<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>