<p>So? Is it wrong for me to self-study for an AP test, not tell anyone, slip away to take the test come May, and never tell my friends about it? </p>
<p>Part of me just says, “how is it any of their business”? My academic decisions are my decisions, not theirs’, so they don’t need to know about them. </p>
<p>But I also feel like I’ll be cheating them out of opportunities if I don’t tell them. I’m very confused about what to do in the future. Should I just not tell them?</p>
<p>Self-studying is something that’s not done in my school. I live in a rural area and go to a public high school with about 400 kids. So when I decided to self-study AP Psych, I told a couple of my friends when talking about classes. </p>
<p>I only brought it up when the topic was mentioned (“What APs are you taking next year?” “What’s your schedule like?”). </p>
<p>I really don’t think it’s a big deal to tell your friends. :)</p>
<p>Lol, I guess if they’re ignorant about these subjects, it’s your duty to tell them about it and help them help themselves. But this isn’t really something you should dwell on.</p>
<p>You might offer , in casual conversation, that self-study for AP’s is a theoretical possibility that anyone can take advantage of, if they wish. You will have communicated the opportunity without admiting the actuality. Kind of like certain forms of sexual release.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t you tell them? Are you trying to lessen the competition during college admissions or something?! I mean, these kids are your friends … if they wouldn’t care about self-studying either way, then there’s no point mentioning it. But if you KNOW it’s something they’d be really interested in … I mean, good friends HELP EACH OTHER OUT. It’s what they do!</p>
<p>I told people I was self-studying…but I stopped after I got “You can do that? Don’t you have to take the class?” about 12 times in a row. People in my school are obviously ignorant that they can look this stuff up on the internet. But then again, my GC also had to “check” to see if I was “allowed” to self-study for an AP class. So… >></p>
<p>Anyway, if you don’t want to tell them, don’t bother. People need to learn to look for their own academic opportunities and stop relying on other people to give it to them on a platter.</p>
<p>But if you want to let them on it (I don’t understand why it seems to be some big secret), do that then. It won’t hurt.</p>
<p>@Notamushroom: The problem is just that – they’re not interested in it, but they’ll want to do it just b/c it’ll look good on applications. And then they’ll lord it over other friends, who are not as gifted in the academic area. And then I’ll feel like a ******bag for telling them about it in the first place. </p>
<p>@Everyone: Thank you all for your replies! I already told my friends that I would be trying to do AP Macroeconomics, but now I want to switch over to AP European History (which I know for a fact that they will not be interested in) so I don’t know really if I should tell them again. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your advice!</p>
<p>I tell my friends sometimes, but they just look at me like I’m crazy…They’re not into studying and AP stuff at all 
haha. So I only told them that I would be self-studying two…and I’m still being labeled as insane. Great. </p>
<p>But yea, unless the topic of AP appears in your conversation, don’t feel the need to blurt it out. My friends and I were just talking about our classes next year and it was all very natural. I wouldn’t advertise or deny my self-studying.</p>
<p>I told my friend. She’s taking the class I’m self studying, so it’ll be helpful for me to read her notes sometimes. I don’t think it has to be a big deal. Just when we were normally discussing schedules, I was talking about how I couldn’t decide between APWH and AP Psych, so later, when she asked me about it, it made logical sense to say that I had arranged to self study it. My friend and I don’t really have any secrets.
If it came up in convo with my other, not so close friends, I’d tell them, obvi. But I’m not going to purposely make it about self studying. They probs d. c.</p>
<p>Wrong? No.
Pointless? Yes.</p>
<p>i didn’t bring it up to anyone…but i don’t think you should like deliberatly hide it from anyone.but in my case…my principal and counselor told the whole staff which made me kinda upset to say the least…but no one really cared…</p>
<p>I don’t bring it up with anyone but like anamai said you shouldn’t deliberately hide it from anyone if they ask. Besides, not that many kids in my school are particularly interested in HYPSM anyway so self-studying wouldn’t do them any good. The last kid to go to an ivy from our school was six years ago (Princeton).</p>
<p>Huh… they are your “friends” right? </p>
<p>I loved my high school. I independent studied APs since freshman year… no one cared.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s wrong at all. Chances are that they too are doing something that they don’t feel like sharing. Of course, if they directly ask you if you are self-studying and you deny it - then that is wrong. But otherwise, you are just refraining from letting them in on personal information. (:</p>
<p>I tried telling some of my friends this year…most of them didn’t get it, maybe one was impressed but he forgot about it.
Depending on the people you hang out with, they can be very apathetic :)</p>
<p>Also if your friends are that likely to self-study, they most likely would have heard about it already.</p>
<p>Of course if they don’t ask, its not like you have to tell them; if they ask, I really don’t see the harm in telling them. However, it is your decision, so you can choose not to tell them.</p>
<p>unless they ask, there is no point in telling them. after all, more competition = less change for college right?</p>
<p>The type of friends I have don’t even know what Ap classes are.
So not telling them about self-studying for an Ap would not be considered a stab in the back kind of thing. If I had competitive friends, then I guess I’ll acknowledge it.</p>
<p>No it’s not wrong… Your friends don’t need to know everything</p>