How to Survive Taking an AP Test

1. 1
   Confirm your testing location. Your school probably posted the AP testing information and locations a few months before your actual AP exam. Double-check the location so you will arrive at the correct place to take your test. If you have any concerns or questions, be sure to talk to your teachers right away!
2. 2
   Avoid cramming. Cramming days before an exam is ineffective. It can make you more stressed than before, and you are usually unable to retain as much information if you cram all at once. ^[5] The day before the exam, try to relax and ease your nerves. Stop thinking about whether or not you are going to fail the exam; remember, with proper preparation, it is very unlikely you will fail.

   • Additionally, there is usually a curve for the exam if students in the past did poorly. For instance, a 4 on the AP exam still means you are very well qualified, and it translates to an A-, B+, or B in letter grades. ^[6] Additionally, if you get between a 70%-75% on the AP Calculus AB exam, it still translates to roughly a 4.
3. 3
   Talk with family and friends about your feelings. If you have any concerns and are worried about the test tomorrow, talk with someone. They can likely reassure you that you won't do as badly as you think on the test.
4. 4
   Pack important school supplies you will need on the day of the test. There are some restricted things you cannot bring into the testing area on the day of the test. Be sure to bring regular a few wooden No. 2 pencils to the test, as well as a fully charged computer, a graphing calculator (for the AP Calculus AB/BC, Precalculus, Physics, Environmental Science, and Statistics exams), and a few pens (for most of the history/language AP exams). Pens are required for the free-response portions of some exams since it is easier for people to grade the exams when the ink does not smudge. Paper exams are often delivered a long distance to the graders, which makes pencil marks likely to smudge during the process. ^[7] Also, plan to bring your school ID during the check-in! Do not bring the following materials into the exam room, as you could be suspected of cheating with these:

   • Any other electronic equipment except the computer being used for AP testing; this includes smartphones, smartwatches, portable music listening devices, tablets, your own earbuds, etc.
   • Electronic writing instruments like the Apple Pencil
   • Notebooks, books, dictionaries, correction fluid, or highlighters
   • Rulers or straightedges, which are only permitted for the AP Physics tests
   • Protractors
   • Privacy screens on computers
   • Additional computer monitors
5. 5
   Ensure you remember your online testing login information. If you are taking an online or partially online AP test, you will need to use Bluebook. To log in to Bluebook, you will need your regular CollegeBoard login information (such as your email and password). Make sure you remember this information before the test!
6. 6
   Have a relaxing bedtime routine the night before the test. Do not stay up late trying to study last-minute. Even if you don't feel sleepy, you should settle into your usual bedtime routine. Do something relaxing to soothe your nerves. You could concentrate on doodling, sketching, or drawing zentangles. You could also listen to some music you enjoy. You can also watch some relaxing videos or listen to a soothing podcast before bed. Taking a warm bath shortly before bedtime can also loosen up stiff joints and muscles, and even reduce headaches! ^[8]

   • If your exam is in the morning (8 AM local time), consider setting your bedtime 30 minutes to an hour earlier than usual so you have plenty of time to prepare for the day of the test.
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Morning Exams (8 AM - 12 PM)

1. 1
   Wake up earlier. If you are taking a morning AP exam, wake up 30 minutes to an hour earlier than you usually do. This allows you to arrive on time at your high school in case you get stuck in traffic, especially if many people are taking the same exam as you. Wake up 30 minutes to an hour earlier in case of any accidents. If you are walking or biking to school, it is especially important to get to your school on time, since you don't want to be very late for the test!
2. 2
   Eat a fulfilling breakfast. Breakfast makes you energized and lets your body get enough nutrients to start the day. Eat a healthy yet fulfilling breakfast. Eat something nutritious, like a bowl of oatmeal or scrambled eggs, in the morning. Unhealthy breakfast foods like cereal or bacon could cause you indigestion, especially if you tend to get nervous during tests. Don't skip breakfast on the day of the test, as you will likely feel very hungry or very tired, which can affect your concentration during the test. You will not be able to eat food or drink water during the exam, which is why it is important to eat enough so that you won't feel hungry before the exam.

