AP Study Tips

With testing season quickly approaching, AP exams are soon to follow. These exams are meant to assess the knowledge of students who have taken college-level classes to potentially earn credit. There are fewer than two weeks until the start of exams, and you don’t want that $100 to go to waste. Here are some of the best study tips and test-taking strategies that countless students have found successful.

Create a calendar → Over the next two-plus weeks before your AP exam, take a few minutes to plan each day and what you will study. Focus primarily on the heavily weighted units or the units you struggled with, and reinforce units from earlier in the year. Also, don’t forget to build MCQ and FRQ practice into these days; don’t focus solely on content review. Take a day off each week so you aren’t burned out by the time the exam arrives. 

Find your go-to YouTube tutor → For nearly every AP subject there is a well-known tutor or channel that can help. For history, there is Heimler’s History; for certain sciences and math, there’s The Organic Chemistry Tutor; and there are many others. While watching these videos, don’t just passively watch—take notes and reinforce the content by doing practice questions on your own first. Even outside of YouTube, there are countless resources available to help students succeed. 

Utilize active recall → This is a strategy I swear by and is very useful and easy to do. To use active recall, repeat the information to yourself as if you’re teaching it to someone who knows little or nothing about the topic. Explain it in a way they would understand and in a way that reinforces the information you already know. It works especially well for intricate scientific processes and historical timelines. This is exactly what AP graders look for: someone who can not only remember information but apply it to a scenario, which requires a deep understanding of the concepts.

Test-taking strategies:

Practice pacing → Many students find pacing the most difficult part of the exam, especially for the writing sections. For example, the AP Language and Composition exam gives you three different types of essays to write in two hours, so you need a plan going into the exam and to budget your time wisely. While doing content review, practice pacing yourself. Even if it isn’t always a full essay (though it is helpful for the writing and history APs), pacing practice helps you see where you need to spend time and ensures every question is answered. One person’s strategy may not work for you, so try different approaches to see what works best. 

Narrow down answer choices → Many multiple-choice questions include answer choices that are very similar or intended to confuse you. Some answers may differ by only one or two words, and only one is correct. People often get stuck between two choices, splitting the decision 50/50. Note that, although not always the case, answers containing words like “always” or “never” are often incorrect because they lack qualifiers or exceptions. Ultimately, trust your first instinct and do not change your answer unless you are absolutely certain it is wrong. Many students have lost points by second-guessing themselves. 

Rely on multiple-choice information → Scratch paper is usually provided. For content-based APs (history and science), write down important facts you recall from the multiple-choice section that could help with an FRQ later, since you won’t be able to access the multiple-choice questions after submission. You can also use information from one MCQ to help with another, potentially eliminating answer choices.

In the end, these AP scores don’t make or break you. While they test recall of content—whether intricate cellular functions or historical events—they also require strategy and planning. Be proud that you are taking a college-level class while still in high school. Until the exams start on May 4 at 8:00 a.m., remain consistent, trust your preparation and instincts, and know that you’ve got this!