Would like advice on some self-study AP's, please.

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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<p>Hi, this is my first post on CC so sorry in advance for making any newbie mistakes. It happens :S</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm about to be a high school junior and have taken one AP test, the world history AP, which I scored a 5 on. I go to a small school in Houston called Challenge Early College HS, which is affiliated with the HCCS (Houston Community College System). Yes yes, its community college, but regardless, it is a school that allows students to take real college classes alongside adults, and overall the education I get there is respectable. Unfortunately, our school puts a lot of its funding toward the college classes (which are payed for by them), so we only have 2 AP courses offered. </p>

<p>As I said, I've taken the WHIST, and I'm planning to take the Eng Literature exam this year. I am also going to self study biology. I was a WIZ at Biology freshman year, and I just took an old AP bio test MC section to benchmark my memory, and got more than 50% right, so prep shouldn't be too hard. I still however, have a few questions. </p>

<p>1)I have a good relationship with my dean (a former AP Eng Lang and Eng Lit teacher) and she wants me to take the English language test this year, saying that the Lit class alone should prepare me to make at least a 4 on the Lang one (she taught at Bellaire High for 13 years, which has an excellent AP reputation). What prep book do you recommend I supplement this with, and how extensively should I use it to get a 5?</p>

<p>2)One of the college classes I'll be taking this fall semester will be Psychology 1301, (and 1302 may fit my schedule the spring semester). One of my friends got a 3 on this exam using only the college class, which I imagine doesn't prepare you for whatever is on the free response section, (and it should be noted that they are not an impressive student, haha). I imagine if I get an A in the class I can get a 4ish on the exam. Again, what prep book should I supplement this with, and to what degree should I use it?</p>

<p>3)Lastly, I want to add a math to my list of APs. This sounds like a cop-out move, but I think it should be Stats. I can't take the calc's because I'll be taking precal this semester and I wouldn't have enough time to take Calc 1 and 2 (at the college) before the end of my junior year, and AP test scores are useless to my college application if I can't get my results before senior year. I've read that Stats is some calculations and a lot of logic, and overall not difficult to self study. I'm a good student though and am good at math. Do you recommend I take it in addition to Psych, in lieu of Psych, or not at all? If yes, which book should I use? (NOTE: If I decide to take it, then I'll probably squeeze college Stats into my schedule for the spring semester).</p>

<p>Thanks for your help and sorry for the wordiness in my post. :D</p>

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<p>don’t worry about length - i like verbose posts :)</p>

<p>1) For Lang, get CliffsAP (I’ve also heard that Petersons is a good book too) but I actually am using CliffsAP as I plan on taking it 2010 also. It is important to memorize all the literary terms for help with the MC (believe me, there are a lot) so study every day!!</p>

<p>2) Barrons is good for Psych (once again, I’m taking it too :smiley: ) and people on these forums say that reading it will help you get a 5</p>

<p>3) Stats is easy to self-study (again, I will take it too with you next year). I personally found Calculus BC very easy, so if you wish to try you may want to self-study. Tae it in addition to Psych. Barrons is good for Stats</p>

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<p>What did you get on the Calc BC, if you don’t mind me asking? Haha.</p>

<p>Like I said, my school is small and most of the upper level classes are handled by the college. We only had two guys at our school (of 400) bother this year with the Calc. One didn’t study at all, and barely made a B in the class, so he made a 2 on the exam. The other made a 5 just by doing well in the class and practicing some flash card problems leading up to the exam. I’m pretty confident that our class teaches enough to get a 5 on the exam, provided you familiarize yourself with the format of the test. But I think I’ll at least take precal next semester and see what the subject matter is like for me before I start preparing to take the exam.</p>

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<p>Barron’s is definitely the best source for the AP Psychology exam, read it twice and you should have no problem with the exam. Additionally, for a bit of extra support, the sparkchart for psychology seems to be a great help. Personally, it netted me three questions on the 2009 exam, especially one about electroencephalograms and what they treat that I wouldn’t have known without it. Best of luck with self-studying.</p>

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<p>@michaelwiggins: I got a 5, and precalc (although it precedes calculus) is a bit of a misnomer. The topics are more an extension of Algebra II, and have absolutely no relationship to calculus (except some classes may reach limits, but that is an easy calculus topic). I suggest you look at Paul’s Online Math Notes for Calculus I and II if you wish to take the BC exam, and you can ask the teacher who teaches it for help. I think you should be fine</p>

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<p>@Stimulus: As tempted as I am to do that, I probably better not. Even though its up in the air for me as to whether I’ll take Psych and/or Stats, I have a feeling that even if it was in lieu of those, teaching myself Calc from scratch would take A LOT of time (considering advanced math requires you to understand more logic than possibly any other AP), and having to do that in addition to Bio and the 2 English exams could be tough. On the one hand, I wouldn’t take stats if I took Calc, but still it sounds like that could be an overload.</p>

<p>In any case I’m way ahead of schedule in studying for Bio (After all, the guy who wrote the sticky about Self-Studying didn’t even see it necessary to start preparing before January), and the two Englishes will mostly be taught in class, so perhaps I <i>can</i> manage Calc on my own. Hell, the PreCal teacher at my school prepares students (from other schools) for the Calc AP in his free time for like 50 bucks an hour, and he practically BEGGED to help our two calc exam-takers to help them prepare (for free). Did you self study BC or did you have a class, and which book would you recommend?</p>

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<p>I self-studied Psychology this year. I read part of David G. Myers’ Psychology, and then reviewed with Barron’s a month before the test, and skimmed it the night before. I ended up with a 4, but I think if you read all of Myers’ Psychology you can pull off a 5 easily, and a 4 with just Barron’s. The test itself is a lot easier than most that I’ve taken in that there is very little time pressure.</p>