AP courses offer ambitious high school students an opportunity to better prepare themselves for their college experience while allowing them to earn college credits during their high school so that they can give themselves a high-reaching start as they advance their educational career. As second-semester nears its end, May is the dreaded month of every AP student’s year. Don’t worry, here are some tips and study tricks to help you prepare yourself for your testing days.

1. Pick up some practice books
   Practice books are a great way to go over your year-long material in a summarized format and get sample multiple-choice and essay questions. You can pick these up at Barnes & Noble, or Bookman’s for a discounted price, on Amazon.com, or even buy them off fellow AP students who have a spare practice book from a prior test. Some can put a dent in your pocket, but it’s a small price to pay for a college credit!
2. Get together a study group
   Study groups can be a great way to pick on unique study habits your peers might use. Working with people who have different perspectives and knowledge on the topics you will be tested on can be a great benefit to you and widen your understanding on the material.
3. Study on your own It’s important have a healthy balance between group study sessions and studying by yourself. Although study groups are a favorable way to extend your knowledge on a subject, it is important to make sure you are able to comprehend the material on your own. Quizlet has plenty of fun techniques within its website for you to utilize, all for free. You can get flashcards, quizzes, matching games, flashcards, and vocabulary review on virtually any topic. Changing up your study environment is nice way to keep you on your toes when studying redundant topics; try going to your library or different coffee shops near you. Starbucks gives you free coffee refills with your Gold Card, perfect for when you’re spending a couple hours out studying.
4. Watch lessons online After going through your notes and practice books, check out YouTube for short video lessons. The Crash Course channel has nearly 700 videos on over 20 topics, covering the major key-points of each. Crash Course’s videos are only about ten minutes each and are a great way to incorporate a different review technique between tedious textbook chapters.

Helpful Links

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