Self-Studying APs: Improving Your App

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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<p>I'm also using a free online school through my regular school to take a couple of courses, but I'm beginning to wonder whether it's worth the extra stress or if I can just take the tests without some of the courses...
(I have two years left, and I'm not sure how many I should take with my courseload pretty bad as it is for junior year...):</p>

<p>Biology (GLL or self-study or none; there is an adv. bio at school, but i don't feel like taking 2 science classes in school for 1 year)
Comparative Gov (self-study or none; i took AP US Gov this year)
Euro History (online or self-study or none; APUSH this year, APWH next year)
Human Geo (online or school or self-study or none)
Spanish (online: Lang. or self-study: either or none; which one to take; can i take the exam after 3/4 years of classes?)</p>

<p>What do you think? Priority help and/or advice for a newbie self-studyer? (I heard of this idea all of about 15 minutes ago when I was searching for AP stuff and stumbled across this site. Techncially, I could do one this year...</p>

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<p>I have an 8th grader that I am now home schooling. We are using a classical approach as described in the well trained mind. She does very well on tests (well, she's not ready in math yet).
Do you have any advice on study material for AP exams? I'm thinking of having her take 3 exams per year starting next year 9th grade.</p>

<p>Initially these are the following tests I see as possibles:
US history
world history
Euro his
bio
env science
human geography
psychology
art history
eng lan
eng lit
possibly Latin?</p>

<p>can someone post a link for suggested study guides?</p>

<p>Oasis, Thank you for all your helpful info!</p>

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<p>Art History--The Annotated Mona Lisa. Veryyy helpful. I know there's a new Barron's book on the market, but it doesn't seem up to snuff yet. Maybe next year?
Euro--Princeton Review.
Environmental Science--Kaplan. I know a lot of people on CC are averse to Kaplan, but the test really only covers BASICS...which Kaplan only covers, haha. However, I did skim PR too. The two together would be good.</p>

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<p>Hmmm, in the original post (5000 years ago), he states that taking APUSH at school is better.</p>

<p>But I'm sorry, I don't know about you, but for some reason, it feels like the history AP's take the most time to do on their assignments (i.e. NOTES and STUPID PROJECTS) and half the time the projects and notes don't help at all.</p>

<p>So I was wondering is it practical to just take APUSH via self study?</p>

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<p>^Probably doable. Just get AMSCO. Read the entire prep book, practice essays.</p>

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<p>lwilliams1992:</p>

<p>Hi! I go to a large public (very bad) high school in California. The AP classes are so bad that it's pretty much like a self-study course with a required AP Exam. Last year, I made a huge mistake & listened to my stupid counselor who told me that (I was a freshman last year) I could not handle 6 academic classes in 1 year. I took 1st year Latin & Biology. I really enjoyed Latin although it is not my inner city school's expertise. It definitely was not hard - we wasted a lot of time in class getting everything in order, not really learning a lot. In fact, we practiced a lot in class which could have been done at home. It's a different story for me because I'm Chinese and my parents have no experience with Latin. Latin is very interesting and self-studiable.</p>

<p>I was really unhappy at my school but my parents didn't want to send me to a private school. In 2nd semester, I decided to work harder in school. My school hardly taught anything useful, I got good grades, but I decided to self-study AP Biology because my Biology course was complete trash. The teacher was so bad. I read an AP textbook once (I didn't read the common Campbell one, I just read Biology: Life on Earth by Audesirk). It didn't take long - I didn't try to remember everything when I read it. It took like a month or so. Then I complemented it with prep books (don't overload like I did! Just get high-quality ones like Barron's and Cliff's. I recommend both. Kaplan and REA and the others aren't so good.) I studied at my own pace. I had about 5 months to study. I liked certain topics and thought others were too hard. But don't just skim the hard parts. They come up on the test. I thought plants were hard and spent more time on them. I read the prep books more carefully than the text. I didn't try to cram everything in. I tried to read a little every day. </p>

<p>When the day was coming up, I did lots of practice tests. They weren't very accurate, to tell the truth; the actual exam wasn't so bad. It's best to know the info than to cram it because the exam asks tricky questions that require analysis.</p>

