Hi, I was taking a look at the AP Courses that College Board offers and I saw AP Human Geography. Sadly, my school doesn’t offer that particular course.
So, I was wondering if you all think it would be easy to self study that course for the AP exam? I heard that the exam was relatively easy and the class isn’t to hard either. Therefore I thought that to self study wouldn’t be to bad.
Let’s say I would take the exam in May 2018, when should I start studying? Would I start self teaching myself in the beginning of the school year, or could I even wait until December or January?
In addition, what supplied should I get? Should I try to find a specific textbook in the city library and then buy a review book like Pearson review off of Amazon?
I tried looking for some textbooks already but I don’t know which one to choose.
ps: I am going to take it in May 2018 so I still have a lot of time to decide, just wanted to know if this is a good idea before I commit.
Well, it is mainly for taking the AP test, but also because it seems like a interesting topic. It seems nice to learn about migration trends, cultures, etc.
If you are taking for the test, it isn’t really worth it. The majority of colleges won’t accept the AP credit, and competitive colleges generally dislike when students self-study courses to add another 4 or 5 to their resume (not that I’m saying you’re doing that, but unless that is your intended college major or something, it will look like it).
As for the intrinsic value of learning, you would probably get more out of picking specific subjects within that field you like and reading some independent books on them. If you are really interested by how Spain has affected Latin American cultures, for instance, look up some books on the Spanish Empire on Google and check those out from your local library. It will be more enjoyable than trying to study from a Barron’s book because it won’t feel like work.
I am glad that you want to be challenged academically, but I don’t think this is the way to go. I wish you good luck next year, though!
If you do decide to self-study the course, you will have to decide how in depth you will go. If you are prepping solely for the exam alone, start in January and pick a prep book (I’m partial to the Princeton Review). If you want to go in depth from what I see the most commonly used textbook is “The Cultural Landscape.” You might also try checking out AP Human Geography teachers’ websites. If you are going in depth, try starting sometime within the first marking period of your school year. Best of luck to you!
I personally found the course incredibly easy (I received an A+) and received a 5 on the exam. If you want to self-study an AP, this is one of the few I would say it is feasible to do so. I utilized the Princeton Review and Crash Course materials to prep.
Best of luck to you!