Next year, I am taking three APs in school (AP Comp, AP Chem, and APUSH). In addition to these, I want to self-study the AP Econs (Micro and Macro), AP Psych, and AP CompSci. Is this too much for one year? I’ve already taken AP Physics 1 at school and done well, as well as AP US Gov, which I self-studied. Does this seem overwhelming, or will it be manageable since none of the classes that I’m studying for are that hard?
Why? the reason matters.
If it is because you are applying to international universities & need them for that, then make sure that they are closely tied to the subject that you are applying to study.
If it is because you want to maximize how many credits you can get to apply to university (to graduate early / to save money), be sure to check the rules for the colleges that you are likely to apply to- there is a lot of variation.
If it is because you want to impress admissions committees, don’t. It won’t work.
That is way too much to self-study. There’s a lot of threads on here that talk about self-studying one exam in general isn’t great, much less 4. You’re going to have to try to cram 4 years of material as well as your 3 others. My suggestion is take the exams closest to your major. It looks like you want to go into engineering, so I’d suggest self-studying Physics and possibly CompSci if you’re really intent on doing it at all.
Also, what is “AP Comp”? Are you talking about the english classes? In which case, those are AP Lit and Lang for shorthand. Or are you talking about the other CompSci class?
Three AP classes is easy manageable by most high-performing students, especially with the balance among the core subjects you are proposing.
Self-studying for AP exams does not impress college admissions officers, though it may be worth doing if financies are a big issue AND you are planning to attend a college that will grant credit. Some colleges only grant credit if you have taken the course, so do your research carefully before spending $94 on each test.
Thank you everyone for your replies. I wanted to clear up a few things about my post. First, for some reason, everyone at my school refers to AP English Language and Composition as “AP Comp”. Makes no sense if you think about it, but for some reason that is the name that has stuck. And secondly, the main reason that I want to self-study these classes is that my school doesn’t offer them (with the exception of CompSci, and I am genuinely interested in learning the topics). I want to pursue a double major in a STEM subject (likely CS) and econ, so the AP CompSci and AP Econ both fit it with what I want to study. I am interested in Psych solely because I think the subject is a really interesting one, even if it doesn’t pertain to my intended major.
If it’s a real interest you will learn more by getting involved than be reading AP study guides, which are the epitome of teaching to the test. Read actual Economics books (such as The Undercover Economist, The Accidental Theorist, A Very Short Introduction to Game Theory or The Tiger that Isn’t: Seeing through a World of Numbers), the Economist, and/or blogs (such as Tim Harford or Martin Wolf) which will all give you a better Econ base than swatting up from Barrons or similar. For CompSci, aside from working on math, look at Harvard’s CS550 online classes or Rice’s Fundamentals online class.
FYI, depending on your school, AP USHx is often a time-heavy course (a lot of reading).
You have been around this block before. Being bored at school isn’t great, but there are so.many.ways to use your extra time better than learning off stuff by rote for an exam. A while ago you weren’t sure about two pretty different fields. You have the time: so dive into them. Read, investigate, learn which fits you best. Self-studying for APs for an able student as a way to kill time is about on a par with spending those hours doing crossword puzzles- it’s interesting enough, you learn a little bit, it keeps your mind busy. But: it doesn’t take you anywhere.
As with the other poster above, if you’re actually interested in Psychology, don’t take the AP exam. Actually read up on psychology, instead of studying for a test. Or take psych classes while in college.
As for econ, if you plan on applying as a STEM major (not an econ one) admissions officers won’t care that you self-studied the econ tests since that’s not what you’re applying for.
I do NOT recommend this by any means. I am a junior right now who attempted self studying two for two supposedly “easy” social science AP exams and I ultimately opted out of taking them. I would not consider myself a slacker (I have above a 3.9 gpa in almost all AP’s at school) but teaching yourself concepts from a youtube video or prep book is NOT as easy as it may seem. People on these forums will make it seem like self studies are simple but I would really evaluate the necessity of the exams you plan on self studying before going through with it. I agree with collegemom that if you plan to go overseas, it might be helpful to take an exam closely related to the subject you want to study (ie, psych if you want to apply to experimental psych at a uk school). But please be wary and take off the rose colored glasses, because my optimism put me in a terrible position.