Hello. I am currently a sophomore who is taking Honors US History. I am thinking about self-studying by simply only using AP prep/review book(s) and attempting a 3, or 4 if I try hard enough and get really lucky. My family is not low on money, so $92 wouldn’t be a problem. For my entire high school year, the only AP core subject that I will not be taking is AP US History due to being known as the 3 hours a day death course in my school where the top 10% of students score 85% on tests. I’m taking or will be taking all the other APs, AP Calc, AP English, AP Bio, etc, so I wouldn’t really have time for APUSH. I mean I could get a respectable 93-95, but APUSH is not worth my time because I have community service and hobbies to spend time on it, and history is not my favorite subject either.
Anyhow, back to the topic of gambling $92 on getting a decent score on APUSH by taking Honors US History and using AP prep review book(s). Do you think it is possible or worth it, or do I have a 75% of getting a 2 since APUSH memory and essays is highly emphasized for the AP exam? It’s one of the courses that a few colleges like UCLA will actually fulfill the US History GE requirements, where for most colleges would just give you empty elective credit for other APs. I haven’t heard or read anyone who has taking Honors or regular US History and used only prep books along with a reg/honors course who succeeded or failed, so I am completely unsure about my idea. My Honors US History course covers roughly 75% of the content in APUSH, with less in-depth detail. I’ll definitely have a basic and overall understanding of US History, but I do not know about the APUSH memorization and essay difficulty – I do know the APUSH course and exam was hugely modified in 2014 and 2015.
Thanks!
I fail to see the “gamble” aspect of this.
Unless the college of your choice gives you credit and you are confident that studying for US won’t get in the way of studying for the other APs you have, don’t bother
Self studying AP is very doable, but you will have to fully apply yourself. If you do not feel like you will be able to push yourself because of other obligations, then I suggest you do not take the APUSH exam. I sort of self studied it, I took APUSH online but my teacher wasn’t very helpful and gave me no real feedback. I used the princeton review book to study for the exam and made a 4. However, US history was the only AP class I was taking at the time.
If you feel confident that you could get a score that will give you college credit and spend your time wisely between your other AP classes, then I say go for it. But if history is not your thing and you do not plan on studying history in college, then I suggest you focus your time on the other AP classes.
I hope this helped, and good luck!
You have a 51% chance of making a 3 or higher, according to College Board. Why not try? https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/about-ap-scores/score-distributions
Yeah, it’s definetly doable. However, I would recommend practicing a few of the essay questions (DBQ, LEQ) before you go into the exam. Good luck. 
You’d get more credit from adcoms from acing your regular classes and/or excelling at your extracurriculars. Self-studying APs isn’t required for anything. It does little/nothing to help you in admissions and probably won’t let you place out of anything once you reach college anyway. What a waste of $92.
LOL. I’m in the same situation as you. The teachers at my school for APUSH are trash and next year I’m taking a lot of hard courses too and don’t want to deal with nonsense. Here’s what I’m doing - for each of the nine periods, I’m taking extensive notes from three review books - REA AP US History All Access, Princeton Review, and Barron’s. After each period, I’m taking the practice quiz provided by REA (you must buy the book to access these quizzes). Then, I’ll take the practices tests provided by each book. Once I’m done with that, I’ll practice writing the FRs. If this doesn’t get me a 5, idk what will. Good luck! goes back to trying to cram everything during spring break