<p>Sorry this is so long! But I'm just trying to help and I hope your daughter self-studies biology! It's fun! By the way, I got a 5 on the AP Exam and 800 on the SAT Subject Test Biology Ecology.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>PS: I read that book! I actually considered home schooling but my parents totally didn't allow it because they thought that they weren't apt enough. I guess they were right. I'm self-studying European History and World History right now! It's going well, I'm just reading a lot and writing a lot of essays. I will also self-study Psychology because I heard that it's very easy. I'm a little stressed with AP Chemistry right now, though. </p>

<p>PM if you need any more advice. I'd love to help!</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>And...Oasis, thank you so much again! I appreciate your genuine effort & time.</p>

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<p>Is it really worth self-studying APs? I know it gives you lots of college credits and saves you money in college, but I'm finding it really difficult. With the courseload I already have, I don't have time to make oodles of flashcards and memorize definitions for an additional 2 AP courses. Not to mention the extracurricular activities I have to fit into my schedule. </p>

<p>I really wish I could do it but I'm finding it kind of.. hard. Does anyone else find it hard? </p>

<p>I'm studying AP Psychology and AP Human Geography by the way, supposedly the 2 easiest APs out there.</p>

<p>Maybe I'm just plain dumb because everyone says it's a piece of cake to study these APs, yet they're stressing me out..</p>

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<p>@ Coldsunlight - </p>

<p>For the essays, you should use literary examples to support your point, so you don't have to read a lot, but you need to read some. Plus, more exposure to English usually results in better essays. :]</p>

<p>@ Kawa -</p>

<p>I'm not you so I can't tell what you would be able to handle and what you won't be able to handle. Gov, Euro, and Hum Geo aren't difficult exams, so you can consider them to be potential self-study options. Bio is not necessarily hard but there's quite a bit of memorization so you need to evaluate whether you're actually interested in doing the test. As for Spanish, debes ir a la tienda de libros y encontrar un prep book de AP Spanish. </p>

<p>@ ShinyHelloKitty -</p>

<p>You can do any history self-study. The only reason why I listed as APUSH as better in a class setting is that I realized that many people who self-study without having taken a history course fail at writing the essays because they don't know what the essay graders are looking for. If you have a decent or competent AP History class, usually they teach you how to write the essays in class and you get feedback. Also, I think APUSH has the hardest essays to write out of the three history exams, so if you learn how to write the APUSH essays it shouldn't be hard for you to adapt to the Euro and World essays. However, if you think that you can learn how to write good essays on your own, then of course it's self-study-able!</p>

<p>@ lwilliams -</p>

<p>APUSH - AMSCO, and there's plenty of resources online. It's the most widely taken AP exam.
Euro - REA
World - Barrons
Bio - Cliff Notes
Env Sci - There's a study guide out there called "Smarty Pants" (it's available on Amazon). If you memorize the study guide, I can almost guarantee that you'll get a 5.
Psych - PR
Eng Lit - There's not much you can do about this test I think in terms of prep book. It's really about getting the "feel" for answering literary analysis questions and writing analytical essays. I used 5 steps to a 5 for this one, but since I had an excellent AP Lit teacher I didn't really know how much the prep book mattered.
Eng Lang - Cliff Notes</p>

<p>@ Sqdwfe -</p>

<p>Self-studying is different for everyone. I realize that it might be a little misleading with the "easy" labeling in some of my posts, but it had been the prevailing mindset I've encountered on this forum. Psych and Hum Geo are both relatively lighter in preparation because both of them pretty much just involve memorization of definitions and the prep book (if you memorize the PR Psych book, you will get a 5). Of course, if you are already too busy from everything you're doing and don't have time to memorize the extra material, then that's understandable. </p>

<p>I didn't go to a super rigorous high school, so even though I was already doing the most rigorous courseload available I still regularly had ~2 hours a night when I can do whatever I wanted in terms of self-studying, and so that was how I fit in all the self-studying.</p>

<p>Again, my general advice is: if you're thinking of a top-calibre college (the CC kind of top-calibre), getting anything less than a 5 on the AP exam would not do you any good. Thus, if you don't think you're capable of doing this, you might as well concentrate on your current courseload and EC activities. However, if you just want credit in college, many colleges give credit for 3s and 4s, and as long as you put in effort I think you should be getting those without many problems.</p>

<p>ps. The curve is usually more lenient than you think. I was pleasantly surprised at some of my AP scores after they came back. =p</p>

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<p>Oh thank you so much Oasis!!!! Unfortunately, literally ALL of our Social Studies teachers in general are male, and like 98% of them are coaches who only teach social studies becuase its the easiest thing to teach, and they are lazy.</p>

