you taking AP Euro as your only history course next year or are you taking a generic “World History” course post 1500 as many High Schools require for Sophmores? If you are, AP World will be easy to self-study. If not, I would recommend not only buying a review book but buying/borrowing a text book to really immerse yourself in the non-European aspects of the course (especially Latin America and Africa, that stuff is difficult to get down - I got a 5, but only with the Course)</p>
<p>I’m taking AP european history this year and I’m planning on self-studying a few AP’s including world history. Do people ever score 4’s or 5’s from just reading prep books alone?
What version of prep book do you recommend as the most detailed and containing the most information on the test? I’ve been looking at getting barrons</p>
<p>I think you could do it with AP Achiever, 5 Steps to a 5, and Crash Course.</p>