Self-Teach AP Physics C?

Applying to College
1

So as my cousin (who teaches AP Physics) has brought to my attention, I may self-teach AP Physics C if I petition my administration to let me. My school only offers AP Physics 1&2 and he suggested that for an engineering major, physics c would be useful to take now at the high school level. I am weary however because I am going to be taking both Calc 1&2 concurrently with my physics class next year, coming in with 0 Calc experience. Another concern stems from my already hefty course load

AP BC Calc (Blocked period for Calc 1&2 at my school)
AP Chem
AP gov/ comp politics
AP Econ
{AP Physics 2 or self taught C}

My cousin is strongly pushing for C and if approved by administration I would be in an AP Physics 2 classroom and would technically receive a grade and credit, just for the AP Physics C, so my GPA would be unaffected in theory (assuming I would receive the same grade in both classes, A in physics 2 because I could earn it, A in physics C because she would only have to grade me based off of whether or not I did my self studying and minded my own business)

Any advice? I’m leaning toward Physics 2 but my cousin who teaches all 3 AP Physics courses at his high school is pushing heavily for 3 (he self studied in a physics 2 closet his senior year and got a 5 with ease he said)

2

You realize that colleges don’t promote self studying right? Great if you want the ap credit for college but the colleges don’t see it as anything impressive as they don’t to any other AP score

3

@Gatortristan why wouldn’t a school view a student teaching himself a course not offered at his/her school impressive? It shows initiative to take the course on, and if completed with a passing AP score, it demonstrates obvious proficiency to learn under his/her own guidance, which is what I understand to be an extremely valuable trait in college, and dare I say all of life. I feel that even if they don’t see that I self studied, or even take that into extra consideration on their own, I’d be able to talk about it in an interview or perhaps an essay

4

Its not worth it. Self-studying does not increase your course rigor. Colleges won’t care that you studied it on your own and, quite frankly, with the rest of your course load, you most likely would not be able to do so successfully without compromising your grades in your other courses.

5

Self studying an AP class as a senior is worth 0. The only way to prove you are self studying is to take the AP test (and do well) and that will occur well after admission results are out.

6

From personal experience, last Spring, I went to an Exploring College Options event, which had reps from Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Duke, and Georgetown. During the Q&A, someone asked, “What do you think of applicants who self-study for additional AP’s over and above the AP classes they take?” One rep responded, “Please don’t do that. We’re not impressed by that.” The other reps all nodded.

Now you could still self-study it for the college credit, but with your other courses, you’ll probably take a GPA hit. In addition, for the Fall semester, you have that hidden class: College Applications and Essays; rising seniors always underestimate the amount of work that is involved.

7

Why is your cousin all up in your business? Listen to the posters here.

8

I teach high school, not college.

But I would be very cautious about self studying any information that will be important down the road.

I would imagine that Physics C is only in the picture because you have a strong interest in Physics, not just to get credits out of the way. So why self study a course that will matter down the road??? You will NEED the information in this course. Why not have it taught to you, so that you can catch the nuances that won’t be on the test?

It’s why we stress attendance so much at the high school level-- simply getting the notes and studying them is NOT the same thing as being taught-- and you’re not even planning to get the notes! You’re planning to decide for yourself what’s important and what’s not, so that you can pass a test. What about all the stuff that’s not on the test? What about all the stuff you would have learned from a lab, or through classroom discussions?

If you’re doing it just to crank out some college credits, that’s one thing, though I still think it’s a really bad idea. But if you’re planning to major in anything related to math or science, take the college courses in college.