No, the Advanced Placement Tests (AP’s) aren’t tomorrow, and the point of this article is not to scare you, but we are already mid-way through April. AP week starts May 6th, 2013. That’s pretty soon! Okay fine, I’ll stop with the “panicking.” If we were in class all year and managed to pass the class, the test shouldn’t be that difficult…right?

As a sophomore, I have yet to experience the three grueling hours filled with temporary “on the spot” amnesia, writing hand pains, excessive sweating, and stress- and I am definitely not looking forward to it. This year, I had the pleasure of taking US history AP, a very demanding course that has most definitely contributed to my lack of sleep. With the AP test approaching, it was time that I come up with a strategy of how to pass this test. Sometimes on tests I can’t even manage to fill in a bubble correctly…how am I going to pass the AP exam? Well, I needed some options, so I came up with a few plans.

I could watch reruns of Friends while lopsidedly lying on my couch with my computer on my stomach, video chatting my friends complaining about the test, eating Raisinets. Although there are little to no pros to this option, it would provide me with ample time to enjoy my Raisinets while marveling over the undeniable love of Rachel and Ross as a couple. I decided I should probably abandon this idea and move on.

Here was the solution: Buy every US history AP review book I could possibly find. And that I did. I developed an entire new group of friends: Kaplan, Barron, and Princeton just to name a few. We would hang out, stay up late together…okay maybe I was getting carried away. How am I going to manage to read every review book ever made? It was time to say goodbye to my new friends and move on.
It was time for some advice. I asked junior Alina Edep for some tips that she used for her success on taking AP exams. “I would just recommend not waiting till (sic) the last minute. You should buy a review book and read through it at least a month before and then study that, your notes, and what you’ve highlighted in your textbooks. I would also recommend taking as many practice tests as you can.”

I decided to obtain some professional advice from my US history teacher, Mrs. Sollitto. “It’s definitely important to get an AP review book, but also making the time to study and not waiting until the day before is key,” Mrs. Sollitto professed. Reading the whole textbook is not necessary if you’ve already read it because it’s just too long.” Another thing that Mrs. Sollitto recommended was taking a few practice tests. “The tests are extremely helpful because they usually come with explained answers”.
After a little more procrastination and a few more bags of Raisinets, I had my solution. I’ll make a plan for myself! Okay, I know that sounds like what I’ve been trying to do all along, but I mean a strategy to cover all of the information by certain deadlines. I’ll take one review book, make a schedule, and read a certain amount each day. Then, I can review the information with a study group.

That’s my approach, but there are millions of ways to tackle AP’s. Practice tests, review books, tutors, looking at previous essay topics, and discussing information are a few of the many ideas on how to prepare for the test. If you have a photographic memory, then maybe you can study less. If you work better alone, then isolate yourself in a quiet place to study. If you are the kind of person that needs to go over the information multiple times, then come up with a schedule that will allow you to have enough time to complete the material. AP tests seem a bit terrifying (I can attest to that), but I’m hoping that if I put in enough time and study to the best of my abilities, I should be able to handle it. If you have any successful tips that you would like to share, email us at [email protected]. Good luck, and let the studying begin!