The start of the school year brings mixed emotions, new classes, homework, new friends, more homework, extracurricular activities, studying, and more homework. A lot of the time we spend after school is dedicated to our classes: this may include a regular assignment, project, or studying for a quiz or test. If you are taking an Advanced Placement (or AP) class this year, you will have a large workload as these classes tend to mimic first-year college courses. However, if you prepare, create a study plan, and learn how to utilize your resources, you can maximize the time you spend on your AP classes. Read on to find out some helpful tips and tricks on preparing for these classes and the final AP Exam(s) in May!
Tip 1: Use Your Course & Exam Description (CED)
The CED is a comprehensive document of everything that you must know for an AP class. Only material that is in the CED can be tested on the AP exam. The CED is used to outline the curriculum of the course, from every individual topic to the main themes of each unit. You can also use the CED to:
see what percent of the exam each unit comprises AND
which skills or larger topics are being applied to each concept.
The CED is a great resource for looking at units ahead of time and reviewing for tests or the exam! Especially in regard to Free Response Questions, the CED can help you diversify your knowledge and identify what skills are being tested. This will allow you to maximize your answers and study more efficiently. This example on the right is from the CED for AP World History: Modern. Personally, I utilized the CED for this class by going through each topic and matching the themes of AP World to each. This was great preparation for the free response questions on my tests and as preparation for the AP exam!
Tip 2: Use Concept & Review Videos
AP Classroom and YouTube often will contain review videos for each concept in a unit. AP Classroom contains a unique feature called AP Daily Videos; these videos follow the exact wording and requirements of the CED. As a result, you can see how College Board connects general information to the main idea used in tests and the exam. You will have access to AP Classroom via your teacher when you begin the course (or once you have been registered for the exam). YouTube also contains a plethora of content creators — usually AP teachers —who create videos for their AP subjects. These videos will often include a unit review video for a good, last-minute recap of all the information of the unit.
Some popular YouTube channels for different AP subjects include:
Heimler's History for AP World History, AP United States History, AP European History, & AP
Human Geography
Coach Hall Writes or Garden of English for AP English Language & Composition
Crash Course Videos for the AP Economics classes and AP Psychology
Khan Academy for AP Calculus AB/BC and AP Statistics
Tip 3: Practice, Practice, Practice & Prepare
There are many different resources that can be used to practice for your AP classes. Union County Library offers a wide range of AP prep books, which you can find here. As for ongoing resources, you may want to visit Khan Academy. This free, online platform contains hundreds of videos and practice questions for various AP topics and general education topics. On AP Classroom, you also can find Progress Checks and Topic Review Questions to get some practice with answering AP style questions for your tests or the exam. You may also be able to find practice free response questions (FRQs). Just be sure to ask your teacher before you complete any of these, as you want to make sure it has not already been assigned to you for a grade or as a classwork assignment.
Finally, be sure to start working on a study plan as your second semester of high school begins. It seems like a long way from now, but you should start preparing for your exam at least 1 to 2 months before. To ensure you have all resources available to you when you do start preparing for the exam, I recommend that you keep a spreadsheet or document with all of the video links, websites, and resources you will use throughout the semester/semesters. This way, you will always have some resources to look back at while reviewing for the exam in the spring.
If you are interested, here is a table with all of the AP exam dates for the 2024-2025 school year. Keep in mind that several AP exams will be fully digital this year as well!
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