With AP tests beginning in about three weeks, I’m sure there is some stress and apprehension when it comes to preparing for these exams, as these are certainly emotions I have felt recently as well. However, I think it is important to remember that if your effort is there, and enough preparation is done, everyone is more than capable of achieving good scores. Along these lines, I have been compiling some studying strategies, specifically for AP, that I thought would be helpful for everyone to consider. Finally, if you have any strategies or tips that are not mentioned in this post, please let me know in the comments so that we can all help each other prepare for the tests as thoroughly as possible!

1. Start Early – For my fellow procrastinators I know this piece of advice may not seem all too realistic, however, it is definitely known to be a stress reliever and helps with time management. This is self explanatory, because allowing more time to study helps spread the sessions out over a longer period of time, and even allows a more manageable schedule overall, as most students are accommodating more than one AP test. Personally, I will try to start studying at the beginning of next week, focusing on one subject per day, for a minimum of thirty minutes. This way, as the testing dates become closer and closer, I will have less on my mind, and feel more confident in my abilities to be successful. Finally, this strategy is not one I have very effectively incorporated in the past, so I think it will be a good challenge to see if I can stay committed this time around.

2. Avoid Using Phones – This tip is definitely difficult to stick to, especially with the distractions of text messages, social media, and music that can be played using your phone. However, it is way easier to complete assignments and to study in general without a phone nearby, so it is best to leave it in a different room until the entire assignment is completed, or at least until it is time to take a break. Furthermore, while some students may try to convince themselves their phones can be used for academic purposes, such as using the calculator app, or even googling the answers, this is not helpful in the long run, and a physical calculator can be used in this instance. I know that in my case, whenever my phone is nearby I always end up on Snapchat, or in most cases, Tiktok, and this is when time can start to dwindle way faster than I realize. Finally, for all of these reasons, I will be leaving my phone outside of my room while studying, and even avoiding music, as it can become just as distracting as the phone itself.

3. Build in Breaks – As hinted upon in the previous paragraph, it is equally important to build in breaks as it is to study the materials themselves, so that the information is fully learned and retained. One helpful strategy I follow when it comes to regular schoolwork is working for thirty minutes straight, and setting a timer to make sure I do not work over the allotted time. After this, I allow ten minutes to either take a walk downstairs, get a small snack to eat, or check my phone for a brief period of time. After this, I work for thirty more minutes and then take another ten minute break, repeating this for as long as it takes to complete all of the work for that day. In addition to this, I think it is also helpful to change locations each time the timer is set, whether this be moving to another room, going outside, or even studying with a friend if they live nearby. The only thing about studying with friends is that is it easy to become distracted, and to start conversations during work time, however, if everyone is focused only on the material, there are a lot of benefits.

4. Study in Groups – As mentioned, getting together with friends has the potential to be a great studying strategy, as long as everyone takes it seriously, and stays focused for the allotted amount of time. In addition to this, studying in groups allows everyone to divide and conquer the material, so that each person can focus on a specific section, and then teach the whole group the important points from that topic. If keeping focus is typically a problem for your group, it is also a smart idea to go to a location other than a friend’s house, such as a coffee shop, to make the experience more fun and to give an incentive to finish early. For example, after arriving at your location of choice, set a goal time in which you would like to leave and see if you can complete all of the work by that time, or even better, before that time.

5. Take Practice Exams – While doing homework, and preparing using your own materials is helpful to a certain extent, once you have studied for a couple of days, or more preferably, weeks, it is a beneficial idea to try your hand at a practice exam. To make this more accessible, I have been informed by a few of my teachers that there are practice tests on the college board website, and that these will be available to take closer to the date of the actual AP exam. Not only is this an opportunity to further practice the material, it is also a chance to simulate an actual exam and familiarize yourself with the format and time constraints. In addition, another way to simulate the actual test is to find a blank AP exam prompt from a previous year, complete the test within the allotted time, and then use the rubric found at the end of the page to grade yourself, or have a friend grade your test to avoid cheating.

Overall, with each of these strategies taken into account, I hope to do well on my AP tests, as well as everyone else in this class. Despite this being a stressful time, the AP exams are the last hurdle to clear before graduation, and I know we can all achieve success if we stay focused and study smart. As stated in the introduction, please let me know in the comments if you plan to use any of these strategies, if there are any other strategies you know to be helpful that were not listed, or even the classes you are most nervous about preparing for. With that being said, let’s use these next three or four weeks to study and prepare so that we can all kill it on the AP exams!

– Kelsey 🙂