As late the middle of April approaches and we head towards the middle of May, this is when many students all over the United States and Canada are getting ready to take their Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. While this period of time may feel nerve-wracking, particularly for first-timers, we’ve put together a last-minute AP Exam checklist to help you stay on track and prepare for the big day.
Recognize your strengths and weaknesses
One of the worst things you can do is go into the exam feeling unprepared. Hopefully, you’ve been keeping up with your course, either in class or independently, throughout the past year, and have now been spending some time with content review and practice exams. For some tips on increasing your study productivity, check out this article on the Top Mistakes to Avoid When Studying.
If you’ve been reviewing randomly with no pre-planned order, we recommend that you find a method to organize your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to each AP subject. It’s likely that you’ll see where you need to turn your attention towards and spend a little more time on certain areas; this could be anything from sticking to the time-limit in free-response questions, memorizing certain vocabulary or formulas, or just dedicating more time to dive deeper into difficult units.
You can even create a document or spreadsheet to track your progress and have a set plan on how to be as well-rounded in each subject as possible. This may seem a little tedious, but as someone who’s taken 9 AP tests in the past, I definitely wish I had done this. The pressures of AP review and exam season can be overwhelming, but it’s extremely important to take a step back every now and then to properly evaluate your progress.
Less content review, more skills practice
For many of us, the fact that AP exams cover so much information can seem pretty scary. You may be worried that you’ve forgotten material from earlier in the year or haven’t finished learning as May gets closer. While I agree that there is a substantial amount of basic content knowledge required to do well on the exam, I also think everyone should keep in mind that the AP tests are not necessarily a memorization exam. Instead, it’s an application of those skills you’ve developed over the course of the year.
Many exams provide “Formula Sheets”, attesting to the idea that being successful in AP exams is a lot more than just memorizing an entire textbook. This is why I previously suggested you come to terms about your current state as an AP student. For some, you may really need this last segment of late-April-early-May to finish going over old content and just increasing what you can memorize, but for most, this is a critical time to finish honing any skills and meeting those AP exam objectives.
While it may not feel like it, the truth is that many of you are more prepared than you think. The key here is to practice, practice, and practice. Aim for focus and consistency on a daily basis, drilling in those skills on critical thinking and analysis and problem-solving within the time limit. Most of us who’ve taken plenty of these AP exams can confidently say that practice exams are so incredibly important— not only are the ones from companies such as The Princeton Review and Barron’s modeled after years of previous tests, but you can literally see old free-response from previous years on the College Board’s website.
Try your best to avoid burnout
I know, it can be difficult to find a balance when the end of April approaches and your worries are at an all-time high. I’ve been there before so many times too.
However, remember that consistency is key, meaning we want to be successful in the long-run. When setting expectations for ourselves, it’s important to be realistic. Cramming at the last minute is not a smart option, but neither is pushing ourselves to the point of a breakdown or getting sick. The last thing you want to deal with during a 3-hour exam is feeling sick and miserable on top of everything else. Always make time to check in with yourself, no matter what.
A little self-confidence goes a long way
The great thing about AP exams is you never really know for certain what to expect. Keep in mind that these exams are graded on a curve, meaning it’s not as much of a competition against the test as it is against the other test-takers. Therefore, if a question is poorly written or there are any anomalies, you don’t need to worry too much; it’ll be adjusted and reflected in the scores.
In the past, I’ve always imagined the worst-case scenarios going into an exam; don’t do this. If you’ve dedicated yourself to an AP subject for an extended amount of time and have put in the effort to do your best, trust the process and acknowledge your hard work. It’s not easy to demonstrate everything you’ve learned in a year on a single assessment, but more than likely you’ll be okay. I can’t tell you how many times I let my doubts get ahead of me and was pleasantly surprised by my exam scores afterwards.
Good luck
We at Starry Scholars wish you the best on your AP exams.The fact of the matter is, you’re more ready than you think. Go into the exam with your best self and try to translate all your knowledge and skills. We believe in you!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆
One of the worst things you can do is go into the exam feeling unprepared. Hopefully, you’ve been keeping up with your course, either in class or independently, throughout the past year, and have now been spending some time with content review and practice exams. For some tips on increasing your study productivity, check out this article on the Top Mistakes to Avoid When Studying.
If you’ve been reviewing randomly with no pre-planned order, we recommend that you find a method to organize your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to each AP subject. It’s likely that you’ll see where you need to turn your attention towards and spend a little more time on certain areas; this could be anything from sticking to the time-limit in free-response questions, memorizing certain vocabulary or formulas, or just dedicating more time to dive deeper into difficult units.
You can even create a document or spreadsheet to track your progress and have a set plan on how to be as well-rounded in each subject as possible. This may seem a little tedious, but as someone who’s taken 9 AP tests in the past, I definitely wish I had done this. The pressures of AP review and exam season can be overwhelming, but it’s extremely important to take a step back every now and then to properly evaluate your progress.
Less content review, more skills practice
For many of us, the fact that AP exams cover so much information can seem pretty scary. You may be worried that you’ve forgotten material from earlier in the year or haven’t finished learning as May gets closer. While I agree that there is a substantial amount of basic content knowledge required to do well on the exam, I also think everyone should keep in mind that the AP tests are not necessarily a memorization exam. Instead, it’s an application of those skills you’ve developed over the course of the year.
Many exams provide “Formula Sheets”, attesting to the idea that being successful in AP exams is a lot more than just memorizing an entire textbook. This is why I previously suggested you come to terms about your current state as an AP student. For some, you may really need this last segment of late-April-early-May to finish going over old content and just increasing what you can memorize, but for most, this is a critical time to finish honing any skills and meeting those AP exam objectives.
While it may not feel like it, the truth is that many of you are more prepared than you think. The key here is to practice, practice, and practice. Aim for focus and consistency on a daily basis, drilling in those skills on critical thinking and analysis and problem-solving within the time limit. Most of us who’ve taken plenty of these AP exams can confidently say that practice exams are so incredibly important— not only are the ones from companies such as The Princeton Review and Barron’s modeled after years of previous tests, but you can literally see old free-response from previous years on the College Board’s website.
Try your best to avoid burnout
I know, it can be difficult to find a balance when the end of April approaches and your worries are at an all-time high. I’ve been there before so many times too.
However, remember that consistency is key, meaning we want to be successful in the long-run. When setting expectations for ourselves, it’s important to be realistic. Cramming at the last minute is not a smart option, but neither is pushing ourselves to the point of a breakdown or getting sick. The last thing you want to deal with during a 3-hour exam is feeling sick and miserable on top of everything else. Always make time to check in with yourself, no matter what.
A little self-confidence goes a long way
The great thing about AP exams is you never really know for certain what to expect. Keep in mind that these exams are graded on a curve, meaning it’s not as much of a competition against the test as it is against the other test-takers. Therefore, if a question is poorly written or there are any anomalies, you don’t need to worry too much; it’ll be adjusted and reflected in the scores.
In the past, I’ve always imagined the worst-case scenarios going into an exam; don’t do this. If you’ve dedicated yourself to an AP subject for an extended amount of time and have put in the effort to do your best, trust the process and acknowledge your hard work. It’s not easy to demonstrate everything you’ve learned in a year on a single assessment, but more than likely you’ll be okay. I can’t tell you how many times I let my doubts get ahead of me and was pleasantly surprised by my exam scores afterwards.
Good luck
We at Starry Scholars wish you the best on your AP exams.The fact of the matter is, you’re more ready than you think. Go into the exam with your best self and try to translate all your knowledge and skills. We believe in you!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