Studying for AP exams floods every AP student’s schedule each starting in mid-March and whether it is their first or fourth time taking an AP exam, students will spend hours studying just for that perfect 5. However, many students don’t know how to study for their AP exams or when to start, or how many hours to put in. Here is a guide on how to study for AP exams. 

For starters, many students like to get prep books from brands such as Barrons and the Princeton Review to prepare for their AP exams. If you plan to do this, I would recommend having a conversation with your teacher as they can provide you with recommendations for prep books and give you more information on how to prepare for the AP exam. 

“I would suggest getting the Barrons book for AP Human Geography. I used it to review the material last year and helped me apply all the content to real life, which is a huge component of the test,” stated junior Natel Titizian. 

If you like to study through videos, I would suggest watching College Board review videos on YouTube. Last year, College Board held live virtual review sessions for various AP courses, and these live streams can still be found on the College Board YouTube channel. Not only do these videos go over content, but they also go over test preparation such as the different elements of the test and the criteria you will need to meet to do well. However, make sure you check the last time the curriculum was updated for your AP course, as the curriculum may have changed, making the videos not as helpful and requiring you to study more. There are also review videos available on the MyAP platform on the College Board website, which may also be helpful. 

Lastly, if you want to take an AP exam without taking the course, you can self-study for the exam. Multiple students self-study for APs that have a reputation for being less rigorous such as AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, and AP Psychology. Self-studying is a great way to get college credit if your school does not offer a certain AP course, or if your schedule is already full and you don’t have room to take a class you wanted to get college credit for. However, it is important to remember that you can only get college credit if you pass the exam (get a 3 or above). Even then, many colleges don’t accept 3s and will only offer credit if you get a 4 or 5 on your AP exam. 

Although AP courses and exams may seem challenging and overwhelming, they can be managed with good time management. Make sure you give yourself ample time to study and digest the information for the AP exam and find what works best for you.

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