Taking AP U.S. History independently... good idea?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>My school does not offer any AP courses until grade 12, and rather late grade 12 at that (from January to graduation). My counselor has assured me that going to a school that does not offer AP courses until grade 12 will not be at an unbalanced playing field with other schools that offer tons of AP courses starting from grade 10. That being said, I still want to challenge myself by taking an AP course independently this year, which is my junior year. I was looking in the direction of European or U.S. History, as I have no desire to further burden myself with a subject I have no real passion for (sciences), or to take AP courses already offered by my school (such as the two Literature AP’s and AP World History). As of now, I have start to delve in U.S. History.</p>

<p>My question is whether or not that (AP U.S. History) is a good course to take for someone looking to go into liberal arts. Is one history harder/more valued than the other? Probably not, right? I have a gut feeling that U.S. History is harder because it involves more details since it covers a shorter timespan than European History. I mainly chose U.S. History because where I live, Canada, we learn nothing about American history at school. As my intentions are to go down south for university, I thought it’d be an enlightening AND practical move to educate myself on American history. </p>

<p>A final note: I’m thinking of majoring in English Literature at university, and I was also thinking of taking one of the two AP Lit. courses independently, but was daunted by the vague curriculum and absence of a textbook. A lot of it seems to rely on having a teacher, and having groups for discussions, etc. Has anybody taken an AP Lit. course independently? If so, is it doable? And what resources did you use?</p>

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<p>i think that with a good textbook and practice tests (especially essays) you can do well on the test</p>

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<p>Thanks for the reply, but just to clarify things, you are talking about the AP U.S. History test, right?</p>

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<p>yea, apush covers a lot of material, but the main focus of the test is themes throughout history. REA's book for apush is really good for getting those details down that might be on the test.</p>

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<p>I'm currently using the "American History: A Survey" by Brinkley-Current. I also have signed out "America: A Narrative" V. 1 and 2 by Goldsmith. Those are good texts, right?</p>

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<p>I personally benefit a lot from having class discussions and lectures from the teacher when it comes to AP American History. However, I know of people who have been successful self studying. The Princeton Review prep book should give you an overview of the subjects covered to make sure you're staying on the right track, and the amsco book is AWESOME. It goes into a lot of detail and has a lot of good test taking strategies, especially for the DBQs/essays. good luck!</p>