AP, or Advance Placement, exams are terrifying. It’s one exam that determines if your year-long strife of taking a college class was even worth it. Unfortunately for all AP students, the exam is fast approaching with only a few months before the first exam on Monday, May 5th. If you feel overwhelmed that’s okay! It’s a scary thing to take, but I have some advice that might help ease your stress.

Let’s start with generating a little ethos for myself. I’m a senior, I have taken four AP exams and am studying for my 5th as I write this. In my time I have never failed an AP exam or course, though I am by no means the best student. These are just the tricks that I have found to make AP exams less daunting.

My most basic recommendation is to pay attention in class; which sounds obvious, but I mean it. Active listening is one of the most beneficial things come test day. I know that a first instinct is to copy everything down in a notebook, but I have found that taking time to focus on what is being said rather than writing it down and making aesthetic notes is extremely helpful.

Controversially, I am not a fan of the AP test exam books. I have purchased a few and, honestly, have touched them maybe once. They’re great in theory, but in practice, I find them impractical; I never wanted to go from my textbook and do practice in a book. If you want extra practice, there are AP-specific review videos and practice questions.

Finally, I love, love, love YouTube videos; I think YouTube is one of the best study sources available. For History APs, I recommend Crash Course and, of course, the wonderful Heimler’s History. Crash course is great for broad strokes historical context and Heimler’s history is great for AP style breakdowns. For AP Psych, I would again recommend a crash course and Mr. Sinn. and, for AP Bio, the Amoeba Sisters are perfect, and, of course, I love Crash Course.

I have no idea if anyone will find this helpful, but these are some of the things that I have found most useful. However, my most important piece of advice is to trust yourself. You have taken this class for a year, and you know more than you think, take a deep breath and get a good night’s sleep. Best of luck to everyone!