<p>Of course, I’d take the course if I knew the teacher was phenomenal. I’m just assuming that you don’t know which teacher you’re going to get and go figure the probability of getting a phenomenal teacher. I don’t think anyone should self-study just because it’s more impressive. </p>
<p>Someone brought up how impressive / beneficial self-studying it is, so I decided to comment on that.</p>
<p>“it’s a MIRACLE for many schools for a student to get a 4”
Really? According to statistics, approximately two in five exams score a 4 or 5. Assuming that the average school has more than 3 exams written, it doesn’t sound that unlikely.</p>
<p>“4. my brother self-studied AP Psych in a week (got a 5)… it really isn’t that hard considering he only had to read about 140 concise and simple pages of a review book and then practice some questions… it would’ve been much more difficult / time consuming if he took it in school (though he could’ve gotten more out of it)”</p>
<p>Please read my comment earlier about this:
“Yes, there are numerous threads out there that said “I self-studied and crammed in the AP material the night (or two) before and I still pulled a 5.” Quite honestly, I don’t think the majority can do that and being able to cram in AP material in a night or two sounds quite impressive already. That shows you’re ready for college and you could cram a lot of material for an exam.”</p>
<p>Besides, I don’t see how taking it in school would be more difficult. Time consuming? Maybe, but that’s probably because the class goes too slow.</p>
<p>Salve, I don’t understand your second paragraph. So you’re saying that “When self-studying, it is very hard to learn and at the same time understand such a topic without the guidance of someone who knows what they are talking about. The teacher may present a different way of doing the problem that is easier for you.”</p>
<p>So basically, if you were able to self-study that material, then it means you’re capable of teaching yourself the material. Doesn’t that mean it’s harder to self-study? Actually, your whole second paragraph is basically arguing why self-studying is harder… </p>
<p>True, the course might go more in-depth into certain topics, but so what? Going more in-depth doesn’t make you any more prepared for college. You’re “forced” to learn the material if you want to pass the class and you’ll probably forget everything by the time you enrol in college. Meanwhile, self-studying means piling up work for yourself on top of your regular course load. </p>
<p>Besides, it’s give or take. Many courses don’t even finish the AP curriculum, while many self-studiers do. For example, if I self-studied Grade 9 Math and went straight into Grade 10 Math, true, I may be less prepared than others in certain topics, but I’ll probably be more prepared than others in other topics. </p>
<p>The point is, many people don’t have the discipline/ ability to self-study for an AP exam, and that’s what make self-studying impressive.</p>