In the next two weeks, Advanced Placement students will begin the long and enduring process of AP testing. And by long and enduring, I mean an eternal struggle. After having taken 5 (and counting) AP exams, there are so many things that I wish someone had told me before I took the exams. While AP classes can be great for connecting with your friends through an education of the things you really love, it can also be an extremely difficult process. AP is college level work. College level…and we are high school students. Of course, this work is going to be a bit of a culture shock, but if you stick to these guidelines, your experience with AP testing can be so much more manageable.

1. 1. AP tests are not big scary monsters like everyone makes them out to be. It is just another test (except you could maybe not have to pay $3,000 for the class in college) that has questions about the things you learned in that class. Your teachers have prepared you for this. As scary as it seems, you are ready and you will be fine. Listen to what your teachers have to say about the exams, and go in with an open mind and a brain full of knowledge.
   2. Use your online resources. This is so important. There are a million different places out there to find useful information to help you review and study for your AP exam. College Board has great resources and so does Khan Academy. Khan Academy is one of the best places to review ANY subject. They have a tone of study options exclusively for the AP Exam.
   3. Get sleep! Getting enough sleep is essential to doing well on your AP exam. Staying up all night and cramming is not the solution. If you don’t know it now, you won’t know anymore tomorrow after spending all night cramming. High school students need at least 8 hours of sleep a night (I know right? Crazy!) in order to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. You NEED sleep before a stressful, time consuming test like this.
   4. Bring a watch. Time is of the essence, my friends. AP test monitors are not playing around when it comes to time. When your monitor says “Times up, pens down,” that is not code for “finish this last sentence,” or, “Let me bubble in everything I didn’t get to.” Oh no. Your pen better be down, or you will be asked again…and again…until you put that darn pen down! Bring a watch so that you can manage your time well during the test.
   5. So. Many. Pens. If you will be taking an AP exam that requires any writing (which is all of them) bring at least 5 good pens. You may not use all of them, you may only use one. But you can never be too safe.
   6. Don’t stress afterwards. Everyone else is in the exact same boat as you. Oh my gosh, how did I do? I hope I didn’t fail? When do we get our scores? Calm down. Take a deep breath. You’re not going to get your scores until the summer, so there isn’t any use in worrying yourself to death until then. It is what it is. You’ve taken the test and there’s no way to do it again, so just stay calm, and accept the score you get. It’s not the end of the world.
   7. A 3 is not bad. What many people don’t realize is that a 3 is passing! Just because you didn’t get a top score, does not mean you are below the bar. Many schools accept 3’s as acceptable scores for transferring credits. It may only count as an elective, but hey, it’s better than nothing!
   8. Don’t let your score define you. I know it sucks to get a low score on any test. But just because you don’t get a passing score on an AP test doesn’t mean you won’t in another class. They are just like any other class: some people are math people, some people are not. Don’t let your score or anyone else’s be the deciding factor on whether or not you take an AP class. You have to go into every AP class (and test for that matter) with an open mind and ready to learn. Because if you go in knowing someone else has done bad in that class or you haven’t done that great on AP tests, you will never succeed.