Self Studying Ap?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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So apparently nobody at my school, or at least my grade anyways, has even heard about self studying. i told my friends I wanted to self study and they all thought I was crazy. I am a good student, I do all my work, and am in all honors classes and one AP this year. I’m a sophomore and I am currently taking AP European History. I’m honestly not doing great at it but I believe that is because I have never been great at history. I fail every test, but I make it up so my midyear average is an 81. My midterm was a practice AP and I got a 3 but barely.

I am planning on taking AP Language/Composition, AP Chemistry, and possibly AP US History next year. I want to take AP US Government and Politics, but I have no room in my schedule next year or my senior year to take it.

I will be taking honors government, so I will have some background knowledge. A lot of my friends are currently in this class this year, and they said they would also help me. One of my friends who is really smart said I could borrow her notes.

Overall, what should I do about self studying AP Government? How hard is it compared to AP Euro? How do you think I will do and what should I get to prepare? How should I plan on studying (hours per week, when to start)?

Any guidance is appreciated, thank you in advance :slight_smile:

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Why do you want to self-study? Are you hoping to get college credit?

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@sarahwellford99‌

I’ve never taken AP Euro, so I can’t really speak for the comparison, but AP Gov (to me) was not that difficult of a class. I found it fun. It is much easier than APUSH, that much I will say.

As for planning…that’s the difficult part. AP Gov requires lots of memorization, lots of info intake. I wouldn’t know how to organize the class, sorry.

If you’re good at memorization, you should be able to get through this class, no problem. It will help that you’re already taking a government class in the near future.

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Take some US Government practice tests (this page has tons of resources http://www.appracticeexams.com/ap-government) and see how you do. Also, if your school has AP gov., ask the teacher if he/she would be willing to proofread your FRQs as you get closer to test day. If you have a good background in gov. and politics, the test shouldn’t be that hard. It is not nearly as much memorization as Euro.