<p>How hard would it be to do an independent study on AP Economics and then do well on the tests? I was considering doing something like that this year instead of my state required regular economics course. I am a smart and capable student. Perfect GPA. I was wondering this task is possible with little to no economics background. Our regular economics courses are dull, boring, and a waste of my time, to be fair - simply because one hardly learns anything. I'd rather spend a year learning something and getting real credit.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about not having an economics backround. I took the courses without knowing a single thing about economics and still got 5s on both macro and micro. Now, the course is still very easy and is mostly concept-based. You could probably learn the course from a review book, but because you’re going to have a year, you might as well pick up a textbook. Trust me, it’ll be much easier to actually comprehend what you’re learning (especially for macro) with a textbook. We used Economics by Krugman and Wells. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Economics is not hard. I would just do the independent study. Wording in economics though can get very confusing and hard to follow, so I wouldn’t use a textbook. Textbooks usually go on and on with ridiculously complicated descriptions. Use a prep book (like Princeton Review or 5 steps I think is good, Kaplan also gives a good comprehensive review). I tried to look in my textbook and read it, but even my AP teacher said not to bother reading it since it was ridiculous. My teacher was absolutely amazing, so that may be what got me a 5 on the test (Macro). Good Luck!</p>
<p>I’m self-studying both macro and micro too, and I’ve found (like Salve pointed out) that the prep books are infinitely more relevant to the exam than most textbooks. PR and 5 Steps are the best, according to most.</p>
<p>I disagree with Salve! in that a freshman economics textbook is not hard to understand. If you have the motivation and intelligence to self-study, you’ll have no problem understanding a textbook.</p>
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<p>Are you insinuating something? Just wondering. Anyway, as my teacher put it “Economists have their own language”. They like to make up words and such. It’s definitely possible to understand out of a textbook (as that is what they are there for), but I PERSONALLY don’t recommend it, but it might work better for you. Be warned though, textbooks usually go into a lot of information that is not even relevant to the exam (as AeroEngineer said). What is covered on the Econ exams is not very “in-depth”, so a textbook is really not necessary. I have both motivation and intelligence, but I did not find the textbook as an easy read.</p>
<p>I’m not insinuating anything. Which textbook did you use? I found that the Economics textbook by Krugman and Wells explained the concepts much more clearly than both Princeton Review and the lessons on my online course. I was actually able to grasp why certain things happened because the textbook had the room to elaborate.</p>
<p>The original poster said that he has a year to learn something. Both economics courses, even when put together, are extremely short in duration. The original poster has the time to use a textbook. Of course, by using a review book as a guide, he’ll know what is and what isn’t necessary to learn.</p>
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<p>True… very true.</p>
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<p>Ok, just curious. Anyway, we used Economics - Principles, Problems, and Policies by Brue and McConnell. It was ridiculous in its wording. I guess it depends on the textbook, but mine was not very good.</p>