<p>So I've decided to do AP Environmental Science, which is NOT offered at our school, and I'm probably going to use Barron's and then maybe look through PR. (Still need advice on this). Since all the AP Sciences require you to do labs, how are you supposed to do this independently? I'm not using a textbook, just a review book, and I'm not taking a course... so what should I do? I might get a tutor, but are there any other options?</p>
<p>But then why does everyone consider it to be an easy self-study AP…</p>
<p>From oasis’ stickied thread on Self-studying APs to Improve your App:</p>
<p>"
“Easy” Self Study Exams
Now, there have been numerous threads on this topic. There are some extremely easy AP exams to self-study. I give them below and follow them with some pointers:
Environmental Science - This is a relatively straightforward exam that attaches nicely as an extension to the Ecology portion of Biology. Highly managable in a short time, Environmental Science is a combination of common sense that you already know (gleaned from mass media and general books) and just a few more ecology concepts. This is a good AP to self study right after taking or studying Biology."</p>
<p>My bad. I thought you wrote something else. I’ve never taken AP Envior but I know people that have and they’ve told me that it was a pretty straight forward class. But you should really take it as a course though to improve your class rank (higher class rank= higher chance of admission). Take AP psych or Stat as a course also. Self Study Bio b/c if you take the class as a course it’s going to be hell.</p>
<p>^^^^
That pretty effectively shows the answer to your question there.</p>
<p>People who are concerned about what APs are “easy self-studies” don’t care about the lab portion, they just want to get more 5s so they look better to colleges. I’m not even sure how you would go about doing the lab portion without actually taking a class in the subject.</p>
<p>I understand that people don’t care about actually learning the course… and rather more about the easy 5… But isn’t lab knowledge or analysis or something related on the exam? :
HAS ANYONE TAKEN AP ES AS A SELF-STUDY? Because for the past week I feel like all those self-studiers are off in a distant world, purposely ignoring my pleas and questions. and I’m doing AP Bio in 12th grade. I want to be a doctor and go into some medical related field, as well as major in science, so I don’t just want to memorize everything in AP Bio to get a 5.</p>
<p>For the test, the only lab-related skill you need is the ability to analyze data which is given to you. It’s not like the “hard sciences” (physics, chem, and bio), where you have to design a simple experiment during the test.</p>
<p>Oh… yay. Someone told me that I’d need to do the lab work, but I think she was assuming that it was hard core like the other AP sciences. Has anyone taken this? What books would you recommend for self-studying? And even if you took the course, which review book did you feel had everything you needed to know?</p>
<p>I’m self studying AP Environmental and I have heard that Smartypants and Barron’s together is a great combination for self studying because Smartypants covers the basics very well and Barron’s ties the concepts together in Smartypants and goes into more detail.</p>
<p>Okay. I’ll get Smartypants too I suppose.</p>
<p>I self studied it and got a 5 last year.
Only thing i used was PR. There’s really nothing about labs on the test. Just general knowledge of effects of things like pollution and global warming. etc.</p>
<p>On Barron’s, why did it say something like "questions about labs you were supposed to have done in class… ?</p>
<p>Barron’s does tend to overprepare you, sometimes unreasonably</p>
<p>It is better to be over prepared than to be underprepared.</p>