Advice Corner: Studying for AP Exams

With APs right around the corner and the school year finally nearing its end, students are really starting to feel the stress. On top of our strenuous workloads and busy schedules, we now need to spend our once blissful Sunday mornings in AP marathons, schedule meetings with Dr. Vitow to go over our schedules for next year, and of course, spend hours shopping for the cutest spring break outfits. Though it may seem like juggling all these responsibilities is unmanageable, there are coping mechanisms, organizational skills, and the advice of mentors and peers you can utilize to help make these stressful times a bit easier.

Coping mechanisms and organization are extremely helpful in dealing with stress. When school gets too hard, you can turn to your friends or a teacher to either help you better understand a subject you’re struggling with or to simply talk to and receive advice from. When you have an especially difficult week filled with tests, homework assignments, and extracurricular activities, you can make a list of everything you need to in advance and schedule times for when everything needs to be done. Time management is also crucial in order to do well on your APs. Though it may seem like you have a lot of time until your APs, it’s nearly a month away. That means you have a little more than a month to study material you’ve been learning throughout the entire year! If you start setting aside just thirty minutes each night to review material for your AP, you are already on the right track. Orli Betesh, a hard working and dedicated junior, said, “I started studying for AP Psychology at the beginning of March, just for a little bit each night, and I already feel so much more prepared for the AP!” This is a perfect example of what all AP students should be doing to prepare for their exams so that they can avoid the stress of cramming the week before the test.

Though, at times, the stress of school can be overwhelming, there are numerous ways to relieve that stress while continuing to work hard and achieve your goals.