<p>I'm planning on self studying for AP Psychology next year. So what are the advantages of doing it, besides learning the material of course.</p>
<p>I assume it doesn't give a huge advantage as almost everyone does it.</p>
<p>"I assume it doesn't give a huge advantage as almost everyone does it."</p>
<p>This statement is untrue! You hear on CC all the time that people self-study APs, but know that this is CC - in the majority of the high school population, most students do not even take AP courses, much less self-study them.</p>
<p>I had self-studied 9 AP courses over 3 years and gained entrance into 12 universities, including several Ivies and MSC. I remain convinced that these acceptances were somewhat based on my initiative to self-study APs.</p>
<p>I come from a small school in Taiwan that only offers 5 AP courses - knowing that I will exhaust all of them, I tried to demonstrate initiative in learning by picking up additional AP courses through self-studying during my years in high school. Receiving four 5's and one 4 out of the 5 courses I self-studied during my sophomore and junior years, I think it made a difference to my college application.</p>
<p>Self-studying APs is a great way to show academic potential if you're in a school that's not particularly challenging. It is necessary to note, however, just studying one, and especially Psychology, probably won't be a huge booster. Either you need to self-study a lot of AP courses or self-study the really challenging ones.</p>
<p>Thanks oasis. The thing is my school is pretty challenging (Top 25 now according to Newsweek - was in Top 10). Best in the state forever and all that.</p>
<p>It offers tons of APs too.</p>
<p>I have completed AP Gov. this year (Freshmen) and will finish AP US History and AP Comparative Gov. next (NOT self study). AP Calc (tilting 51% towards BC) in Junior Year. Thing is I'm an IB Student so most of my classes will be IB Requirements (not to mention County and State Reqs.)</p>
<p>I've decided to self study AP Micro and Macro Economics to complement the IB Economics (SL) I'll probably be taking Senior Year.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of self studying for AP Chem Junior Year (to complement IB Chemistry - SL).</p>
<p>Since I'll be taking IB Tests (HL) in English, History and Physics, this really kills the motivation to study for those.</p>
<p>Oh in that case I think it won't be as impressive to college adcoms - but yeah, still study it if you think it's worth it.</p>
<p>You have an excellent courseload - I think you can get into an impressive college without having self-studied anything.</p>
<p>And as a word of advice, take BC - I don't know why AB exists. BC is only a <em>little</em> harder than AB and the curve is so generous....so generous that it makes getting anything less than a 5 look silly.</p>
<p>Thanks. I used to LOVE Math, but for some reason my interest in it is quickly fading. Freshmen year has been a complete rollercoaster ride for me. My interest in Sciences and Humanities increased greatly while Math took a deep hit. I'll probably take BC then.</p>
<p>Just been thinking...How hard is World History? (I LOVE social studies btw)</p>
<p>No clue, I took the other two histories lol.</p>
<p>Self studying rapes, especially in the sciences because you can either use it to study for olympiads or use olympiads to study for the APs. This was my first year doing USNCO and 2 weeks after the semi-finalist exam I took the AP and completely annihilated it. Do USAPhO for Physics C, USABO for Biology, and USNCO for Chem...if you want to own Compsci then do USACO, but I took both A and AB without USACO....</p>
<p>it's 3x the material of US History. And then some. It's a synopsis of all major events in mankinds history, as the title refers to. Not difficult at all if you have a good memory.</p>
<p>I took all three histories and got 5's on all of them.</p>
<p>US History: The most "analysis"-based history AP - a lot of trends and patterns to memorize and consider for the DBQ. If you keep in mind the "big picture" of American history, you will get a 5.</p>
<p>Euro History: The most "categorical" AP History. Since there are only 20 or so major European nations that impacted history, create flowcharts or graphs to chronicle the major exploits of say, the Ottoman Empire, Sweden, or Belgium...etc.</p>
<p>World History: The most "memorization"-based AP history. Like what people said before, if you love memorization, this test is for you. There is hardly any analysis of major trends or patterns - almost everything is a direct recall of facts (even on the essays).</p>
<p>AP Psychology is very easy to independent study. Just read the prep book or a cheap textbook 1 or 2 weeks before the exam.</p>
<p>1) there is nothing wrong with self study. i did that for ap bio in my junior year b/c of schedule conflict for senior year.....but yeah, if you're committed, go for it.</p>
<p>2) i took ap psych online through APEX. i didn't like the workload, but if you have a good textbook, it's all READING AND MEMORIZATION. </p>
<p>but psych was soooo fun. i enjoyed reading about all these cool things that i didn't know about. </p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>By Learning To Teach Yourself Early, You Are More Prepared For College. In A Lot Of Classes In College, You Will Have To Teach Yourself Because There Is Only So Much Time For A Teacher To Talk To 300 Kids In Lectures.</p>
<p>I Like That You Can Set Your Own Pace. You Don't Have Anything Due If You Do It Through Online Notes Or Books. You Set Up Your Own Schedule. You Also Don't Have To Worry About Grades In School, But You Still Have To Make Sure That You Are Understanding The Information And Actually Staying On Track.</p>
<p>My Chemistry Ap Class Was Entirely Me Having No Time To Teach Myself And Not Learning Anything In Class. I Was In The Hospital For Two Weeks. I Came Back And Realized I Had Missed A Chapter And A Half. I Had To Take The Test So I Taught The Entire Chapter To Myself. I Got The Best Grade All Year On That Test. By Teaching Yourself, I Think You Learn The Material Better (from My Experience). When You Teach Yourself, You Push Yourself To Understand It, Rather Than Jotting Down Notes And Memorizing Them In Class.</p>
<p>IF YOU TAKE THE AP EXAM (WHICH I ADVISE YOU DO), YOU ALSO GET OUT OF A CLASS. THIS SAVES YOU A LOT OF MONEY. THE AP EXAM WASN'T BAD AT ALL- THE EASIEST ONE I TOOK. I WISH I HAD ACTUALLY SELF-TAUGHT IT TO MYSELF, RATHER THAN TAKEN THE CLASS, BECAUSE I ALREADY KNEW MOST OF IT. I GOT STUCK IN A CLASS WHERE HALF THE KIDS WERE FAILING, BECAUSE WE PLAYED GAMES THE ENTIRE CLASS RATHER THAN HAVE LECTURES. WE HAD TO TEACH OURSELVES THE STUFF AT HOME ANYWAY.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help everyone.</p>
<p>how do colleges know/find out that you self-studied....do you write about in in an essay, b/c it's not on transcript or anything right?</p>
<p>Simple: they see your AP scores lol.</p>
<p>Oh, yes, the best thing about self-studying is that you don't have to worry about the BS that you have to do for school, such as doing homework, worksheets...all the retarded things that waste my life. You get to decide what you need/should study to fit your goal. You are in control of your education.</p>
<p>MusikalGeek, your post hurt my eyes.</p>
<p>Anyways, I think you should only self study APs if you have a lot of spare time. Most people who DON'T self study APs have a hard time with them.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>