<p>Yesterday I recieved the results of my first AP exam: I got a 4 in Psychology. I wasn't very surprised, since there were quite a few multiple choice questions on which I second-guessed myself ("Oh, that's too obvious to be right...") and the free response was fairly challenging. </p>
<p>Getting the score really zapped my confidence. Psychology is supposed to be an "easy" AP, and next year I have 4 "difficult" APs... I'm very nervous about their exams. Do you all have any study and/or preparation tips?</p>
<p>I’ve gotten that feeling before too…when I made silly mistakes on easy questions. Don’t worry. I feel that if you over think questions, you’ll do well in difficult APs because you have to think to do well. A 4 isn’t a bad score. Use this 4 as a way to do better next year. When you take your exams, don’t second guess yourself as much. Honestly, I second guess myself so much because I’m just that type of person that expects things to be hard. Sometimes when I study too much, I start stretching the material to make it right. Anyway, I hope this helped. BTW, I’m taking my first AP next year. This is advice based on the PSAT and tests I’ve taken before.</p>
<p>I got five 4s this year, so I’m not fond of the implication that it’s a bad score, but I think it was probably because I procrastinated and didn’t take any practice tests or write any practice free-responses because it sounded boring. I didn’t get a prep book for most of my tests.</p>
<p>I took 5 exams this year. I got 3 5’s, 2 4’s. Everyone, including my teachers and myself, expected me to get 5 5’s. My two 4’s were us history and physics. I had gotten a perfect score on the three previous apus practice multiple choice tests I had taken, and I had gotten 5’s on the mock tests for both apus and physics. I’m not trying to brag, I’m just trying to show that even if you have the preparation and knowledge for a 5, you can still get a 4. Humans aren’t perfect. You could make silly mistakes, or the grader could even make mistakes. Don’t take it to heart. The line between a 4 and a 5 is so small, honestly don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>I honestly think teachers are a huge impact. This year, I had crappy teachers for AP Chem and Lang. However, you must realize that the teacher isn’t sufficient and do self studying. Try studying a few weeks before the AP.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the time the difference between a high 4 and a low 5 is how much practice you had going into the test. You might know enough of the material to get a 5, but then you get tripped up taking the test. Doing a couple practice exams all the way through (mc + frq, timed and everything) and then really combing through them and correcting your mistakes should be part of preparing for an AP exam. Treat it like taking the SAT.
And don’t get discouraged! A 4 is still great, you just have a little fine tuning to do.</p>
<p>Prep with practice tests and essays weeks before the exam. Enjoy the material you are learning. Ask questions. Go to study sessions if your teachers have any but they may or may not be useful to you. Focus on learning and not just getting a 5. A good score will come if you do not boil all of your learning down to a number. Good luck!</p>
<p>Alright, this is going to sound strange but the easiest way to get a 5 is to have heart. I know most people are taking AP exams in order to receive college credit when the time comes. However, personally that motivation does not suffice. You need to prove something whether it be to yourself, your teacher, your family, or whoever. You need to have a reason that will make you put your heart into it. If you don’t, you might end up with a couple of fours.</p>
<p>I’ve got five 5’s and nothing else (rising senior).
I don’t take AP classes so I sort of have to make myself work. I do take corresponding classes at school so I suppose that helps. </p>
<p>I preview material the summer before. So like, I skim through a review book. I don’t understand or remember most things but it makes me have that “I’ve seen this before” feeling later on.
Do the same thing over winter break. I like to use Barron’s flashcards because they scare the crap out of me. I don’t study like mad but I try to get some ideas going so that later I can say “Oh totally seen this a couple times before, although I might not understand it.”
Once spring break comes around (end of March) I start reviewing things each night. A.k.a I tell myself that I’ll review every night but actually only get around to it once a week or so. But the week before the tests I start going all serious.
I borrow review books from the library and read a few pages from them and find one that fits me and/or other people have recommended.
For FR or essays I review all past released official exam questions. So for example for APUSH I read over old essay questions and answers. I was too lazy to ever sit down and do a DBQ but try to do one because I’ve heard it helps.
The night before I just scan the vocab lists at the end of some test prep book to get my head filled with whatever topic I’ll be testing on the next day. </p>
<p>I use a mix of stuff (flashcards, 500 questions, books, crash courses) but I don’t always finish every book all the way and sometimes I just read topics I feel I need help on. It’s all about getting things down so that ap material feels like an old friend after awhile. </p>
<p>Also my bio teacher was like “nobody should ever take the ap bio test” and I was like “lolz lady whatevs”
So I guess morale of story: follow your dreams??? Idk.</p>
<p>Play to your strengths. I’m really STEM oriented, so the math and science APs were a piece of cake. I’m also good at regurgitating information, so APUSH wasn’t too bad. I had difficulty with the language ones which is why I got the worst scores on those.</p>
<p>I had a really great AP Chem teacher, and I took a ton of practice tests. Learning to do the multiple choice with 15-20 minutes left to spare helped a lot too. It was also the only exam I took. I guess that helped too :P</p>