<p>^The only reason you should self-study APs senior year is to get credit for college classes.</p>
<p>I’m self studying AP’s because I have nothing else to do with myself.</p>
<p>Thanks oasis for starting this thread! I am going to be a rising junior this year and after reading this thread I really want to start self studying for ap psych, ap env sci, and maybe human geo… I am far from diligent and my SATs are so-so ( about a 2000) my gpa is okay and my grades are pretty good. I do ECs and sports but I am not “unique” and I have nothing that I could put on my college app that will make me stand out. This is why I’m thinking of taking as many Ap tests that I can handle…I do have many questions though:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My school is pretty huge(3500 ppl ish) and we offer all AP classes except Hum Geo and Comp Sci and some Lang tests. So is it even worth it to self study when my school offers those classes? Will colleges think that I’m just being lazy? The thing is I have such a full schedule that I don’t have room for all the AP classes that I want to take so that’s why I’m considering to self study.</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is Ap Span lang? I am going to be in my last year of spanish(ap spa 4) and all my teachers have been horrible and I feel like I’m not that great at spanish. How well do you have to know spanish to get at least a 3/4 on the test? I took ap chinese and got a 5 only cuz im a native speaker. Will colleges not like that since I’m chinese? Plus will colleges think that I’m a quitter if I not take ap spanish although I have taken up to spanish 4?</p></li>
<li><p>Which APs should I self study? I am debating between psych, env sci, and human geo…I absolutely suck at history, i like science/math. I took Ap bio in may and got a 5. it seems like everyone here thinks that HG is easy but some of my friends who took a year long course only got a 4! Also, out of these 3, which one is “more important” as in which one will be more accepted for college?</p></li>
<li><p>Also any recommendations for being a perfect candidate for prestigious colleges? My sats kinda suck even though I spent two summers taking prep classes with PR and Ivy insiders and haven’t improved by much so I kinda lost hope on impressing colleges with the SATs. My gpa is pretty good and I do a lot of ECs/volunteering but it seems that I have no special talent such as music or sports. Also, all my friends also volunteer at the hospital so I feel not so “unique” What should I do to stand out? Those of you in prestigious colleges…how did you get into your dream college?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry this was a pretty lengthy post but I am seriously so regretful of my frosh year and somewhat my soph year. I really wish I saw this post as a Frosh and started doing this earlier so I wouldnt feel so stressed for junior year. I am taking:</p>
<p>AP chem
APUSH
AP Eng Lang
Ap calc bc</p>
<p>and maybe self studying psych and env sci or HG</p>
<p>Thank you to all who take the time to read this and please reply back!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The only reason I self-studied AP’s is because my school doesn’t offer many. In your case where your school has so many AP’s, you really have no need to self-study. Just fill your schedule with as many AP’s as you can handle. If you really want to get into a good school, my philosophy is that the fun classes can wait until college. </p></li>
<li><p>Depending on who you are, AP Spanish Lang can range from hard to very hard. Lol. I think you should take the class and study a ton to get a 3 or 4. It’s definitely possible but may take a LOT of work. </p></li>
<li><p>I self studied Environmental Science and Human Geography this past year as a sophomore, and had a great experience. I ended up getting 5’s on each. I hear Psych is a pretty easy self-study as well, so you should just self-study the AP subjects you find most interesting. It’s a lot easier that way! FWIW, I found Environmental Science most interesting. </p></li>
<li><p>How to stand out… Well, just find something you really like and I guess do stuff to make yourself stand out in that area. I really need to do this as well. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>^Puggly I’m still waiting on my APHG score. Should be arriving Monday.</p>
<p>^You self-studied, right? How do you think you did?</p>
<p>so… can someone tell me if this is possible</p>
<p>here are APs i have up to date/planning (C/O 2012)</p>
<p>SOPH
APWH</p>
<p>JUNIOR
APUSH
APHUG
APLANG
APES (unsure cuz the good teacher left)</p>
<p>*indep study AP PSYCH</p>
<p>SENIOR</p>
<p>MACRO/GOV
AP CALC AB
LIT
AP EURO
AP ART HIST
CHEM</p>
<p>is it possible to fit these in too?? HOW??!! </p>
<p>ap stat, ap spanish, ap bio …</p>
<p>Thx puggly123! Is HG basically a lot of memorization? History is not my forte so should I even take HG? Also, since I did pretty well on ap bio should i take ap env sci? </p>
<p>And which test prep book is best for Ap eng lang?</p>
<p>No, there is not much memorization in Human Geography. In fact, Human Geography probably has the least memorization out of all the AP’s besides English Lang. And yes, since you did well in Bio I think you should definitely do Environmental Science. Many of the concepts in Bio are in Enviro as well, which should make self-studying much easier.</p>
<p>@Puggly No I had the class. Haha, but there were only like 12 people out of hundreds that took the class that signed up for the test. 90% I made between a 4 and 5. The multiple choice portion was slightly difficult for me.</p>
<p>UPDATE: Puggly I got a 5!</p>
<p>Good job! I felt the same way you did after i took it- thinking that the multiple choice was difficult and might’ve dragged my score down. Glad to see it didn’t for either of us!</p>
<p>Thank heavens for MC not dragging us down.</p>
<p>If I got one 3, and the rest of my AP scores are 4s or 5s. (I have 12 APs) Do i qualify for National Merit award thing senior year?
if i don’t, can i somehow erase that 3 score?</p>
<p>IF i want to study APHG independently, which book(s) should i invest in?</p>
<p>ahh, self studied lit and got a 4…
my perfectionist streak is going to make me all twitchy for the rest of the day. class aps were 5s though. hhhh…</p>
<p>@oasis: Sorry if you’ve answered this question before, but how many Subject Tests did you take to go along with those 14 AP exams? And can you self-study for Subject Tests as well?</p>
<p>^Soph10 Princeton Review</p>
<p>Do you guys have any advice for self studying ap comparative government and politics?</p>
<p>I really wanted to do something with computers and technology in college so I wanted to self study computer science. Any tips for what books to use and if its self study friendly? D:</p>