The dreadful, yearly ritual experienced by high schoolers across the nation, consisting of painful and mundane weeks of cramming content to prepare for the final hurdle of all assessments can only mean one thing: the Advanced Placement (AP) Exams are near. Many students have a difficult time establishing an efficient strategy to study for these particular exams. Although AP scholars are less than two months away from sitting in one of the rows of tables in the gym with a number 2 pencil by their sides, never fear — utilize the following tips and tricks to earn high scores across the board in May.
Possibly the most important tip is to take AP practice tests. While sticking to merely reviewing the content of the AP subject may seem like enough, it could be detrimental if students aren’t aware of how the actual exam is formatted. For example, according to the College Board website, the AP U.S. History Exam consists of 55 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and is to be completed in under 55 minutes, which is a minute per question (apcentral.collegeboard.org). While this may seem fairly easy, remember, AP MCQs are structured to make students think critically. And don’t forget, each multiple choice question has a distractor answer, according to AP Teacher Jonathan Schiller, where two questions can be easily eliminated, but the other two need to be examined carefully.
Many teachers believe that by taking at least two AP practice tests in a timed situation per month, students should be able to adapt to the structure and the pattern of the questions and pinpoint the correct answers for the MCQs efficiently via the process of elimination. AP English Language and Composition Teacher Della June said, “The MCQs are very challenging and part of what makes them challenging is that the readings are high-level passages. Taking AP practice tests will improve student’s ability to interpret and understand the passages.” Teachers can provide practice exams through AP Classroom or students can simply search for AP Practice exams for the particular subject they are studying for online and will be faced with a wide variety of options they can choose from.
Another tip is to watch AP Daily Videos on the College Board website. AP Daily Videos review content from the beginning of Unit 1 to the end of the curriculum, so students have the option to watch any video on a topic they are having trouble understanding. Additionally, lecturers in the videos explicitly explain the topics, most videos aren’t too long, and best of all, most include AP practice questions at the end with the answers as well as the explanations. Watching at least one video per day will expand students’ knowledge and put them one step closer to scoring high scores on their AP exams.
Similar to watching AP Daily Videos, YouTube videos can be used as a vital study tool for any AP exam. YouTube provides a variety of AP review channels. Senior Yu Liu said, “To prepare for the AP World Exam, I watched a few Heimler’s History videos on AP World every day for a month, and on the day of the exam, I fully understood the concept of each unit and ended up doing well on the exam.”
By implementing these tips, students will be academically and mentally prepared to take on exams. Good luck studying, Cents!