I’m currently a sophomore at a small high school in Illinois. I just finished choosing my classes for junior year, which include AP Calculus BC and AP US History. After doing some research online about courses and college admissions, I came upon a technique which sounded very interesting to me. Some students had posted online about teaching themselves the course material necessary to perform well on certain AP exams. I’ve always been a good history student; I received a final grade of 98% in my freshman world history class. As AP World History is not a class offered by my high school, the only way I could receive credit on the exam would be to take classes online or teach myself. Is it possible to learn the required material by myself or with other interested students? If so, what textbooks or reference materials are necessary?</p>
<p>I would say AP World History isn’t required to learn APUSH. However, I think it will give you great insight of how everything is connected. The major themes are very interesting, and it does foreshadow the modern era in which the United States participates in. </p>
<p>If you want to learn more about the overlapping, I suggest taking a look at John Green’s Crash Course of World History on YouTube. </p>
<p>Ways of the World by Robert Strayer is excellent as well. </p>
<p><a href=“http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/strayer1e/pages/bcs-main.asp?v=&s=01000&n=00010&i=01010.01&o=”>http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/strayer1e/pages/bcs-main.asp?v=&s=01000&n=00010&i=01010.01&o=</a></p>
<p><a href=“World History - YouTube”>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9</a></p>
<p>I also recommend Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.</p>
<p>Again, don’t go to far if you’re not interested. This is not required for a APUSH course. It will just give you major insight of what was before the US or during the US around the world. </p>
<p>Yes, our class uses Ways of the World by Robert Strayer, and it’s so good. My teacher is mediocre, so I’m self-studying the test as well. I recommend buying a combination of Princeton Review for the trends and Barron for specific details. Even though Barron will overwhelm you with unnecessary details, I think it’s good to have a better understanding of history to excel on both sections of the AP exam.</p>
<p>The most important thing in AP World is to be a great writer. While APUSH is generally about memorizing facts, AP World is more about developing your writing skills. I recommend for you to get the Princeton Review book, read through it and understand the most important trends in world history, then work to become extremely comfortable with the FRQs. Understand the requirements for every essay and make sure to practice all three as many times as you can. Once you feel comfortable with your writing skills, studying for the exam will become much easier. </p>
<p>Coming from someone who is currently taking APWH, if you truly are interested in self-studying the course, do it with a couple other kids (if you can gather them). It’s a lot of information to take in by yourself and it’s extremely helpful to have someone to discuss the topics with. Although it’s important to learn about the facts and details, it’s equally important to study the broad spectrum, because A LOT of the test focuses of cause and effect on a global scale. So pace yourself and use a variety of ways to learn the information (flash cards, Crash Course videos, AP prep books, textbooks, cram packets) so that way you’re more exposed and it’s not as intense.</p>