AP exams are right around the corner, which means, for most students, it’s time to study. Already anxious students pile on even more work as they stress to relearn an entire year’s worth of content. In this midst of all this anxiety, students may ask: “How can I make this easier?”
Ms. Gross and Ms. Poniatowski, two AP teachers, have volunteered their advice. From studying methods to general tips, these teachers have the answers.
Question: How can students minimize stress while studying for the AP exam?
“Take breaks, maybe do an hour [of studying] and 15 minutes to 20 minutes [of a break] and do something fun. But as you’re studying, don’t be watching a show,” explains Ms. Gross.
Question: What study methods do you suggest?
“College board has a lot of good resources, and anything your teacher gives you is good as well. There are also a lot of great videos, depending on your subject. There’s a lot of teachers who used to teach the subject that make a career out of [making videos],” says Ms. Gross.
“Do about 10-15 minutes of practicing those skills and then chunking the information to review. [You] don’t want to review the weekend before,” suggests Ms. Poniatowski.
Question: Do you have any tips and tricks for studying?
“Try to start studying early, I would say two or three weeks before [the test]. I would try to do a practice test to see what you know and what you don’t know. Then, focus on studying what you don’t know, then go back and study what you do know. I would not try to study the night before. If you’re going to wait that long, just don’t bother to study for it at all,” advises Ms. Gross.
“Practice how to dissect a question, how to kind of figure out what it is really asking and what information that is actually needed. Practice how to narrow [the answers] down to the best two choices. Also, timing!” answers Ms. Poniatowski
Question: What is the most important thing to understand about the course?
“History is connected. It’s not a bunch of random dates and, you know, dead people. What happens in one part of the world impacts another and what happened 400 years ago has an impact on what’s going on today,” suggests Ms. Gross.
“Reviewing things that [you] learned in the beginning of the year and connecting them to things that [you’re] learning right now, so [you] can see the big picture,” says Ms. Poniatowski.
Question: What’s the biggest piece of encouragement you have?
“It’s one test, one day. If you wake up feeling crappy, then just do your best shot. But again, your future does not rest on that one exam,” explains Ms. Gross
“People who have struggled on the AP test for no fault of their own, it could be that they didn’t get to sleep, something happened, and [now] they’re in medical school or graduated medical school. No one test defines you,” answers Ms. Poniatowski.
Their advice can be summed up to this: AP testing is just another test. Everyone is going to sit down and take it, and then it will be over. So stop stressing, and start studying!
