<p>So if i study at home for quite a few APs, where on my college App can i say that i have?</p>
<p>You have to take the tests and report the scores. Have you taken AP’s yet? Saying you’ll do “quite a few” indicates that you probably don’t know how difficult they are…</p>
<p>Sigh, i know how difficult they are all right…my schedule at school is quite frankly put, bland. I have self discipline, ive taken courses at my local community college as a 13 year old, and i know what APs im taking and why…</p>
<p>Sorry if i sound rude, it’s just that you’ve told me this already…</p>
<p>sorry if I don’t remember the username from every one of over 200 posts :P</p>
<p>I know I’ve never talked to you before, but just because you’re a smart 13 year old doesn’t mean you’re ready to take ‘quite a few’ AP’s self-studying. There’s nothing wrong with self-studying, go for it. But, before you start thinking AP’s will be easy, take one. JUST ONE this year. Next year, if you did well, take ‘quite a few’. Otherwise, you’re jumping the gun. Just wait. Everyone’s schedule is bland at 13, that’s like what, 8th grade? And take ones that you will not be taking when you actually start taking AP’s at your school, otherwise you’re just ticking away the hard classes you can take in 11th grade to impress colleges. No one’s going to be that impressed if you took 5 AP’s in 8th and 9th grade, and then couldn’t find any AP courses you wanted to take you hadn’t already taken. </p>
<p>Short answer. You’re in 8th grade, your level of inference and writing, which will probably not be tested well by a community college course, is just not there for AP exams. STAY AWAY from English and History AP’s, TRUST ME. I know you think you’re really smart, but STAY AWAY. Might I suggest AP Bio? That’s pretty much pure memorization and understanding, but make sure you take a ‘college’ course to go along with it. </p>
<p>Oh, and try to tone the arrogance down a little. You’re 13, respect and listen to advice you get from those who have taken AP exams.</p>
<p>Ok i guess it doesn’t make much of a difference…and sorry nyc, im just kinda going through some family issues right now, i understand ur experienced, i should listen to you…but back on topic, im actually 14, i took the CC course last year…so im a freshman.</p>
<p>And i only plan to self study APs that aren’t offered at my school…or that won’t fit into my schedule junior/senior year. And i don’t consider myself a “smart” 13 year old, just a hard working 14 year old. I can name off a lot of friends who are smarter than me but don’t do as well as they could because they procrastinate or they’re just lazy…all im trying to say is, i have the time and self discipline to study, and i want to do something productive. And i don’t mean i have no life, im in a lot of clubs and a two sports, just not year round…</p>
<p>And i’ll be taking these APs my sophomore year btw…</p>
<p>But as for the “stay away from history APs”…i don’t really like that…im very interested in European history and ive written a “paper” (again, not trying to act smart, it was for a local contest involving scholarship money) on Ancient Mesopotamia and how they influenced other civilizations that followed. I realize that you may not know this, how could you. </p>
<p>But thanks for your advice, i definitely will admit that im overconfident and sometimes arrogant but it’s hard not to be when you go to a school where most of the students think nothing of grades or intelligence…</p>
<p>I’m saying stay away from AP Euro, History, or English for your first AP’s. English Lit especially favors natural ability and is hard to get a 5 off of a good work ethic. One paper does not make you qualified for AP History essays which include one hour long DBQ (document-based-question) and an (maybe 45min) essay or two (don’t know how many). Do you regularly write 5-paragraph essays on tests? You really need that sort of preparedness for an AP History, plus the hard work. That’s why I say STAY AWAY. Take an AP History as a class before you take an extra AP History exam. After you take, say AP US, then take AP Euro without a class to go with it. Without having an AP History class (or a comparably difficult history) before the exam, you will not be remotely prepared for the writing or the often tricky multiple choice. Memorization is only half of the AP Exams. </p>
<p>I really don’t suggest taking any of them sophomore year if you’ve never taken an AP class before. After you start taking AP classes, in Junior, Senior (maybe even sophomore) year, then you can self-study if you still want to (though you probably won’t). Now, I just don’t think it’s a smart decision. Use sophomore and freshman years to build up those skills and get ready, because you don’t seem to realize the difficulty of AP Exams. They are not your average semester exam.</p>
<p>All right, do you know where i could get a few example DBQs? I know CB posts past AP exams up or something, but if there are any example topics, i could do them and have a few history teachers look at them…</p>
<p>First, you need to go to an AP History teacher and ask them to tell you how to do them. You need a strategy, and they’ll explain it to you. Then ask if they have a practice DBQ, and if they don’t, buy a review book (most will have practice DBQ’s, check) and take a DBQ. If you’re really serious about this, you NEED to talk to an AP History teacher about how to do a DBQ BEFORE you do it. The internet will not be nearly as helpful. DBQ’s are very difficult.
Hopefully, since I failed, they will disabuse you of the idea of taking an AP History without a class.</p>
<p>Thanks…so what’s the hard part part about an AP hist without a class?</p>
<p>It seems like its memorization heavy with a lot of critical thinking for the essays…couldn’t i frequently talk to the AP teacher and ask them for help or advice?</p>
<p>[AP</a> Central - The AP European History Exam](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board)</p>
<p>[AP</a> Central - The AP World History Exam](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board)</p>
<p>[AP</a> Central - The AP United States History Exam](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board)</p>
<p>These are the prompts given for each of the AP history. In my perspective in term of easiness, AP World History<AP European History<AP U.S. History. It is recommended that you take an AP History class to understand the amount of memorization and rigor and the essay writing. However, it is still feasible to self-study an AP History course. I would recommend AP World History since the rubrics for the essays basically tell how to get the 9 points easily unlike the other two ap history (well, for euro, the rubric for the dbq does tell you how to get a 9, too). Moreover, the MC for world history doesn’t seem tricky when I took it. It was straightforward and easy if you know the subject well enough.</p>
<p>Hard Part: Writing, Critical Thinking/Reading
Unlike those in AP classes, you will not be writing timed essays or DBQ’s with every test, and you will not be getting a grade and input back from those. If you are willing to write an 5 paragraph essay once a month or so and your teacher is willing to grade it, I guess go for it. But be brutally realistic, will you actually do that?
The multiple choice are tricky. In my APUS class, every test we take uses 20 or so multiple choice from former AP exams, plus writing prompts from former AP exams. You can’t really match that level of preparation short of taking the class or taking every test, but if you’re willing to meet regularly with an AP teacher (not just in spring semester) go for it.</p>
<p>That’s why I mention only APWH, not APUSH, since I have not taken the APUSH exam yet and that is why I say APUSH is the hardest among the three.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback guys and lindsay, im willing to do the work, that’s not the issue, and the teacher, who i know, is really nice and im sure she’d be willing to help me out.</p>
<p>I self-studied AP Euro as a sophomore, and got a 5. It was my first AP. BUT IT WAS A TON OF WORK. I did three timed essays per week, even during vacations (I wasn’t used to writing in a time limit,) studied numerous AP prep books, read everything I could about the test online, and (of course) read tons of books about European History. So, I did well, but I wouldn’t recommend the experience. (Although it did whip my writing and test-taking skills into shape.) Also, I am something of an academic masochist with free time–if you aren’t those things, you might not want to do this. (But if you are those things, more power to you I guess! :)</p>