So, I am a sophomore in high school and, because I went to a private school for elementary and middle school, I already had credit for Latin I and Latin II. For the school’s advanced diploma I needed either three years in one foreign language or two years in two, so, because I am not a huge fan of foreign languages, I just decided to take Latin III and get it over with, but I liked the class so much that I decided to take AP Latin the year after. This year. But what I didn’t know is that my teacher from 9th grade had had to transfer schools over the summer and my school had to find a last minute replacement for the Latin classes. Also, due to the massive influx of Latin students that came in because of the old teacher’s popularity, the school had to clump Latin III, Latin IV, and Latin AP into one class. I should have known something was amiss when the detailed breakdown of the Aeneid I had written for my summer assignment was taken in as a completion grade. Things started off badly as it soon became clear that the new teacher had zero control over the class, in fact he only added to the disruption. The other AP Latin student and I were given our Caesar textbooks and I got to work. I figured that the teacher would gain his footing as the year progressed. I was wrong. I finished translating the Gallic Wars near the middle of the third grading period and was given my textbook for the Aeneid. Over those two and a half grading periods I had not been the most productive as classroom distractions and an overall confusion as to what was going on were obstacles, but I came out of it with a decent grasp of Latin prose. The help I got from my teacher came mainly in the form of vocabulary and grammar help, but in actual layout I had difficulty, but I got the hang of it in the end. By this time the other AP student had totally given up and was one of the worst people in the class (and that’s saying something). I got my Aeneid textbook and am now totally confused. I’ve been working on it for a few weeks and I’ve gotten about 100 lines into book 1, but I am terribly confused. I have no idea how poetry formatting works and any help the teacher tries to give is completely useless to me at this stage. I realized that I was on my own when the teacher put in only 1 grade for the entire third nine weeks, a participation grade. I hadn’t had a test or quiz in months. We started watching movies in class every day, often ones with little to no relation to Latin. I started doing my work in the library, but that meant that I was cut off from any of the limited help my teacher could offer me. Alone with Vergil. I’ve been spending the past through periods wading through the Aeneid, trying to gain some level of competency in Latin poetry. Through a complicated series of notes and case charts I can get a very rough translation of about fifteen lines in around 45 minutes, but only with the help of a ton of references and my Latin dictionary. There’s under a month to go to the AP exam now and I tried to do the practice test in the course description and utterly failed. I couodn’t get a single one of the fifteen sample questions for thr Aeneid. So basically I’m up a creek without a paddle. There’s under a month to go until the AP exam and I’m abysmal at Vergil, I know barely any vocabulary, and I have under a month to translate about five books of the Aeneid as well as Ovid (which I haven’t even started yet) and to learn vocabulary and to review Caesar. I have no teacher that can help me, I can’t afford any practice tests or references, I have no one to study with because I am, effectively, the only AP Latin student in the school, and under a month to do all of that as well as study for my AP Human Geography exam and my two SOLs and to edit videos for two different video competitions and put on a play and to finish my Honors Thesis project for Chemistry. I just have no idea what to do. I can balance everything else easily, but the Latin stuff throws everything into chaos. I’m fairly certain I’m going to fail my AP Latin exam now and there is absolutely no one I can turn to for help or support. That’s why I’m here. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Does anyone have any advice on how I could complete and understand all of the Latin stuff I need to do before the AP exam by myself? The saddest thing is that I know Latin class can be so fun. It was my second favorite class last year behind only creative writing. It was fun and educational, as school should be. It was the only thing I had to look forward to on even days. If the old teacher had been able to stay I was considering becoming the first ever Latin V student our school had seen. Even the other AP Latin student this year, one of the most nototious slackers in the school, actually enjoyed last year’s Latin class. This year it’s one of my least favorite classes. The students refer to Latin class as recess, and that’s exactly what it is now. The class is a joke. Completely useless, and I’m probably going to fail my exam because of it, and there’s no way for me to avoid it. No friends, peers, or resources. Thanks for listening to my story and I hope that someone is able to give me some form of help.
Hey sophomore! I’m a junior, and let me start by saying that I’m impressed you actually took the time to write out your story here. You’re venting and I hear you. 
