<p>I will be mad.</p>
<p>Did you self study?</p>
<p>Yes. 10char</p>
<p>I bet you $5 that you got a 5…I have heard you mention Environ Sci enough so I’m pretty sure that you cared about it enough to get a 5! </p>
<p>Hey puggly123 thanks for responding to my PM about Environ Sci, and I just had a question about it. How necessary did you feel the textbook was for Environ Sci? Would PR have sufficed? For example, did you feel that a textbook was necessary for APHuG?</p>
<p>Ya I’m pretty obsessed at this point lol…</p>
<p>About the textbook- the use of a textbook is not necessary for a 5, but it definitely made things easier come April and May when I turned solely to review books. I feel like the textbook made things much more clear, but also talks about a few things that you do not need to know for the exam. If you’re mainly looking for a high exam score rather than learn as much as you can about Environmental Science, review books will get you the 5. But if you have a liking for the subject and would like to learn as much as you can, you should probably get a textbook so that self-studying the exam was worthwhile.</p>
<p>And no, I did not feel that a textbook was necessary for APHug either. In fact, I didn’t even finish it.</p>
<p>^I feel the exact same way puggly.</p>
<p>I also self-studied, but I didn’t use a textbook. Honestly, a textbook is NOT necessary. I used barron’s as well as some powerpoints and other class materials that I found online.</p>
<p>I just have a question for you guys. Why did you all self-study?</p>
<p>I did AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Human Geography as self-studies last year plus APUSH as a class. Although I LOVE Econ and enjoyed learning the material for all subjects, but to be honest, the main reason I did it was for college admissions. I thought that it would show motivation and my ability to handle multiple AP tests because our school doesn’t offer very many.</p>
<p>But now people are telling me that self-studying isn’t that big of a deal and AdComs won’t really factor that into their decision. Is that true?</p>
<p>I think there are just bigger factors in the admissions process than AP. That might have something to do with it.</p>
<p>That’s the main reason I self-studied, but I emailed a school (BYU, actually) and asked them if a high score on an ap test without a class will raise admission chances, and they said it will not. :-(</p>
<p>^That is because BYU, like a lot of other schools, does not take AP scores into consideration for admissions. They only take into consideration the AP classes you took for course rigor. I sent them my scores only because I was fairly confident I would be admitted. They are so generous with granting credit though, so once you’re in you can get a lot of credits for GE :)</p>
<p>What about the Ivies?</p>
<p>Ya and BYU has a high enough acceptance rate that getting in shouldn’t be too hard for most anyways. Who knows with the Ivies though, which are schools I was really hoping self studying AP’s would help me get into.</p>
<p>^ Same. 10char.</p>
<p>I think self-studying APs shows initiative but it’s not going to be a big deal at an Ivy school.</p>
<p>QUote from BuddyMcAwesome (got into Princeton) when I asked what degree s-s would make a difference:</p>
<p>“i never self-studied any APs, and the only kid at my school to do so didn’t get in Princeton… so I have no idea how much, if any effect it has…”</p>
<p>But I mean self-studying SHOULD make a difference. The motivation to do that should mean something, and we are obviously more qualified candidates because of s-s. Will adcoms take that into account??</p>
<p>@ An0maly…so did you self-study any? Do you feel that it is worth it?</p>
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<p>adcoms do take self-study into account, but AP scores in general are used for placement moreso than admission. As a result, they are given less weight than SAT1/2 scores, and self-studied AP’s are given even less importance. The most important document is your high school transcript, and they want to see that you performed at a high level for 4 years rather than cramming a book for 2 months.</p>
<p>I didn’t self study any but I taught myself a lot for my APs because my school has a low pass rate. I had the classes on my transcript, however, so it’s not a “true” self-study.</p>
<p>How about schools that don’t even offer APs?</p>
<p>^^I also had a couple of AP classes on my transcript which had a low pass rate at my school. I believe it had to do partly with the teacher and partly with the students. In that case it doesn’t count as actually self-studying. An0maly is right; the high school transcript is the most important document. Without good grades, you can’t get in anywhere good.</p>
<p>I’ll be revisiting this thread come early July.</p>