Only take AP classes in subjects or feels that you have a strong grasp of. [3] X Expert Source Ted Coopersmith, MBAAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 12 May 2021. Make sure you have enough time in your daily schedule to focus on any extra projects or especially complicated topics. [4] X Expert Source Ted Coopersmith, MBAAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 12 May 2021.
Summer homework is also great to brush up on content that you might have learned in an early prerequisite class. For example, most people take Chemistry I before AP Chemistry, so it’s good to have a solid foundation on what you’ve already learned before diving into harder stuff. Don’t be overwhelmed by the summer homework! It might look like a lot, but if you have a good AP teacher then the homework is very helpful and necessary.
Review what work you have to do before the school year ends and plan out when you will do it and how long you think it will take. Once you break it down, it will probably look less intimidating. Mix up work and play. If you’re going to lunch and then the beach one day, commit to reading one chapter in the morning before you leave. Spreading work out like this will make your summer actually feel like summer, not homeschool.
Barron’s, Kaplan, and Princeton Review are a few of the most popular prep books, but some books are better for some subjects than others. Ask around to see which ones may be the best for you and the subjects you’re taking.
Don’t forget to enjoy your summer! Don’t just work, work, work all summer or else you’ll get burned out.
Remember to study smart (and hard, but especially smart). With so many hard classes, you have to be efficient with your time and that means making every minute as productive as possible. Create flashcards to review on the bus, during a free period, etc. It doesn’t seem like much, but reinforcing info (especially for classes that require memorizing) is important to learning so much in a quick amount of time.
Don’t pull all nighters either. If all you do is go to school and come home, then maybe you can get away with it for awhile. But if you’re dedicated to other activities, especially sports and active things, you’ll really drain yourself. A rare all nighter is understandable, but several times a week is inexcusable.
Allow yourself to hang out with friends every other weekend (if you have other activities during the week that take up your time). Use the time during your extra curricular activities to be with friends, like in clubs and sports. There is a lot of socializing in these activities, even if it’s not going to movies or the beach.
Study groups are also helpful for reinforcing things you’ve already studied. For example, asking and answering questions to review for an upcoming test is more interesting than just shuffling flashcards.
Vocabulary homework: It helps to use two sources; your textbook, and Quizlet. This is especially true in history classes. Try putting the definition in your own words, because the textbook definition can be long sometimes. For some words, you can put more information so that your definitions don’t all look short and copied. For others, use Quizlet because the definitions are usually shorter and more to the point (but put them in your own words!). Short answers homework: It helps if you’ve already read the chapter/taken notes. Go to the page(s) that are related to the question and basically jot it all down (better to type). Once you dump all the information you can reorganize the sentences and words to sound better. Math/word problems: Try to see what formulas relate to what information the question gives you. Break the work down so that you don’t make mistakes. You can’t rush math as well, and doing so may lead to a lower grade and more wasted time trying to fix your mistakes. You can go over your answers that morning or before class starts if you don’t have time at home. Essays: Decide what you’ll talk about in each paragraph and look in your textbook for information that relates to each. Type down all the information. You can spread this out to a chapter a day if that’s more convenient. Then go back and make the sentences and words flow better, adding transitions and good vocabulary. Make it concise! Go back into your textbook and double check whether you’ve missed anything. Get it revised if your teacher takes rough drafts.
You could cram, at least for one class, for about two weeks, but this will lead to stress and may not be possible if you have stuff to do outside of school. It’s much better to spread it out and do a little bit of review every day for a couple of months. If you’ve been struggling with a class all year, start studying for that first. Spread it out to an hour, or even half an hour a day. The College Board has posted many AP exam-specific YouTube videos. [12] X Expert Source Jai FlickerAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 20 May 2020. Be selective and watch the ones that are relevant to what you need to learn. [13] X Expert Source Jai FlickerAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 20 May 2020. You can use the speed function on YouTube to speed up the presentation and watch them at 1. 5 speed to get through them faster and slow down as needed. [14] X Expert Source Jai FlickerAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
The price should also motivate you to study harder for the exam. If you don’t score high enough, all this work (and money!) won’t count as any credit. Even if you took the class just for a challenge, it’s pretty upsetting if you don’t get some tangible credit for it.
It’s very important to not just practice multiple choice/free response, but go over what you did wrong and why. If you know why, there’s a much lower chance you won’t get the answer wrong again, and that’s what practice is all about. Take at least one practice exam before the actual one. Time goes by quickly taking the exam, and you’d be surprised how hard it is to cram in 70 questions into 50 minutes for some exams (that’s less than a minute per question). You will also feel more prepared once you sit down on exam day, and that will calm your nerves.
Consider wearing a watch so you can keep track of how well you’re doing time-wise.
Pat yourself on the back for a good year and how well you conquered a new challenge. Then look forward to a nice, relaxing summer!
