I am in APES this year. I am considering self studying AP Bio next year.
If you are self-studying in the hopes of impressing admissions officers, then take the class. After all, if you can self-study what you need to know, why would you need college?
An exception might be if you know you will for sure be attending a college that for sure will give you credit for a good AP score, AND banking as much advance credit as you can (or is allowed) is going to make the difference in your ability to afford your degree. Become familiar with each of your target schools’ policies as they vary by college.
Is that a yes or no?
No. Take the class.
What are the differences between APES and AP Bio?
What did you discover when you compared the course descriptions and sample syllabi located on the College Board’s website?
I was doing a worksheet for APES and I found a key for that worksheet that said AP Biology on it.
As an 8th grader, I took the APES class and exam (got a 5). Now this year( 9th grade), I am taking AP Biology and they are vastly different. Yes, there are a FEW similarities but they are not really that intertwined. I heard that it is not really a good idea to self-study ap bio because it just one of the hardest ap classes. Furthermore, a lot of the curriculum is based on the labs one will do in class. They ask questions on the labs in the exam. Overall, I think just because you are doing APES doesn’t mean you will be able to be prepared for AP bio. Also, APES is 20x easier than ap bio.