<p>If you’re going to self-study for APs with the main intent being to show colleges your drive for academics…would they look down on you studying JUST the “easy” ones (Environ. Science, Psych, etc.)? Should I self-study some of the harder APs (Physics, Chem, etc.) as well?</p>
<p>What’s a DBQ?</p>
<p>@crunchyfrog
No, I don’t think they’d look down on it since the “easy” ones could also be an area of interest for an individual, but if you’re worried about it and want to go for a harder test then go ahead.</p>
<p>@lindazhaang
Yes, do go ahead and mention it if you do it, there is space in the Common App for that somewhere, and it really wouldn’t hurt. At the very least, you’d get college creds even if doesn’t boost the app so I recommend doing the tests, that’s what I’m doing as a senior even though I don’t believe it would boost my app much if at all.</p>
<p>Edit: Oops, didn’t look at dates or think about this reply haha, oh well.</p>
<p>Since State Scholars do 20+ AP tests, I wonder if you’re allowed to take the same test twice and have it count as 2 tests</p>
<p>Does self-studing / taking a course make a difference to the application process? </p>
<p>Eg. Will the colleges think ‘better’ of a student that self-studied?</p>
<p>^
Probably. It shows that the student is self-motivated(in theory). American universities will like it if you self study 9 AP tests, but other universities might not</p>
<p>My school offers the following AP courses:
Chemistry
Calc AB/BC
APUSH
Eng Lang
Bio
Physics B
Macro
Stats
APES
French Lang
Eng Lit
Music Theory
Spanish Lang</p>
<p>I plan to take all of these except AB, Music Theory, and Spanish. Would it be that impressive to HYMPS etc. if I self studied 5 other courses in Junior Year(Both Physics C’s, Both other Histories, Human geo) and 4 others in Senior Year(Both Gov’ts, Psych, Micro)? I am genuinely interested in all of these courses(I like anything Math, Science, History, and Civics). Is this impressive with a school that offers 14 AP’s?</p>
<p>^ self-studying Physics C: I hope you’re a physics genius. Good luck.
Histories should be fine. Human geo seems like a lot of memorization. Psych is doable.</p>
<p>^
Yeah. I know the difficulty. I was asking if it will impress the adcoms, since my school offers a lot of APs anyway</p>
<p>@ garfield, just putting it out there, i knew a senior who took 20 aps (all 5s) and was rejected by all the top colleges and went to so-so college. He said it was totally not worth his time :</p>
<p>^
Did he have good grades/SAT/ECs/Recs/Essays?</p>
<p>I’m not sacrificing other things to study for them besides about 2-3 hours of internet browsing every day.</p>
<p>Okay so I’ve made up my mind to self-study AP. Graduating student this year but will send update to colleges which will hopefully be a mini-boost.</p>
<p>Any suggestions as to which ones I should study for? I fast-tracked Bio12 and Chem12 in my school, so I’ve completed them already. Should I do AP Bio and Chem or is that too heavy a load? I have a pretty challenging courseload next sem.</p>
<p>Suggestions, please?</p>
<p>Im planning to take the AP biology and environmental science tests. I haven’t taken AP enviro yet. Will a strong background in biology be enough?</p>
<p>This thread has answered so many of my questions! Thanks oasis!</p>
<p>I haven’t read through all of the thread, so I do have a few other questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it possible to take foreign languages as AP if you take the elementary courses as dual enrollment?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it also possible to take dual enrollment classes without taking the dual enrollment exam, and then taking the AP exam in order to get both high school credit and college credit?</p></li>
<li><p>I am a freshman and am planning my Sophomore year registration is due next week and I am wondering whether I should self study some of the APs. Here are the APs I am thinking of taking next year:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>-AP World History
-AP Biology
-AP Statistics or AP Calculus AB</p>
<p>The thing is that I am still in Algebra 2 and I plan to take Pre-Calculus over the summer, but I was wait-listed for AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics. Do you think I should self-study one of the two or both and take the AP exams next year?</p>
<p>Also, the AP Bio teacher at my school spends a lot of her time talking about politics and I heard that some of the students have to learn the material on there own. Should I also attempt to self-study this and not take AP biology as a class next year?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I am also thinking of self-studying AP Psychology this year and take the exam this May. Do you think this is possible if I am taking AP Human Geography as a class right now? Also, what materials do I need to self study AP Psych?</p></li>
<li><p>I know self-studying APs may look better for those who go to schools with little or no AP classes. My school has 22 i think. But they are mostly math, science, and history based. I am very interested in learning French and German but my school only offers AP Spanish Lang and Lit. Should I take elementary level dual enrollment classes in French and German and then self-study AP French and AP German?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks very much in advance.</p>
<p>RenegadeJ, a strong background in biology is more than enough for AP Environmental Science. It’s one of the easiest AP exams ever. Even those who haven’t taken AP Biology could take AP Environmental Science if they took Biology Honors.</p>
<p>^oasis, i really look up to u as a fellow self-studying ap student. ii thought it wud b impossible for me to self study aps but u made me think again! thnx</p>
<p>What is the best US government AP textbook? and what is the best prep book for the same subject? thanks</p>
<p>American Government (11th Ed.) by James Q. Wilson and John J. Dilulio, Jr.</p>
<p>My AP Gov class uses it…pretty straightforward and the chapters go in the order in which you should study to. </p>
<p>There aren’t a whole lot of prep books for AP Gov that are for everyone, but considering this I recommend using 5 Steps to a 5. Crash Course is good too (I’m using both right now) - but as a side note DO NOT GET BARRONS! Multiple choice questions are a joke, and there is a lot of superfluous information</p>
<p>By the time I graduate next year, my school will have only offered 4 AP classes to me, and I am taking/will be taking all of them. Those are APUSH, Bio, Calc AB/BC, and AP English Language. Should I self-study a couple more AP classes my senior year to get a better chance at the ivies, and if so, which ones would best complement these (all of the above except for APUSH which is in my junior year)?</p>
<p>@TenebrousNight</p>
<p>Why not self study some APs this year since your only taking US right now. You should have plenty of time to self study 1 or 2 APs this year and have enough time to grasp all the concepts. If you don’t/can’t self study this year I’d recommend AP environmental, AP Lit, or AP Gov</p>