What’s Your “AP”titude

How to Prepare For and Conquer Your AP Exams Without Going Crazy! AP exams are fast approaching, and high school students across the country are preparing for these college credit-bearing tests. Taking multiple AP exams, having AP exams on top of other finals, or just balancing your study schedule with daily life can be a challenge, especially if you’re feeling the end of the year burnout coming on fast. Here are some tips for staying sane and acing your exams in the coming weeks! Keep a positive attitude! A simple way of keeping your cool during finals is by having a positive attitude. Instead of thinking about everything that could go wrong, focus on all that will go right. By visualizing yourself doing well, you will enter your test with a great outlook and confidence. Take breaks! Taking short, frequent breaks while studying has proven to help you retain information better. While it may feel like you have too much on your plate to take a break, give your brain a rest. Take short walks, grab a snack, try meditating, or listen to soothing music to relax before diving back into your studies. All this can help you improve your memory, focus, and test score. Take care of yourself! A healthy mind goes hand in hand with a healthy body, and you’ll thank yourself for taking care of both come test day. Make sure you get good sleep every night, especially the night before your exam. Drink lots of water so that your body stays hydrated and your mind is ready to work, eat nutritious brain foods like fruits and vegetables, and take some time out of your day for physical activity. The morning of your exam, eat a healthy breakfast and remember to breathe so you enter the test calm, cool, and collected. All of these tips will put you in tip-top shape for your exams! Reward yourself! Worrying about your test won’t raise your score, so make sure you relax your mind by rewarding yourself after long study sessions. Set short term study goals for yourself, such as studying a certain number of chapters, and reward yourself after you meet them. See a movie, spend quality time with your family, or grab dinner with your friends to give yourself a break and reward all your hard work. Having a healthy balance between studying and relaxing will make hitting the books easier, and your relaxed mind will retain information better. Study with friends! Why study alone when you could study with friends. Group studying is great for bouncing ideas off other people, collaborating on tough questions, quizzing each other on facts and dates, and organizing overall themes from your test material. If you’re stuck on a problem, ask your buddy sitting next to you! Better yet, get a group from your class together and ask you teacher to hold a special study session with everyone so you can ask all of your questions at once and make sure your information is correct before the big exam. By following all of these tips, you’ll enter your AP exams with the right attitude to get your goal score. By staying organized, studying hard, and giving yourself plenty of breaks so your mind can relax, you’ll enter those exams confident and ready. While it may be tough now to balance all that’s on your plate, remember that in just a few short weeks, you can take a breather on summer vacation! Good luck on all your exams and finals!