<p>Hey all! I'm taking 5 AP tests this May and I'm curious how all you veterans that scored well prepared for the test. (I'm one of those kids that actually needs to study for tests to do well- though my grades are excellent, I have to put some time into my classes)</p>
<p>I've bought prep books for my classes (Chem, Econ, AP Eng. Language, Spanish Language, Calculus) and I have excellent teachers, but when do I need to crack open the prep books? Do I start now and review little by little, or start 1-2 months before the test? Any advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>For exams you're taking the corresponding classes for, I'd recommend reading over the respective section of the prep book while you're going through the same unit. That way, you'll be able to make sure you're grasping all the essential concepts while becoming more familiar with the tests. Start preparing hardcore (including practice tests and a steady study schedule) in March.</p>
<p>For exams you're self studying, start in January or so. Just study a little bit at a time. Don't worry about memorizing that early. Instead, grasp an idea of what the subject is like (unless you have had previous coursework in the area). It's all about understanding the subject, not memorizing it.</p>
<p>AP Chem is the only one of your exams that will require excesive prep...I'd say start preparing for it in late March. However, with your other ones, I would just keep up with your class consistently and then you should only need the weekend before. (make study materials as the year goes...for example, if you are studying limits in calc., make a study sheet for them now so all you have to do is read over it before the exam.)</p>
<p>Heh, I used Princeton Review and prepped hard core the two weeks before the AP Chem exam. I read the whole thing and worked every practice question. My practice exam score went from a 2 to a 5, and I ended up getting a 4 on the real thing.</p>
<p>This ties into another thread floating around with a discussion of the difficultly of AP Chem. Like I said there, the hard part for me was getting around the new concepts much more than the math, which I found easy. This was largely due to the fact that I had a really crappy Chem teacher and I had to teach myself most of it. If I'd had a good teacher for the year I think I could have easily pulled out the 5.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there isn't any real way to prepare for English besides doing your work during the year. It takes practice that you're not going to get out of a prep book.</p>
<p>I can't really comment on the others, since I haven't had spanish and I'm currently taking Calc and Econ.</p>