Every year, we are warned by our teachers against the perils of procrastination.

And every year, we ignore them.

I mean, they can’t blame us for doing so. Many of us manage just fine by studying the day of, or even just the period before our quizzes and tests. 

What I learned this year is that you absolutely CANNOT do this for the AP exams.

That sounds obvious. Duh, it’s an AP exam. Of course, it takes more than a day or two’s worth of preparation to do well on. And yet, actually adopting this logic proves to be quite challenging. 

Last year, I took my first AP exam: AP Biology. I didn’t end up getting a five on it, mostly because rather than gradually studying I decided to cram the week before the exam. However, since I completed the exam virtually, it was difficult to get a sense of what AP exams truly felt like.

Now, after taking three exams this year already, I know exactly what they entail. I have learned two important lessons throughout my preparation and testing experience, and I feel like it would be valuable for me to share these with others who are planning on taking AP exams in the future. 

Lesson One– Just because you get good grades in the class does not mean you will do well on the exam. 

The AP test is cumulative. At first, this description doesn’t sound so daunting. If you know the material well enough, it shouldn’t matter whether it’s a cumulative exam or not, right? Trust me, it does. Knowing the unit material individually is not enough for many of the AP tests because the exams require you to combine information from various units and know how to apply this information with ease. Whereas when you take a test for class normally, it’s usually on only one unit, the AP exam presents questions from every unit and expects that you are versed enough in the course to easily handle this task. In isolation, many of the AP exam questions are actually fairly easy, but when put together they become much more overwhelming. The worst thing that you can do for yourself is think that because you have an “A” in the class, you don’t need to spend much time or effort studying. In order to actually gauge how you will do on the AP test, ask your teacher for a full-length practice AP test. Doing so will give you a much more accurate representation of your standing than a simple letter grade, and will help you to tailor your study to the specific classes that you struggle with the most.

Lesson Two- You HAVE to start studying earlier. 

I want to explain how AP review works for the majority of classes. About a week or two before the exam, your teacher will post a myriad of practice exams, study guides, and other AP review materials. If you are only taking the AP exam for that class, then you’ll have plenty of time to complete these review materials and fully prepare yourself for the exam. However, if you are studying for multiple AP exams (for reference, I am taking five this year), then this time period is not nearly enough. In the week leading up to the exam, you’ll likely be doing at least one, if not multiple, full-length practice tests every day. Additionally, you’ll probably end up staying after school every day in order to attend AP review sessions for all of your classes. On top of that, you’ll have so much review material available that it would be virtually impossible to get it all done without wearing yourself into the ground. Even if you can keep up with the rigorous pace of these two weeks and cope with the stress, the resulting mental exhaustion just isn’t worth it. The AP exams themselves are already tiring enough; If you end up burning out before they even begin, you will be in a world of trouble.

The only way to avoid this predicament is by being proactive. Don’t wait to study until two weeks before the exam. Spacing out your review over a longer period of time will minimize stress and is psychologically proven to be the best way to study. If you approach your teachers a month or so before the exam and explain to them your desire to begin reviewing earlier to avoid overwhelming yourself, they’d be more than happy to accommodate you. Force yourself to put in the work early, and you will reap the rewards later.