It’s officially the start of May, which means it’s AP exam season. Whether you’re taking one AP exam, or two, or three, you may fall into one of these stereotypical AP student categories.
The “It Doesn’t Actually Matter” Student: These students are extremely nonchalant about their exams. When asked if they have started studying, or when they started studying, they shrug their shoulders and say “I’m not studying” because, technically, “these exams don’t matter.” They only paid to take the exam because they don’t want to be the only person in their class with the teacher alone on testing day. Somehow, with no studying and no preparation, they get a four or five and leave everyone speechless. We don’t recommend this method, but if it works for you, go for it.
The Up Until 2:00 a.m. Every Night Student: These students are your usual straight A, perfect 4.0, 1500 SAT students. They are the academic weapons that completely freak out before the exams. They carefully create perfect study guides two weeks in advance, spend the week before in the library and, the night before the exam, stay up panicking that they know none of the required information. These students typically get a four on their exams, simply because they know all of the information, but overthink all the right answers and may be too tired to nail it. While we recommend studying for your exams, don’t risk your sleep for one test.
The Never on Time Student: These students show up late to the exam, and most likely show up late to their AP classes every day as well. They’re rushing in while the proctor is handing out the exam. They forgot their calculator and are begging the person next to them to give them one of their four extra pencils. These students will perform well, solely because they got an extra half hour of sleep and risked being late to the exam. They’ll get a three or four, depending on the exam. Yes, getting a good night’s sleep is essential to performing well on these exams, but it is best to avoid being late on test day.
The Princeton Review Book Student: These students take AP exams to the extreme. They order every set of Barron’s Flashcards for their exam and all the Princeton Review Books two months in advance. They are perfectionists and they feel they have to ace every test. They overwhelm themselves trying to memorize all two thousand of their flashcards. They’ll either get a five or a two, depending on whether or not their test anxiety takes over. While we recommend studying, you don’t need two thousand pre-made flashcards to get a five.
The “Sorry, I forgot to turn my phone off” Student: These students are extremely smart, but definitely scatterbrained. They always get caught up in putting the stickers on their answer sheets and filling in their bubbles that they forget to turn their phone off. Halfway through the exam someone will get fed up with the constant “Ding Ding Ding” until these students HAVE to get up and show everyone that they’re the person who forgot to silence their phone. They will still get a 4 or 5 because they are geniuses, but they should remember to turn off your phone before the exam or risk being known as “that kid.”
Regardless of which one you are, we hope you do well. Remember to study, but not too much, get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast. Don’t stress, be on time, turn off your phone and good luck.