AP scores for 2012 have just been sent out to colleges, are heading to an eager doorstep near you, and can now be accessed by phone at $8 per call for those of us who get arguably way too excited about test scores and had to know ours on the first day they were released. Because I proudly fall into this category, I can happily announce that my two-year grand total is as follows:
US Government and Politics: 5
Macroeconomics: 5
English Literature: 5
English Language: 5
US History: 5
Statistics: 4 (just ignore this one…)
Although scores are currently hot off the press and 2013 tests are just under a year away, I would like to argue that now is the time to start getting prepared. Well, maybe not now, let’s not be ridiculous here… I’ll give you until August. 🙂 Read on to learn why as I spell out six tips and tricks to earning scores you can smile about in 2013. And if you don’t want to read everything, just read number six!
- Treat your first day of class like the first day of your cram session. It apparently goes without saying that there will be some frantic all-nighters in the weeks leading up to your tests, but I don’t agree. Focus each day on learning what you need to learn that day only, almost as if there would be a test every night. Teachers will [almost] never give you more than you can handle a day at a time, but we fail to recognize this because we pile it all on until the last minute and then perceive that we’re being forced to learn a year’s worth of material in a few weeks. Every day, become a master of what you learned in that class period. It only takes an hour (tops) of at-home study and by the end of the year you will have built up everything you need to know. No cram required.
- Review frequently. This is another factor that teachers really try to help with throughout the year. Chances are your material will be cumulative and require you to look back at older aspects to understand. Most textbooks and study resources add review questions at the end of each chapter to make sure you’re keeping up on earlier units. Staying sharp on early topics also cuts down on the need for cramming and will very much help you to understand what you’re learning at the moment.
- Pay attention. There are obviously going to be days when you can barely muster the energy/motive to get out of bed, try to look cute, and get to school, let alone putting effort into an AP class. But I challenge you to push yourself. Take it easy all day if you need to; put on your comfy pants, zone out in your elective (but you didn’t hear that from me), whatever. But when you get to that AP class, kick into gear just for an hour. It’s SO easy to fall behind when you’re not paying at attention, and it’s way worse than being absent because you’re expected to remember what you learned that day and you really don’t. Go ahead, hate your life, just make yourself focus and you’ll save hours more of frustrating studying and believing that you don’t know anything.
- Learn what works for you. Popular techniques are flash cards, writing songs or raps, and color coding everything. I color code everything, because I know that it opens different pathways in my brain and the more pathways you can open during studying, the better. By A LOT. You can read more about this here.
- Five Steps to a Five is your best bet as a study resource. I picked up US History and Macro/Microeconomics flashcards and a Statistics training book at Barnes&Noble and they made a huge difference for me. They’re the company behind most of the training worksheets etc that you’ll use in class, and they’re super helpful in teaching you exactly what you’ll be expected to know on the test. Buy them here!
- Understand what they want you to know, one question at a time. This is my biggest tip and most useful approach! There are very clear standards for what you need to know on the test. As you inch closer, these standards get really blurry and overwhelming and you start to think it’s impossible to know everything. Stop and reflect on your standards. Even the craziest problems can be solved by your fundamentals, likely things you learned early in the year. These lines were especially confusing in Econ as concepts built and built upon each other and it seemed like there was always a trick question I would miss and I would write down all kinds of weird things in an effort to prove that I knew everything. But on each problem, you don’t have to prove that you know EVERYTHING you learned in the class. You have to prove that you know how to answer that one question, one at a time, and that is it. As you go through the test, clear your brain and use the knowledge you need on each question. Don’t overwhelm or confuse yourself.
YOU CAN DO IT! Just by being in AP in the first place, you’re already way ahead of the game, so don’t stress it. And the most important thing? Don’t forget to be awesome. ❤
journanerd 
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