self-studyAnswered
Hi,
I'm a junior in high school and I'm taking AP Bio, APUSH, and I'm also self-studying AP Music Theory. My school also has a dual curriculum, and I have twice as many classes as other schools. My school has a limit of 5 in school APs (2 in junior year and 3 in senior year) I'm planning to take AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Computer Science Principles, and then self-study AP pysch and AP Macro/microeconomics (haven't decided which yet). I've heard that AP environmental science is one of the easiest APs, and I also know that a lot of what you learn in it overlaps with AP Bio. If I think I could handle the workload, would it make sense for me to start self-studying now, and would it be possible for me to be prepared for the AP exam if I star now? I know I won't be able to handle 6 APs next year, along with my school's dual curriculum, so I either take it this year or not at all.
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2 answers
This answer is not only for you but for all 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.
It's true that course rigor and getting As and 5s on your APs exams will look good on your college application but there are caveats to this and you need to pay attention:
-You application to XYZ college will be evaluated by AOs who are also evaluating other applicants from your HS, and your school district HSs, and the various zip codes that feed into them. So if your school district has a MAX of 5 APs, then aiming for 10 by self studying half of them is not necessarily going to make you a stand out.
-All colleges, especially Top Colleges weigh APs that were actually taken higher than self studying for them. Why? Because the taking the class, doing the homework, problem sets, papers, projects and labs and getting an A in them shows evidence that you have both the depth and breadth of mastering that subject matter. An AP test, especially the modified COVID-19 45 min AP exams are NOT a replacement for actually spending 100s of hours doing the coursework with a teacher and your peers.
-Top Colleges like Stanford and Harvard do have similar academic scorecards where you are given a score from 1 to 5 based on your grades, course rigor, test scores and intellectual vitality (Stanford), or IC (Intellectual curiosity - Harvard). And many Ivys and Elite colleges follow a similar rubric including schools like Barnard College. If you want to have a high IV/IC score, it is better to take college courses outside of HS versus stacking up more self-studying APs. Why? Because you are challenging yourself in a classroom with the intent of getting As and transferable college credit. An A and a transcript from ABC college where you took Physics I,II, C or Multivariable Calculus will always "trump" an a self taught AP class.
-Also doing supervised research with a college professor, or getting published/attributed in an scientific journal, or having a "spike" related internship over the summer between semesters further supports getting a higher IV/IC score.
You are certainly free to make your own mind up and do your own research. Most AOs at top college do NOT expect you to have 10 APs and 10 5s in them if your HS caps APs at 5. This advice also applies to International students who many not have AP coursework available in their HS nor access to CollegeBoard Test Centers. My advice is focus on learning not on meeting some artificial requirement.
Good luck.
It is 100% possible for you to be ready for the AP exam if you start right now.
However, you need to be willing to put in the time and effort. AP Environmental is fairly easy, but there is a significant amount of memorization involved. You have four months, so I recommend going through the curriculum and maybe taking some online practice tests.
I'd preferably go in this order:
- Go through the curriculum, find what you do know and what you don't know.
- Work on learning what you do know in the next few weeks.
- Take a practice test and see what you're missing, and continue working on that.
The continue taking practice tests from different AP website offerings and see how you're doing.
Make sure you know most of whats in the curriculum! Here is the exam and course description for you off collegeboard :) https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-environmental-science-course-and-exam-description.pdf
Good luck! You seem like an amazing student :) Good luck!!
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Also, I have a friend who is self-studying AP environmental so I would have someone to learn with, and she said there’s a lot of overlap with AP Bio.