<p>I agree with that DinaZhang.</p>
<p>I am the opposite of all these people, AP week was really relaxed for me... did all my studying before the mock AP's.</p>
<p>u know u cant always believe the scores people post on here...
i could go around saying the same thing and some would actually believe it
just my two cents on that</p>
<p>I studied for both econ tests in one day (aside from 3 weeks of in class prep), psych took me a week (+in class prep), and didn't study for english lang at all (waste of time). It worked fine for me, but it is highly dependent on what you are doing in class, versus out of class study time</p>
<p>studied for the 2 econ tests 15 days before the tests without taking the courses.....
but i didn't get a 5.........i only got a 4.......</p>
<p>alas.....i wish i started a bit earlier.......</p>
<p>Well quite frankly, I sucked (and I mean SUCKED) at AP Biology. My teacher absolutely hated me. I didn't have the lowest grade in the class, but I think that I was in the bottom 50%. I didn't study too hard for quizzes and tests, and whereas many of my friends started studying for the AP exam during spring break in April, I didn't have time because I= Queen of Procrastination.</p>
<p>So I was doing this talent show and afterparty the weekend before AP Biology, and so it was finally on Sunday morning that I cracked open CliffsAP. That stuff is A LIFESAVER. It's super clear and awesome. And by some God-forsaken miracle, I ended up with a 5.</p>
<p>Warning: DO NOT TAKE THE SAME PATH I DID.</p>
<p>enviro probably, but definitely psych. i had 3 friends that just read the textbook the weekend before the test and all got 5's. even the stoner.</p>
<p>I did the same!!! and did great on the exam</p>
<p>I self-studied Comparative Gov't the DAY before the exam and got a 5. I didn't have a class in it. I tried to read through a chapter on GB before that, but couldn't get past much. I have had all the history AP's though, which helped some (with names and such) but not too much, especially for Iran and Nigeria.</p>
<p>I absolutely agree with DinaZhang,</p>
<p>Yes, there are some AP subjects that are easier than others. Yes, there are people out there who didn't look over the review material before the exam and still get 5s. And Yes, I trust the honesty of most CCers and believe that some of them just crammed for a few hours and got amazing scores. BUT, you cannot discredit your previous knowledge in those subjects. Can a kid who has never done ANY pre-calc/calc get a 5 on the AP exam in just a few hours of studying? Plus, a lot of this previous knowledge is hidden -- we picked it up in our daily lives that we often ignore their existence. For example, if you've NEVER taken any history classes throughout your K-12 years of education, or if you didn't grow up in USA listening to your parents talking about Reagonomics or the Viet War etc, would you be able to get a 5 on the APUSH exam with no studying?</p>
<p>(Although I speculate that some extreme genius - those with incredible, photographic memory - would be able to do that. But most of us don't have that kind of quality. I, for one, did the homework, studied, and got 5s on all except one 4.)</p>
<p>I agree with lubinli-- all this "I didn't study until 2 hours before the test and still got my 5 " hoopla is a bit misleading and merely conceals the fact that most of us have some (or extensive!) prior knowledge of a subject. I did not study for my APUSH exam at all and got a 5. This is not because I am a genius or phenomenally talented; rather, I merely have grown up watching documentaries, reading biographies, and listening to my parents' lively discussions about the merits of various historical figures and ideologies. </p>
<p>For many schools, the AP science and math classes are the end of long sequences or a second-year course. With AP languages, you've most likely been learning that language for 4 years or more. Given that kind of familiarity, a few hours of fact-refreshing cramming can do the trick for many people. </p>
<p>There's also something to be said for studying hard even if you can get the 5 without it. I got 5s on my exams this year, despite falling prey to senioritis and not even cracking the book on anything except for Spanish. But what did I learn? Not terribly much. I relied on my prior knowledge, neglected to firm up my grasp of the facts, and doubtless let much valuable information slip through my fingertips. The score on the exam is relatively meaningless... your recollection of the course material five or ten years down the road is infinitely more important. In most (not all) cases, the kid who studies hard and diligently for several days or weeks instead of cockily glancing at the text at hour before the test will remember the most in the end.</p>
<p>So cramming works if all you want is the score, but for most of us, it fails when it comes to long-term retention.</p>