General Advice

1. Buy a prep book early in the year. Don't wait until a week before the AP test. Not only are prices for prep books lower before AP test season, but you will have a resource you can use to help study for you in class tests. We recommend buying the REA Crash Course books if they are available for your subject.

2. Be careful which classes you take. Don't pad your schedule with too many APs. Especially if you taking an AP class that you don't really like, ask yourself if all the extra busywork will be worth it. Also, know that colleges regard AP classes in core subjects (science, math, history, and English) more seriously than the "elective" AP classes such as Psychology AP. This doesn't mean you shouldn't take classes such as Psychology AP, but make sure you are taking the most challenging core classes you can handle first.

3. Know your enemy. Go to the Collegeboard website and look over/print out the Course Syllabi for the AP classes you are taking.

4. Know your alternatives. If the AP class at your school is harder than it should be or has a teacher who is a total bitch, look into other options:

-Take the same class at your local community college. For example, if AP Chemistry at your school is ridiculously hard, consider taking General Chemistry at a community college.

-Drop the class and just self-study for the AP test. Be careful with this option. While it does show the colleges that you are self motivated and disciplined, there is potential for disaster if you do poorly on the AP test. Keep in mind that not all classes lend themselves equally well to self-study. History classes are generally easier to self-study than science classes, for example. If you self-study a science class, be sure that you are still getting a taste of the laboratory component.

5. Watch out for teachers who don't teach or "easy" AP classes. While some AP classes at your school might be a total joke or a free "A," know that on the AP test, you will be accountable for your teacher's poor teaching, and your score will suffer if you don't do extra studying on your own.

6. Do OFFICIAL practice tests (previously administered exams from the Collegeboard) before doing the tests in your AP review books. Why waste your time doing imitator questions written by a third party when you can do actual AP exams? For each AP exam, there will probably be at least 5 released AP exams you can find online or buy. Ebay is one of the best places to look, as there is a guy who from time to time sells a compilation of 79 AP exams across every subject. Or you could get ripped off by the Collegeboard in their official store where they charge $25 per exam. Ask your teacher for exams first though. Some of the older exams, such as ones from the '80s and early '90s, aren't even available on the Collegeboard's store anymore, but are readily available online.

7. Know that certain AP classes are truly not for everyone. Music Theory AP is a bad idea if you have no prior musical experience. Be aware that Chinese AP is dominated by native speakers more than other language APs; the average score is around 4.61.