Sophomores’ first encounters with Advanced Placement exams will occur next month as they wrap up a year of study in AP Computer Science, AP Biology and AP U.S. History. The fear of completing all of the work just to end up with a score of 2 or 1 is real. To help sophomores avoid that fate, students who previously took an AP class and earned a score of 5 on their exams offered tips and shared their secrets to success.
Senior Nate Landever scored a 5 on the AP Computer Science exam two years ago, and here are his tips:
How early should you start studying for the AP Comp Sci exam?
“I started studying about three weeks before the exam, but we had also been doing review in class about a month before the exam.”
What resources helped you study the most?
“My teacher gave me a word bank of terms we needed to know,and that helped me a ton. I also watched a lot of the videos on AP Classroom.”
What does the test look like?
“It started off with multiple choice questions, then free-response questions regarding the project we did during the school year.”
Did you face any time-management problems during the test?
“I’m a really slow test taker, and I thought we had a lot of time.”
How did you find time, between being injured and playing baseball, to study for the exam? (Landever suffered a major head/eye injury about a month before that AP exam.)
“It was definitely one of the busiest points in my high school career, but after baseball games I would study for 1-2 hours over the span of a couple weeks leading up to the test. I sacrificed a lot of sleep, but it was worth it.”
Junior Eden Cohen earned a 5 on theAP Biology exam last year, and this is her guide to a 5:
How early should you start studying for the AP Bio exam?
“I started around two weeks before the test, but I should’ve started three weeks before because the bio exam was the exam I felt the least prepared for.”
What did you do to study?
“I did all the things my teacher put in the AP Classroom, like videos and stuff.”
What did the test look like?
“It started with multiple choice questions on the computer, then free-response questions on paper, and then a packet you had to fill out.”
What problems did you encounter, either studying or during the test?
“I was pretty anxious during the test because I didn’t feel very prepared for it, but that went away.”
Junior Ellie White scored a 5 on the AP U.S. History exam last year, and here is how she got there:
How early did you start studying for the APUSH exam?
“I started in early April. And honestly if I went back and took it again, I would’ve started at the same time.”
How did you study for the test?
“I read over the main terms and the textbook, and I watched a lot of review videos. Then I went on the AP Classroom and followed the course guide, because they have a bunch of videos.”
What did the test look like?
“There was around 50 multiple choice questions and then short-answer questions, and then you got a break. After the break, there was a long-answer question and a document-based question. And for each section they gave plenty of time to complete it.”
What was the biggest problem you encountered while studying or taking the test?
“I think it’s really hard to take in that much information while all your other classes are still going on and then get tested on it, so pressure kind of comes from that. It was also super stressful going into the test because, what if I forget something? But once you get into the test, you kind of get into a flow state and you’re all good from there.”
What’s one tip you’d give to worried APUSH students regarding the test?
“Don’t overthink it. Taking an AP test sounds really scary, but it’s really just a college test that you’ll have to take for another four years, so when you put it that way it just seems like another test and not some life-changing exam.”
Use this information wisely, and go get a 5. You got this!Â
