<p>My school is offering online self study ap courses for the first time this year. I'm interested in computer science but I'm wondering how hard it is and what the time commitment to get a 4/5 would be. I'm taking 5 other aps along with a very time consuming EC so I don't want to over stretch myself. Also Do you need any prior knowledge or pre reqs to do well in it? Thanks</p>
<p>CS A is much less comprehensive than CS AB (which is not even offered anymore) so it is certainly a self-study-able course. As for time committment, College Board recommends in the syllabus that students spend a few hours at home in addition to class time programming, but I did not do that and still did well, so it’s not necessary to spend inordinate amounts of time on it. I also took 5 AP in addition to CS A, and played a time-consuming sport as well. No prereqs, but knowledge of algebra is helpful because the logic is very similar.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend a company for online AP Computer Science class. My student needs to prepare and pass the AP Computer Science test in May 2014 and we need an online prep course because our high school does not offer AP Computer Science.</p>
<p>@everton17</p>
<p>I absolutely think it is doable. I scored a 5 on the APCS exam and honestly our teacher did not teach. He just told us to read. (Most of the class played video games in class)</p>
<p>I believe that for someone to succeed in APCS you need to have a special problem-solving mindset. It is similar to what you would need for math competitions such as AMC. If you have any experience programming you will see that programming has to do with solving a problem using the tools you have(code). The best programmer and the ones that get a 5 don’t just use their tools, they use them in a creative way to create the shortest most efficient solution. For my exam I just took two practice exams to prepare (It was my first AP test I didn’t know what to expect + irresponsible teacher). I know you can do it, with some hard work.</p>
<p>Although doing 5 APs will be hard already. I recommend doing it, since APCS is probably the most important skill you will learn from any AP.</p>
<p>@chemmatters
I have decided to make a youtube video series to teach AP Computer Science. Hopefully it it will be done by the end of summer. I will definitely post a link to the video series here. I will be basing it off the Barrons book and my experience with the exam. I hope your student will decide to take the exam. To prepare for the exam I recommend just getting the Barrons book. Then once you know the basics just start coding. I learned everything through doing real problems. Sooner or later you will find coding is fun 
hopefully.</p>
<p>Good luck to both of you. I hope you both decide to do the class.</p>