“I am saying that to self-study an exam when a class is offered is not a good idea since you may not get all of the methods involved in solving a problem that a teacher would present.”</p>
<p>I agree… one should take the AP class if it’s offered. However, I don’t think people should take AP classes just because they’re AP, unless they’re genuinely interested in the subject. So if one was going into the humanities and the only AP offered in the school was AP Chemistry, then I’d say the person should self-study a humanity instead.</p>
<p>“Ok, first, going more in-depth doesn’t make you any more prepared in college? Really? I find that very hard to believe. When you self-study you focus only on what is presented on the AP exam, which most certainly does not cover everything you should know to master the topic. So you are telling me that a person who takes a class and gets the full understanding of how Chemistry works (with labs and all) is no more prepared for college than the person who spends their time self-studying only what is necessary for the exam? I find that absurd. Also, the idea that a person will forget everything by college is a very pessimistic statement. How do you know if the person will? Learning is a process where we keep adding information to our pre-existing knowledge. Going over a certain topic may spark these “forgotten” concepts that could otherwise not be gained through independent studying. The idea of piling up work on top of your courseload really presents an argument against self-studying. Is it really a good idea to overextend yourself? No, and therefore this extra work that is really not necessary does not make sense.”</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way. If you asked me to recall the stuff I self-studied 2 years ago versus the stuff I learned as a course 2 years ago, I’d recall the stuff I self-studied better. Why? Because there’s a difference between when I’ve stared at a textbook, tried to understand the concept, and taught the concept to myself and when I’ve been spoon-fed the same information. So in actuality, I think I’ve learned the material better by self-studying this. Yes, this may not represent the majority, but it is for me.</p>
<p>The other thing is that self-studying could really improve one’s studying skill. I know people (first-hand) who easily ace classes without studying/ taking notes/ doing the homework. Self-studying an AP would probably be the first thing those people have ever attempted to study for and the people finally learn how to study. Again, this may not represent the majority, but I imagine that many self-studiers are like this.</p>
<p>“Yes, sometimes, and why is this? This is because the students have a more in-depth and clearer understanding of the other information. A “self-studier” simply has the general idea of the concepts that may not be as concrete as the others. This is where the whole idea of quantity vs. quality comes in. What is better, to have all the concepts learned but with a basic understanding, or to have not all (but almost all of them) mastered with a solid understanding? While the first may be better for the AP test, the latter is much better for the future. People forget the things that are not deeply rooted in their brains.”</p>
<p>Is this just an assumption, misconception, or what? I’m offended that you’re suggesting that I don’t understand the material by self-studying as well, if not better, than people who took it as a course. Quite often, I find that I understand the material more in-depth than my classmates who took it as a course. I often get asked for help from people who are taking the course- even though I’ve self-studied the whole thing. Plus, I learn the material of what’s not covered in the course (since, as mentioned earlier, most courses don’t have enough time to cover everything).</p>
<p>“You have no teacher to tell you to focus and keep you in line for where you should be in your lessons.”</p>
<p>That’s the whole point why self-studying is so impressive. Self-studying requires discipline, which many people don’t have.</p>
<p>“That is why so many self-studiers find themselves rushing to get in the last chapters near the end.”</p>
<p>Again, is this an assumption? This isn’t true for many self-studiers either.</p>
<p>As for your analogy… as a matter of fact, I’ve taught myself several instruments and I find that I’m more determined & focused than many other students who actually have a teacher. So I don’t understand what you’re talking about.</p>
<p>“Also, what if the cello player after 3 years of self-teaching decides to see a cello teacher just to make sure they are progressing correctly?”</p>
<p>You’re right about the part that it’s possible to learn something incorrectly. It may take a long time for a musician to correct bad habits (since learning a musical instrument is pretty much procedural learning/ non-declarative memory), but Sciences (and the other subjects even more so) involve mostly declarative memory so it shouldn’t take too long to correct.</p>
<p>amarkov, I find that also happens a lot with class, not just self-studiers. In grade 11 Chemistry, you don’t actually learn the actual subject Chemistry… you’re just learning whatever the narrow parts of chemistry whatever the curriculum tells you to learn. And plus, I find that more people who take the course learn the material just for the sake of marks than self-studiers who learn it just for the sake of passing the AP exam.