<p>Therefore, I'm thinking of taking APUSH by myself starting in this month JAN 1ST 2009 WOOT!!!!! So yeah, thanks for your help!!!! </p>

<p>Btw, I'm in WHAP right now with a TERRIBAD teacher, I have Barrons, but I was wondering what other methods are helpful?</p>

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<p>So, I was just wondering if it is possible to self study for all of the AP exams required for the Siemens award from Now until may having absolutely no prior experience?</p>

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<p>@oasis</p>

<p>Hi, I am a freshmen this year.
I am thinking of taking AP myself and self studying them since my school follows the british schooling so they dont offer AP courses at all.</p>

<p>Would it seem realistic for me for take all this courses by myself, though I am getting a 3.8 out of a 4.0 GPA in a very competitive school? And score all 5 credits since I want to get in a college like Dartmouth?
Say:
Biology, Pyschology, Physics B, Micro Economics - Taken in the year when I am sophomore and I start studying now
Macro Economics, Chemistry(I am going for preparation courses outside school though for this subject), Calculus AB - Junior
Calculus BC - Senior (I need to take the A levels this year so I can't take more APs)</p>

<p>And if it is manageable, would just a study guide for all this subjects be enough? What study guides would be good? If I have to buy the textbooks too, which one would you recommend?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>oasis:</p>

<p>Would it be a good idea for me to self study US History if my school offers it? I'm a sophomore, but I would have to wait until senior year to take it at my school and I was planning to self study it next year. I was also thinking about taking an online course in US Gov which is also offered in my school. However, I heard the teacher isn't very good and US Gov has a really low percentage of people getting 5s.</p>

<p>What about Biology? I'm not particularly interested in it, but I want to go into science and I won't be able to take it if I take Physics, which is what I'm planning to do. </p>

<p>Would it be good to self study something I'm interested in but that I haven't taken any courses in? For instance, statistics and psychology aren't offered at my school and I don't have much prior knowledge but I'm interested in them (although not looking to pursue them as a career).</p>

<p>How hard is AP Lit? I don't think I'm very good at English/Literature so I was wondering if I should take it senior year. What kind of books do you have to read?</p>

<p>And finally, how do you know if your school administers a certain AP exam?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>anastawu: The top schools in the US give credit for A-levels and I would definitely say that you don't need to take AP Calc as even here in the US it's known that Singaporean A-Level Math is brutal.</p>

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<p>ansar:
I do know that they give credit for A level. But the thing is, I dont really have great extra school activities to make myself stand out amongst the elites who apply to Ivy league. So I am really dependent on my results and by taking aps, it does make my application seem more possible as compared to other international students who dont take as much aps? No?</p>

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<p>I was planning to taking an AP U.S. History course during the summer and then self-studying, and then taking another AP course in place of it in my senior year. Does it sound like a good idea? I've already taken the regular U.S. History course in my freshmen year. </p>

<p>Also I took a regular course for U.S. Government. If I study through prep books, will I have a chance at a 5, or do I actually need the AP course?</p>

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<p>I was planning to taking an AP U.S. History course during the summer and then self-studying, and then taking another AP course in place of it in my senior year. Does it sound like a good idea? I've already taken the regular U.S. History course in my freshmen year. </p>

<p>Also I took a regular course for U.S. Government. If I study through prep books, will I have a chance at a 5, or do I actually need the AP course?</p>

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<p>I'm currently a junior in the first IB Biology HL class at my school, and the class is taught by the same teacher who teaches AP Biology. The IB tests are mostly comprised of short-answer questions, as opposed to multiple choice. While I get good grades on the tests, I'm not sure if I can do well on the IB exam next year, which will most likely be full of short-answer questions. So, I'm considering taking the AP exam this year to make sure that if I do horrible on the IB exam next year, at least I'll be covered (assuming I do well on the AP Bio exam). Would you guys recommend doing this?</p>

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<p>I am a sophomore in the high school this year.
I am taking AP cal AB as a class, I am doing well on it. I plan to self study AP Bio this year since I am taking BioIH as a class this year, but I don't have a lot confidence in this.
Does anyone here think AP economy is easier than AP Bio?
I also want to self study AP computer science this year, is it hard?
thank you for answering these questions.</p>

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<p>Economics =/= Hard :)
Bio... eh... you have to know a lot. :/</p>

<p>Have no idea about Comp Sci.</p>