Should I self-study AP Lang?

[user_393172]

So I’m going into sciences or engineering, and I know that I definitely am not the best at English in my class. Marks are around 93/100 for class. But then, on the other hand, I scored 35 on both the english and reading portion of the ACT (didn’t take writing).

So I am really fuzzy on my English abilities, and want an assessment of whether self studying AP Lang is doable for me (without spending a ■■■ ton of time like physics 2 lol)? Are my ACT skills transferable to Lang? and self-studying, how much time will it take to get gud on the essay to get a 4/5?

I would say that I am not the best writer, but have great reading and analyzing skills. A major drawback is that I haven’t read a lot of books/classics, and I am just starting to read more. I am already self studying for stats and the BC part of calc, and I dont have too much time to study an intense exam, which is why I am asking.

[skieurope]

Unless you have someone to guide you in writing essays and critiquing them, it’s pointless, IMO, to try to self study.

[izrk02]

It’s a waste of time and money to self-study for Lang. The essay can’t really be learned without the help of a tutor or teacher who knows the content really well.

[collegemom3717]

…and, why do it in the first place?

[izrk02]

@collegemom3717 a lot of students self-study. From what it appears, OP takes honors or standard english but is good at it, and wants credit for college. For example, I’m planning on going into PoliSci/journalism, so I self-studied for AP US GovPol so I can get beginning credits out of the way.

[collegemom3717]

@izrk02, I am aware that a lot of students self-study- one of my collegekids self-studied several APs. But the why matters- you are assuming that the OP is interested in getting college credit, but there is nothing in the post to indicate that. Some of the other reasons students on CC have given for self-studying include exemption from intro level classes, applying to international universities that use APs as part of the admissions process, and impressing college AOs with the number of APs taken.

If it is to impress AOs, that doesn’t work, so effort put into self-study could be put to better use elsewhere.

If it is to get exempted from the intro level course or meet distribution requirements, the rules (the score required, the number and type of courses that can be exempted by which AP, etc) vary considerably by university. In general, the more selective the college, the more restrictive the rules (for example, one of my US-based collegekids could only get credit for the equivalent of 4 courses towards graduation, and only 1 could be used towards major requirements). Knowing the general policies of the universities you are interested in can help in choosing which APs are worth the work to self-study.

If it is for applying to international universities, they typically are interested in APs related to the subject you are applying to study, so if the OP is not planning to pursue a Humanities subject an English AP is probably not helpful to the application and again, not worth putting time into self-study.

[RichInPitt]

A lot of CC students seem to self-study. Not sure I’d say it’s that prevalent in the “real world”. Many seem to think they are impressive to an admissions committee.

Given that almost every Adcom I’ve spoken with has expressed disdain for self studied AP’s, and some have said that they don’t even look at them, I also recommend against it.

OP, no, your ACT skills aren’t applicable to AP Lang. The course is focused on rhetoric and crafting persuasive and analytic essays. Not grammar and word choice. Without someone reading your essays and providing feedback, getting any value out of it would be a challenge, IMHO.

[user_393172]

Alright, thanks for everyone’s opinions. Was mainly thinking of using this as credit and to give me an incentive to improve on academic writing (I prob won’t do anything if I don’t give myself a motivator).

Hearing all of this, will most likely read over the materials but will not take the test.

Thx again.

[gardenstategal]

Look at the schools where you might apply to see if they give credit for AP Lang. None of the schools my kid considered did. Obviously, some do, but if credit is the main objective, it’d be worthwhile to do a little research up front.