Preparing for the APs

Now that it’s February, AP exam season is rapidly approaching! In just 3 months, May will be knocking with Advanced Placement tests at our door. Around you, you will see many students already beginning to study for the upcoming exams. Or maybe they’re not studying and just planning to cram everything a few days prior to the exam. Given that these exams are the culmination of your course studies, students often stress themselves out worrying about them.

Feeling stressed? Especially in our school, juggling the coursework, combined with extracurriculars and balancing seeing friends and family, can feel difficult and daunting! We at QHSS Cardinals are here to help. Here are some of our best tips, as your resident older-sisters, to help you better prepare yourself for the hardest exams of your school year!

Tip 1: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Having been at this school for 3 years, we can tell you definitively that procrastination (the greatest guilty pleasure of our school) is your number one enemy to being adequately prepared for the testing months. Most students here at QHSS take on APs classes and college-level courses, and often procrastinate studying until the last minute. Despite how helpful our teachers are, it’s essential you plan ahead as well. We recommend preparing 3 months in advance.

Make sure you prioritize what subjects to study for and plan accordingly. There are many study methods that you can try to see which ones work best for you. Ultimately, your study plan should consist of study blocks, where you study and review subjects once or twice a week for spaced repetition to ingrain the knowledge so that you can recall it during the test, as well as taking practice tests to gauge your weaknesses and strengths to see what you need to focus on the most. Making a plan, not just for studying, is incredibly important and helps you stay on top of all your tasks. Managing your time efficiently helps you to not feel overwhelmed and your to-do list to not be filled with a crazy number of tasks. In summary, don’t procrastinate and plan your time.

Tip 2: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR RESOURCES! We have great teachers at this school, along with peer and teacher tutoring as well. Seeking help from your peers and teachers will be a great asset to staying prepared and prepping for the exams! Don’t be afraid to reach out, as everyone here wants to see each other succeed. Organize studying sessions with your friends, or study solo, it doesn’t matter. Talk to your teachers and find new resources and discover your passions!

Tip 3: ONLINE RESOURCES! Online resources are your best friend when studying for APs. Here’s some resources we can recommend personally!

• General: Khan Academy, fiveable
• For vocabulary: Knowt (it’s Quizlet but free), Quizlet
• For chemistry: The Organic Chemistry Teacher on Youtube, Abigail Giordano on Youtube, Jeremy Krugg (on Youtube)
• For biology: AP Bio Penguins, Bozeman Science on Youtube
• For history: Heimler’s History on Youtube
• For psychology and APHUG: Mr. Sinn on Youtube and his review packets
• For ELA: Marco Learning
• Math: Khan Academy

For subjects not mentioned, maybe look on forums like reddit? Students from 7 years ago may have just the resource you need. Sometimes, the oldest are the best. There’s a document on reddit called the APUSHER which is like a master study guide to APUSH.

Textbooks, too, can be helpful. They’ve never worked for someone like me,  a heavily visual and auditory learner who prefers videos, but they can be a very useful resource! For humanities subjects, such as history and ELA, Princeton Review is a great textbook option as it overprepares you for the exams by providing you with questions that are more difficult than the typical questions found on the exam. For science classes, like chemistry and biology, Barron’s test prep books will be your best friend, prepping you for the exam with countless questions set to match the level of those found on AP exams.

Make sure to use a mix of these resources. Try reading a section from the textbook or watching a video on the concept and do practice questions to test your knowledge. Remember, practice is key to getting the score you want on that AP exam.

Tip 4: DESTRESS! So, so many students in this school feel overworked, overwhelmed and constantly stressed. The workload seems to never ease up! It is so important for us to destress, especially the day or week before the test.

If you’ve been studying continuously, and feel burnt out or bleary, take a break! Take care of yourself, so your body can take the time  to  rest. A rested brain picks up things better.

Whichever way you choose to destress: hanging out with friends or family, alone time doing your favorite things, going on a date with yourself at your favorite dessert shop, go for it! You deserve it.

I know I’ll be taking the SAT in March, along with my junior friends and I’m taking my time to prepare months in advance. And de-stress whenever I need it. Doing so and not pushing myself too far has helped me immensely!

Manifesting clear skin and effortless grades for you all and see you readers in next month’s release!