Actually, I came here for almost the same reason that you did: bad AP Latin Teacher, and not really anyone around me to help, not even online. It’s like everyone else who takes this exam lives in a cave or something haha. Having a combined Latin class with Latin III, IV, and AP sounds horrid. I go to a classical private school, and even though it’s really small, they know not to combine Latin classes like that. AP Latin students require an entirely different focus, because it uses the grammar and vocab foundation learned in Latin III and IV as a launching pad for interpreting entire passages. So it’s literally just me and a senior stuck with a Latin teacher who can teach Latin, but not AP. Same boat as you.
But I do have a couple of tips that I’ve picked up in my battle with translating Vergil and Caesar, as well as a few last-minute tips. I’m not an expert, by any means, but these tips have helped me maintain an A in my class:
- What textbook are you using for the Aeneid? This is critical. It sounds like for yours, you have to keep a dictionary at hand. For the amount of time you spend translating, you shouldn't have to be wasting time, energy, and focus on constantly looking up words. The one I use consists of 1/3 latin passage, 1/3 built-in dictionary for any unfamiliar words in the section, and 1/3 translation/reference notes on every page. Try to get a similar textbook. This is mine: https://www.amazon.com/Vergils-Aeneid-Books-Latin-English/dp/0865164215
- Have a solid grammar foundation. A bit rocky on declensions or conjugations? Don't worry, it's never too late to start. But start now. The grammar, as you probably know, forms the basis of the pyramid alongside vocab. If you don't know the difference between, say, subjunctive perfect active and indicative perfect active forms, then it's going to be hard to identify it in readings, much less be able to translate. As an AP student, I confess that I tried to skip this step because I thought my grammar was not "great" but "okay", but I ended up wasting so much time. I would constantly get frustrated, and verbs alone took me several minutes to decipher. Make sure you're solid on your Latin verb endings. And even if it's for ten minutes a day, go over the chants. Over breakfast, in the bathroom, waiting in line for food, find ways to sneak them in the day. I know even 5 minutes is a lot of dedication for us high school students. But if you put in the effort, it will pay off big time.
- Study the crap out of vocabulary. I know I emphasized a lot on grammar, but honestly, vocab is half the battle. Sure, you might know the grammar, but if you don't even know what the word means, you won't even have a guess. If you're doing last-minute study, then I suggest you pour most of your energy into memorizing vocab. Find vocab lists for high-frequency words in Vergil and Caesar. There are lists for words that are found over 24 times, 12-23 times, and 6-11 times at the back of the textbook I linked you to. If you like, I can link you to my Quizlet sets for these lists. Also, I know that some people out there memorize the genders and all 4 principal parts for every noun and verb. Don't do this. The AP test is primarily designed to test familiarity with Latin words and how you can fit together words to create appropriate English meaning. Focus on gaining a broader but more basic vocab background rather than on fewer but more specific, if that makes sense. Nitpick on grammar, not vocab.
- Understand that Latin isn't going to always follow the rules. In middle school, Latin looks neat and perfectly organized. In the real Latin world, Latin is ugly and inconsistent. The ablative is going to be translated as genitive. Plural forms are translated as "poetic" singular. Entire verbs are going to be absent. And it gets worse. Don't get caught up with how the Latin is not delivered in a neat little package. Roll with the punches. Write down awkward patterns that you see and take mental notes of possible deviations. Nobody likes a constipated translation. Give it a little room for "error" and it will flow freely LOL. ;)
- STAY FOCUSED! This is obvious. But important. Like I've said with all my other points lol.
SO…that was super long, sorry about that, but I hope it helped you. I tried asking for help online before but no one responded, and it was kind of crushing to me. I knew I had to answer your distress call when I saw it. Good luck on your test.
(P.S. Writing this out detracted some of my AP Latin study time, so I think you owe me one hehe. 
I just want to know what you think, and a little update on where you are in your study process, if that’s not too much. Just so I know you’re alive HAHA.)
OP, do you need the AP exam? (I assume you mean that, not the class final.) And are you saying your grades in this class are an issue?