<p>Did you procrastinate? Of course, we all did.</p>
<p>Post all your lessons learned here so you can come back next year and not make the same mistake and maybe the freshmen can try to avoid these as well. </p>
<p>Lesson learned:
For Calc and Physics, do every single problem you can find and understand it completely. Practice, practice, practice.</p>
<p>If you are a freshman and have not ever had an AP class before, and you are aware of having two tests on consecutive days, do NOT save the bulk of your studying for the week of! I am learning this lesson right now.</p>
<p>Do not freak out during the test, it won’t help.</p>
<p>DONT take 6 AP classes! and then procrastinate
i totally agree with jpl about calc…
practice for ap spanish from the beginning of the yr…
yeah…bio…well it’s bio…so…memorize cliffs!</p>
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</p>
<p>QFE. </p>
<p>And AP Spanish: PRACTICE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR
AP Bio: Cliff’s Notes. Memorize it.
APUSH: AMSCO. Read it. Twice.</p>
<p>don’t eat fast food before the ap test</p>
<p>Bio: Cliffs. Memorize. Literally.
APUSH. AMSCO. Read it. Twice. I agree haah
Calc: If you take AB, self study BC. It’s not that much harder. Start prepping by January though.
Psych: I self studied it starting 3 days before the exam last year. I read Barrons twice and 5’d it easily.
Comp Gov: I self studied it starting 2 weeks before the exam last year. I read Ethel Woods 3 times and easily 5’d it.
Stats: just pay attention in class all year. I bought Barrons then never used it. Easily 5’d
Euro: Pay attention in class and read PR.<br>
Englishs: Memorize language/lit terms. Practice timed writing in class during the year. Other than that there’s no need to prep.</p>
<p>Don’t take 8 AP tests in one year and then cram half of them the night before. It’s not fun</p>
<p>in stark contrast to all of you 
I learned that it is completely unnecessary to read the barrons, PR (2x) a text book and the smartypants for self studying environmental science… w/e im always happy being over prepared</p>
<p>Spanish : watch Spanish TV, not English
English : READ READ READ READ READ
Physics C : eh, that all went well
Chem: Take a freshmen Chemistry course first (where they cover stoich really well)
Calc : Study throughout the year. Not 1 night crammable.</p>
<p>If you tried really hard all year, and you still don’t do as well as you’d like, don’t let it get to you. It’s just a test; you’ll always have another opportunity to prove yourself.</p>
<p>Buy princeton/cliff’s books to help you cover labs/extra material that may not be said in discussions. this helps go through the material in overview fashion and offer you a good idea of what you’ll get on your exam through practice tests :)</p>
<p>What I learned:
-Actually read the books in English class and understand them
-Reading the whole Barrons guide in one day takes 10 hrs when highlighting and using post it notes
-Reading 10 hours each day for 2 days straight causes extreme nearsightedness!
-Having 2 AP tests in the same day causes “AP lag” its like jet lag but caused by extended periods of AP testing rather than jets
-I can remember exactly where anything in the Barrons guide is. Its like photographic memory or something
-Im not a pile
-Im a very determined person
-I need a massage. NOW!
what i think i got
AP lit: 4
APES: 5
APpsych: 4 or 5 depending on the FRQ. Probably a 5 because i knew EVERYTHING on the MC! :)</p>
<p>Wear a watch, and set it to be consistent with the wall clock that is the “official time.” It’s sometimes hard to see the clock if you’re in the back, so always time yourself. Write down the start time and write down the projected end time. If you get cheated for time, you have hard evidence lol.</p>
<p>Self-study is doable!</p>
<p>The major thing is: DO NOT panic during an exam. You’ll have time, and you will finish.
Start early if you want to self-study. I did bio and ush. Mainly started about 5 months before the exams. My schedule was crazy with all-week rehearsals for this symphony and that orchestra, and a billion competitions but I learned to prioritize. Just focus on your AP, SET a schedule (google calendar!), don’t do the things that are unimportant (aka some of your homework. Do them at school). Of course there’s a trade-off…bad grade on in-class tests but hey at least I’ll get my 5’s. </p>
<p>Actually another very important point for self-studiers - use GOOGLE. I found notes that are indispensable, and websites that offer you the best practice and review that you can imagine. </p>
<p>USH- read asmco. It’s good for a reason.
Bio- is cliff enough? Not really, because when we read we tend to skip some words because they represent concepts that are so simple, or we take it as matter-of-fact. So, we end up not taking in the full meaning of a sentence. Do get a bio book. Look at the pictures. Google about labs. But I suggest the last week of your study be all cliff.
GET THE PRACTICE EXAMS. </p>
<p>Chem- study even if you are acing the class. There will always be small concepts that you miss (cough…partial pressure).</p>
<p>comp sci- dude, chill. Read barron’s and hope for an easy frq.</p>
<p>Collegeboard is a greedy, profit-seeking monopoly that creates 10 versions of the same test just to ruin the lives of countless American teenagers.</p>
<p>AP tests really build your bs-ing skills, and increase the probability that even your bs answer may be correct.</p>
<p>Chem - get Princeton Review hehehe
Physics - cram as many formulas as possible in your calculator - this isn’t cheating
it’s ok to consider canceling your score hahaha</p>
<p>^ haha totally agree with the bs-ing skills. All i have to say is ap bio…</p>
<p>World History- PR all the way. And if you can get your hands on some of the old tests.
Bio: Cliffs/Barrons combo works well. Start early. And actually practice for the frqs.</p>
<p>Don’t cram in a whole self-study in like, one night. Rarely works, and if it does, well, you’re still tired.</p>
<p>Do not wait until the last 3 or 4 days to self-study multiple APs. Especially when you’re already in 6 APs and procrastinating.</p>
<p>I learned this the hard way. I signed up for 4 self-studies, ended up ditching 2 just so they didn’t interfere with other APs. =/</p>