Should I Self Study?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>I really slacked in 9th and 10th grades because my school did not offer APs in 9th and offered only one in 10th. I am taking 4 AP classes at school this year and I am wondering if it is worth it to self study some others...</p>

<p>School APs:
10th grade:
AP Euro - 5</p>

<p>11th grade:
AP Calc AB/BC - should be easy 5
AP USH - should be 5, I expect it to be easy, but not sure
AP English Lang - no real studying, but I expect a 4 or 5
AP Physics B - should be easy 5</p>

<p>(anticipated) 12th grade schedule:
(definitely) AP Latin
(definitely) AP US Gov
(probably) AP English Lit
(probably) AP Stat
(possibly) AP Bio or Chem - is it easy to self study either of these?</p>

<p>Possible Self Study:
(probably this year) AP physics c electricity/magnetism and mechanics
(if i don't take in school) AP Stat - is it easy to self study this if I am good in math?
(possibly) AP comparative gov - I heard this is easy to self study
(possibly) AP Psych - no prior psych classes, but heard it is easy
(possibly) AP Macro/Micro - are these easy to self study?
(possibly) human geo - is this a lot of work to self study?
(possibly) world history - is this a lot of work to self study?
(possibly) art history-no idea about this; seems straightforward--is it hard or a lot of work?
(unlikely) computer science a-no idea about this one either; is this easy to self study?</p>

<p>Summary: Basically, I just have the questions above. If you have input like what year I should take the exam or if you even have an approximation of the necessary studying time (assuming little prior knowledge). Also, if one I named is impossibly hard to self study or something like that, that would be nice to know.</p>

<p>Junior Year: The number that I take this year depends largely on whether I go to ISEF because that is during AP exams (I know you can take the exams there or take them late, but I don't want to self study a lot of exams only to be subjected to that interruption). I will almost certainly self study both parts of Physics C since I am already taking Physics B and Calc BC. Otherwise, I will probably take at least one other this year if I do not go to ISEF.</p>

<p>Senior Year: I don't know if I want to self study any this year since I will have already been accepted/denied to the colleges I will have applied to. If you plan to self study some APs during your senior year, is there a place on college apps to indicate this? I don't care a ton about getting college credit; the only consideration if I am not able to indicate this on college apps is the Florida AP State Scholar Award. By my count, if I take all the listed AP Exams (assuming score 3+ on all), I will have taken 19-21 depending on if the Physics Cs count separately and if Calc BC (without having taken AB) counts as 2 exams (1 for AB as well). If 19-21 is probably going to be the highest for Florida class of 2013, and if self studying 4 or so APs plus 4-5 in school is managable, I might do this.</p>

<p>Well, I just wrote a ton of stuff--guessing most of you did not read all of it. If you want to provide input on any (or all :)) of that, I would appreciate it very much!</p>

2

<p>Go for it… self-study is always a good option (as long as you don’t lose ure life in the process)…</p>

<p>Calc BC is an easy self study
So is Phys C/Phys B (B is easier but C both parts looks good, even better would be to do both)</p>

<p>AP Bio and Chem (if you’re good at science) are easy self-studies. I would advise chem first and once your a quarter of the way through chem hit up bio cuz it will make some more sense, then again you might just be after the 5 or you might be after the knowledge so its up to you.</p>

<p>Add to that list:</p>

<p>AP Statistics</p>

<p>In terms of the others I couldn’t say for sure</p>

3

<p>Go to the web sites of the universities you are interested in and put “AP credit” in their search boxes. See what AP tests are actually worth something in allowing you to start in a more advanced course (so that you gain a free elective in place of the course you skipped).</p>

4

<p>Since you’re in your senior year, you should make decisions that will benefit you and help you learn more. Take an AP class that your college will accept for credit, or that you really have an interest in!</p>

5

<p>self study is the way to go!</p>

6

<p>I have experience in Macro/Micro, Human Geo, Psych. All easy. Stat and Gov seem easy. Calc and Physics, Chem, Bio, Comp Sci, and Art History all take a lot of effort so beware.</p>

7

<p>Also, World History is decent. If you are truly interested and I think you are since you got a 5 on Euro, then it wont be too big of a deal for you.</p>

8

<p>Take what he school offers and use the rest of your time to round out your HS experience. Your planned school schedule is already above and beyond what is needed in the real world.</p>

9

<p>if you live in florida, try taking as many as you can on FLVS over the summer. that goes a long way towards getting the state scholar</p>

10

<p>Unless you have a textbook along with a review book and go over the curriculum throughout the school year, I wouldn’t be wasting my time self-studying other classes when you can just focus on your current classes and take the hardest schedule that you can bear. You will only have a low level of understanding regardless of getting a 5 on the AP if you don’t spend an extensive time self-studying in substitution for not taking the class and experiencing the material from a day to day basis along with the homework given for that class. The only thing I would see that you would get out of self-studying is that your app might look better or you just like academics so much that you will self-study on some free time.</p>