By Jonathan Tran and Sarah Yoo
It’s that time of the year again–Advanced Placement (AP) testing season. With the added pressure of challenging courses and multiple extracurriculars, it may be inevitable to push back studying for your AP exams. Many of us are also experiencing it for the first time in person this year after two years of having it online, and others may be entirely inexperienced with the exam schedule. Although it may seem difficult to cram an entire year’s worth of information into this final month before the AP exams, here are some ways you can still cram!
- Create a Schedule
Although it is possible to score well cramming the week before or winging the exam, guaranteeing a more secure path to success is to create a game-plan. Starting now.
“Study early, don’t wait until the last minute,” AP United States History teacher David Uribe said about the APUSH exam. “Go over all your notes—go online and see some other tricks as well, but don’t wait till the last minute.”
Figure out exactly how many days you have before the exam and formulate an approach that includes time to complete content review, learn how to tackle each part of the exam, and learn how to manage your time during the exam.
- Immerse yourself in the subject
You can certainly read your notes again and take practice tests. However, to achieve mastery of a subject in a short amount of time beyond what was stated in the textbook, utilize every little pocket of time, like commuting to school, waiting for your parents to pick you up or walking to class. During these times, you can watch a video or a podcast, flip through flashcards, create timelines, revisit old concepts and drill through everything you know about a topic. These moments are short and scattered throughout the day, but you will be able to cram in a lot of information over time during these periods.
- Learn the format of the test
The AP exam is structured a bit differently from a regular exam. Search up and study the past exams from College Board to familiarize yourself with the type of questions you will see on exam day and learn how to tackle them. Although it varies on the subject, it typically consists of Multiple Choice Questions and Free Response Questions, which your teachers have most likely gone over.
- Prioritize
If you are planning to shoot for high scores on all your exams, choose which one(s) need more work over the others and focus on that. You can gauge this by taking a College Board practice exam, or part of it, see how well you score on that, and create a schedule accordingly. Planning out which exam requires more focus is the easy part. Managing this with the rest of your life and the exam is another story. Here, you will most likely have to make some sacrifices between your time, sleep, extracurriculars, grades and the exam. But whatever you choose, remember that no exam or class is worth pushing yourself to the breaking limit so get enough sleep, eat well and take care of yourself before the exam.
- Study methods
There are lots of study methods to choose from like using prep books, watching videos, listening to lectures, going over notes, hosting study groups, taking practice tests and much more. Choose the methods that work best for you.
- Rest
Although this is beaten into your skulls since eternity, you must get sufficient sleep! According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sleep deprivation may impact your physical and mental health, ability to concentrate, learning and safety. Although the exams may play a significant role in the future when choosing a college, your overall well-being is more important.
Most likely than not, your teachers have already well prepared you for the AP exams.
For example, for the AP Language and Composition exam, most of the work and preparation has already been done in class.
“I think if a student has been participating in their class and diligently doing the work—you probably don’t need to spend a lot of time studying,” AP Language and Composition teacher Sean Ziebarth said.
You have been preparing for the AP exams since the beginning of the school year. Just manage your time well and study however long you feel necessary.
