A score of 3, 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement exam can earn high school students valuable college credit or advanced standing in college courses. But to earn a high score, students must first master a full academic year’s worth of challenging class material.
To help those enrolled in an AP course, two current undergraduates share the strategies they used to achieve success.
[Read: 5 Keys to Success in Advanced Placement Courses.]
Use yearlong time-management strategies. Megan Grove, a senior at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville, completed two AP courses while in high school: AP Calculus and AP United States Government and Politics. Grove attributes her success in these classes to time management.
She particularly emphasizes the importance of efficient time management in feeling prepared for the AP exam come May. Time management, from the first moment of the school year on, “allowed me to focus only on what I really needed to,” she wrote in an email.
While the strategies that work best will differ from person to person, Grove chose to complete assignments as soon as they were assigned or “the soonest I was able to,” she says. “This helped me not only to stay on track, but gave me the time to complete any work or projects with enough time to perfect them and ask questions or better prepare myself as needed.”
Aim to choose one or more time-management strategies in the first month of the school year. You could devote 30 minutes each Sunday to outlining the week ahead, or you could follow Grove’s lead partially and tackle reading assignments the day they are assigned. Whatever you decide, ensure your strategies are aligned with your learning style.
[Read: Plan Ahead to Self-Study for AP Exams.]
Take ample notes. Lauren Stanciel, a freshman at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, also enrolled in AP courses as a high school student. Having completed six classes that ranged from AP Environmental Science to AP World History, Stanciel stresses the importance of taking plenty of notes.
Stanciel credits notetaking with an easier testing experience for two reasons. First, by May, she had a collection of notes that served as a study tool. Second, “I had a good understanding of the topics even before reviewing,” she wrote in an email.
[Read: Use AP Credits to Graduate From College in 3 Years.]
While Stanciel took notes during class, many of her note-taking techniques focused on one item: the textbook. Stanciel read each chapter more than once. “I would skim it the first time, then read it thoroughly and take notes,” she says.
For her history courses — AP Human Geography, AP United States History and AP World History — she also relied on chapter outlines. After taking textbook notes, Stanciel would merge them with her classroom notes in order to have a full record.
As with time management, it is critical to personalize your note-taking strategies. Consider whether you prefer to develop outlines or to construct mind maps. Will you highlight or underline handouts? How will you organize your class and textbook notes?
Making time to think about how you will approach your AP courses now can spell success later on. “If you consistently work hard and manage your coursework efficiently throughout the year, it will greatly benefit not only your exam score, but your knowledge and understanding of the subject overall,” Grove says.
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How to Master AP Courses in High School originally appeared on usnews.com
