Is self-studying 4 APs insane? Which ones are more realistic?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>I'm a senior and I consider to take the following exams this May:
AP European History
AP English Language
AP Comparative Government
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP Psychology</p>

<p>I'm taking AP Statistics this year, but all others are self-studies. Can tell me which four of these tests are more realistic to self study?</p>

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<p>Didn't want this to be a TL;DR, but these are the details as to why I need to take four of these subjects this year:</p>

<p>I know my list of APs seems delusive and I'll probably drop a few subjects. The thing is, I'm applying for British universities who REQUIRE AP tests for admission. They allow students to take them at the end of senior year, in which case they'll send a conditional offer. It would be a disaster if I take 7 tests this year, only to end up with all 3s and 4s, because that means I fail to fulfil the conditions of my offer and will be rejected in the end.</p>

<p>I need to get at least 5,5,5,4 on four APs this year for my top choice, and 5,5 for others.</p>

2

<p>Self-studying four AP’s and still doing well is difficult, but not impossible. Just be prepared for a lot of work!</p>

<p>AP European;
My recommendation, for as much as I love this class, is not to self-study it. There is a lot of material to cover, and though there are units that appear more often, nearly anything could show up on the exam.</p>

<p>AP Language;
If you’re good at writing, take it, since the class is more about the process and theory of composing an argument than it is about learning new material. Make sure to study all of the different tips and tricks!</p>

<p>AP Comp. Gov.;
I have no experience with this class, so I apologize, but I’ll leave it for somebody else.</p>

<p>AP Econ.;
Both classes are fairly easy to self-study, and are among the most common for those purposes. As long as you’re comfortable, definitely take them.</p>

<p>AP Psychology;
It’s not as easy as everybody makes it out to be, but with a good textbook and a few prep books, it should be perfectly fine. I scored a 5 on it with relatively little studying.</p>

<p>So, overall, I recommend -

  • AP Psychology
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Language / Comparative Gov. depending on what others say about it.</p>
3

<p>I’d recommend AP Psych, AP Comp Gov, and the Econs. Geography and Environmental Science are also pretty easy.</p>

4

<p>I would most definitely recommend self-studying AP Psychology! I self-studied it and was able to get a 5 - it is definitely one of the easier exams and one of the easier APs to self-study. If you have taken Biology and/or Sociology/Psychology type courses, it will be a breeze! </p>

<p>I also self-studied AP Macro and Micro and those were more challenging than Psych but still do-able! Again, if you have taken Calculus, it will be a lot easier! </p>

<p>AP Lang is another do-able one (I’m self-studying it this year!) if you have had very sound English courses throughout HS. If you have taken SAT II Literature, it will be a lot easier to study! :slight_smile: (Although I’ve heard that AP Lit is easier - not sure if you’ve already taken this…or perhaps AP Lang is more similar to your HS English courses?)</p>

<p>And the split between European History and Comparative Government is:

  • If you’re very good at memorizing dates, events, etc. (just basically good at history in general) and have already taken some World/European History, take EH!
  • If you’re an avid global news follower, have previously taken government/civics courses in the past, and are interested in politics, international relations, geography, etc., then take CG!</p>

<p>If you’re open to suggestions, my school does not offer AP courses but around 50 kids a year self-study the exams so I’m aware of which ones are “easier” to self-study. My suggestions (that you have not listed) would be: Human Geography, Environmental Science, Literature, US Government (instead of Comparative Government…assuming that you live in the USA), and Statistics if you’ve very strong at mathematics.</p>

<p>Good luck! It’s not impossible at all! There are several students each year who take 4 or 5 self-studied AP exams and get excellent scores! You can do it! :)</p>

5

<p>AP Psych for sure! and AP English. Make sure you do those two.
AP Psych was pretty easy for me, I got a 5 and most of my friends did too. You just need a good textbook or study guide, Myers Psychology for AP was a great one.
AP English-well you already know.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>