Self studying AP? My experience

[omgponies]

<p>This may I took 6 AP tests of which 3 were self studied: Environmental Science, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics.</p>

<p>Much like many of you, I spent a lot of time reading the forums of which are easiest to self study and which books to use.</p>

<p>So heres my story:</p>

<p>AP ES: I used both Barrons and Smartypants. Started studying end of March.</p>

<p>Let me tell you-- this is a seriously easy test. If you study, you will get a five. If you know Smartypants front and back in detail, you will get a five. People say Smartypants doesn't cover everything, and that is true but you, combined with common sense, will know at least 90% of the questions on both MC and FRQ because ES is so much based on just simple logic. </p>

<p>BARRONS IS TERRIBLE AND AWFUL. IT IS WAAAY TOO DIFFICULT AND POLLUTES YOUR MIND WITH INFORMATION. It may be useful for skimming. The practice tests in Barrons are waaay too difficult too. For ES, unlike say physics, too difficult is a bad thing because you get so much information in your head that you start messing up other details.</p>

<p>Anyways just get Smartypants and study that hard and if you are interested skim through Barrons and you will get a 5</p>

<p>AP Economics: I used Princeton and Baumol's textbooks. Start studying around January. Didn't really focus on it until early April</p>

<p>Princeton is super condensed and short. If you don't read it twice you'll miss some details and if you have no background in econ you'll probably have difficulty learning only from Princeton. Econ itself is actually quite simple. Some people have a disposition towards it and others dont, but if you do reading a econ textbooks will make tremendous amounts of common sense and in the end the AP tests will be super easy. Each econ has a lot less material than most AP's so it is good for self studying. The Princeton practice tests are pretty realistic. You'll think they're too easy but really thats how difficult the test questions are. </p>

<p>AP Psychology: I ended up not taking this but I started studying for it in Barrons. I stopped because I realized Psych is just a lot of memorization, something that I suck at. The book was pretty thin and the test is only two hours. If you're one who is good at remembering what you've read then take AP Psych, it'll be easy for you.</p>

<p>Good luck. Remember: AP ES is, by far, the easiest AP I've taken out of my 8. I actually fell asleep during the test administration, twice.</p>

[llpitch]

<p>I'll post my experiences also. I took 6 ap tests, 2 self studied (Psychology and Comparative Government). Like the OP, I read about others self studying subjects so I decided to as well. I wanted to do 3 self study (Human Geo also), but my counselor couldn't proctor me because an assembly was on that day. I was a Junior this year.</p>

<p>Psychology:</p>

<p>I only used Barrons and I didn't start studying until literally 5 days before the test. I went through the book once highlighting and then the night before I reread my highlighting and took a practice test. Yes, this test is a LOT of memorization, but I'm solid at memorization so this exam was a breeze. Unfortunately because I procrastinated so much, I didn't really get to "experience" Psych. I just memorized a LOT of info for the exam and that was that. If you want to actually enjoy your learning experience, I'd recommend to start studying at least a month in advance.</p>

<p>As for the actual exam, the MCQ was about medium, some questions got me thinking and others were really obvious. I finished this section in about 50 minutes. I left a couple blank my first time through and then went back and answered all the questions. The FRQ was RIDICULOUSLY easy. I finished the FRQ in about 30 minutes and then just left (since I was the only one taking the exam). Overall I felt I got a 5 easily.</p>

<p>Comparative Government:</p>

<p>For this test I only used Ethel Woods study guide and started studying about 2-3 weeks before the test. I read about halfway through and then started highlighting. After I finished going through it my first time, I reread it a second time and highlighted everything I didn't the first time. I took a practice test after my first go through and then again the night before after rereading it a third time. This test was a lot more interesting/easy for me because I really love history/government. </p>

<p>As for the test, the MCQ was easier than Psych, but there were still a couple questions I was 50/50 on. The FRQ was pretty easy, although the one question on legality in China was kinda ehhh =/ I'm certain I got a 5 on this exam as well. </p>

<p>Conclusion:</p>

<p>Comp Gov ended up being a LOT easier for me, probably because of my general interest in the subject. Although I was interested in Psych, comp gov was just aligned more with my interests and was therefore easier to understand/study. If you're interested in self studying, I'd recommend taking whats interesting to YOU, not what other people think is easy. If you like Chemistry, self study AP Chem. Sure, its probably going to be harder than other exams like Psych, but since you're interested in the subject you won't hate studying for the exam and things will come easier to you. I honestly believe that any test can be self studied, as long as you don't hate the subject. Next year, in addition to the 4 APs I'm taking in school, I'll be self studying Chem in an independent study period. </p>

<p>Good luck guys, don't be afraid to aim high =D</p>

[umar99]

<p>This may I took 8 AP tests of which 3 were self-studied: Art History, World History and Spanish Literature</p>

<ol>
<li><p>World History
I got the traditions and encounters book and started reading it throughout the schoolyear but i only got to ch. 10; then after much procrastination i read the Princeton Review book the night before the AP exam. I believe that I managed to do this because of the similarity of this exam with AP European History exam. I think I got a 4-5 but this is all because of my experience with AP European History last year.</p></li>
<li><p>AP Art History
I purchased the Gardner's Art Through The Ages and throughout the year I ended up reading much of the book up till the art of the 1950s (Abstract Expressionism) and I also didn't read any non-European art (which was about 25% of the book). Like 5 days before the exam I purchased Barron's and REA's review book, and REA's book was much better. Barron's book had extremely hard questions, however Barron's also had a review of non-western art whereas REA did not. The actual AP Art History exam was not very hard, even though there were 115 m/c questions. I feel I got a 4-5.</p></li>
<li><p>Spanish Literature
I actually had a class period for this one but I was the only student and it was mostly independent reading for me with my supervisor sometimes explaining some words to me and printing out former FRQ's. I basically lived off of the english translations of each work. However the actual AP exam turned out to be easier than I thought, especially the m/c. Overall i feel that i got a 4.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Conclusion:
Definately self-study AP World History if you have taken AP European History, or vice-versa, they correspond well. AP Art History is also not too bad to self-study. However, I recommend not doing the same with AP Spanish Literature unless you are hispanic because of many of the stories were hard to understand for me.</p>

<p>I plan on independently studying AP Computer Science AB and AP Physics C next year as a senior.</p>