<p>*who took</p>
<p>Note: This thread is mainly for those who are interested in taking 7+ AP exams for the next year and have never taken on such a workload.</p>
<p>Junior year I took 1 AP, English Language. I didn’t try as hard as some of the other kids in my class and I didn’t think much of it. However, during the winter break of senior year, I wanted to push my limits, do something I didn’t think was possible, shoot for something that would reward me well.</p>
<p>What courses did I take?
Physics Mechanics
Physics E&M
Macro (self taught)
Micro (self taught)
Psych (self taught)
Comp Sci (self taught)
Calc BC
Chemistry
English Lit</p>
<p>How did you structure your studying?</p>
<p>I didn’t. In fact, this was rather poorly planned. I received conflicting answers about whether or not I would receive credit for Comp Sci, studying was interrupted by school work, I figured I could push off the intensity if I wasn’t going to take Comp Sci. Finally, I heard I COULD get credit for comp sci and that put a lot of pressure on me.</p>
<p>In the end, I did probably 80~90% of the studying in the last 1.5~2 months. At the start of spring break, I studied micro and macro furiously to the point where I felt comfortable after a couple of weeks. After that I studied psych and comp sci a lot. School was helping with studying for the other courses. But otherwise, I was dedicating a LOT of time towards this.</p>
<p>Did you spend your days and nights studying?</p>
<p>Some days I’d spend upwards of 8 hours studying. I would go to school and then come home and study until 11 at night. But, I’d also have time to breathe and hang out with friends and go to the gym. I could spend days studying but I felt I needed to hang out with a friend once or twice a week to avoid going crazy.</p>
<p>Did it hurt to sit there and study for hours on end?</p>
<p>After a while you get used to it. This isn’t something you can just do on a whim. You need to really be able to self motivate. Heck I even watched some youtube videos to keep me going at times. From time to time I would take breaks or do something else so I could get back to studying later. </p>
<p>However, I feel like sitting there and forcing myself to read and study gave me an important skill of just trudging on. I like to think of it as cardio for your brain (as stupid as it sounds). Spend a little more time focusing and studying everyday and what used to be difficult last week becomes a whole lot easier this week.</p>
<p>What were your scores?
I got all 4’s and 5’s on my exams. My school accepts 4’s and so I aimed for credit, not some State AP Award or etc.</p>
<p>If you are doing this for awards:
Start preparation from the beginning of the year to the end. While I got 4’s and 5’s, I was incredibly anxious, nervous, and stressed. The stress that I underwent during those 2 months, especially during those two weeks, and the painful week before early score viewing was brutal.</p>
<p>If not for awards:
Then it should be for credits. Seriously, it is not worth it to do this much work for getting into a college. Chances are a couple more AP’s won’t make a huge difference. If you can get credits that apply to your school’s core curriculum or the major you want, then go for it. Otherwise, I really can’t see the point of doing this much work.</p>
<p>Would I do it again?
Frankly, I’m going to try to use the skills I learned in college to self teach for some classes. Personally, for the two months that I tried my hardest, I did more than I could ever imagine, and, as lame as it sounds, this is one of the proudest things I’ve ever done. So yes, I would do it again. My end result was 39 credits (7 more than I thought I would get) towards a state college. However, I would try to schedule things out a lot better.</p>