   • At the same time, don't try to scarf down plates of food. Your stomach may act up during the test, so be careful.
3. 3
   Go to the bathroom before the test. It is not recommended to go to the bathroom in the middle of the test. Either go to the bathroom before the test, during the scheduled 10-minute break, or after the test. Getting up in the middle of the quiet testing environment can cause disruptions to other people's tests and your own. You are also wasting time by taking an unscheduled break. Go to the bathroom before the test and take a sip of water before the test as well, since water bottles are not allowed in the main testing room.
4. 4
   Wait patiently in line as the staff members and proctors check students in. There will likely be a line of people outside your testing location. The staff members will be searching for students' names in the school's database to confirm they are taking the correct AP exam. You will probably require your school ID to check in. Once the staff get to you, take out your ID and give it to them. The check-in process does not take a long time; it is only the waiting time in line that takes a while, especially if there are many people (like 50 or more students) taking the exam.
5. 5
   Get your testing materials. Take out your school supplies (like the pencils/pens/calculator you packed the day before) and leave your backpack outside the testing room. This is a procedure to prevent cheating. Next, staff members will likely pass out the testing material, usually the on-paper test booklets for the free-response portion of the test. They might also pass out scratch paper for the multiple-choice portion of the exam. If the proctors allow you to take extra scratch paper, do so. Bring all of these to the testing room and start finding your seat.

   • If you want to bring food and water for the break, place them outside the testing room. During the 10-minute break, your proctor will allow students to leave the testing room to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom.
6. 6
   Find your seat. You cannot choose your seat in the AP test. This is also to prevent cheating. There are slips of paper on each desk with your first and last name, your grade level, your full birthdate, and the names of the AP exams you are taking. In the center of the paper, there are two columns of barcodes with a string of small letters on the bottom of each one. These are your unique AP IDs, which means each person taking the test has a completely different AP ID from you. Find your AP ID by reading the top right corners of each paper to find your first and last name. These are important for the paper exams, so hold on to them!
7. 7
   Listen to all of the proctor's instructions carefully. You will fill in the answers to the AP exam online, on paper, or both. Additionally, if your exam has a paper portion, there are special instructions on how to fill in your information on the paper test booklet, such as your name, your birthdate, and how to use your AP ID. They will also tell you how to label your scratch paper and how to enter the online exam on Bluebook.

   • If you miss these instructions, your answer sheet may not be graded correctly, which will cause a lot of problems later on.
8. 8
   Open Bluebook. Bluebook is CollegeBoard's online application for online AP exams. ^[9] Some exams, like the AP Computer Science A one, are fully online, whereas others, like the AP Calculus, AP Physics, and AP Biology ones, have an online multiple-choice portion and an on-paper free response portion. ^[10] Bluebook is the one used for the online tests. However, the free-response questions will also appear in Bluebook, so you will have to read the questions on your computer and answer them in your paper test booklet.

   • You will use your CollegeBoard login for the Bluebook AP test. Type in your email and password and proceed to the next page.
   • You will likely have to type in a specified room code (which shows CollegeBoard which school you are taking the exam from) as well as a test code. Your proctor will give you this information verbally, so pay attention while they are speaking!
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Afternoon Tests (12 PM - 4 PM)

1. 1
   Utilize break periods and free periods to take a look at your notes and practice problems for the last time. You have a slight advantage over the students taking their exams in the morning since you have some extra time to review. Do not spend your time memorizing and cramming information that you forgot about, as this is ineffective and it will make you overly stressed out. You may even forget concepts you have already learned this way. Instead, focus on the concepts you have a strong understanding of.
2. 2
   Go to the bathroom before the test. It is not recommended to go to the bathroom in the middle of the test. Either go to the bathroom before the test, during the scheduled 10-minute break, or after the test. Getting up in the middle of the quiet testing environment can cause disruptions to other people's tests and your own. You are also wasting time by taking an unscheduled break. Go to the bathroom before the test and take a sip of water before the test as well, since water bottles are not allowed in the main testing room.
3. 3
   Have a snack before the exam. You won't be able to bring food or water into the testing room, so you should eat a small snack before the test to avoid getting hungry in the middle of the test. Do not try and scarf down a hefty lunch 20 minutes before the exam, as that could cause indigestion and heartburn, and you do not want to feel sick during the test! Instead, eat foods that give you energy. Snacks containing carbohydrates are the best choice. You could eat a granola bar, a fruit, or nuts to gain energy. Unhealthy carbohydrates are likely to sap your energy, making you tired and not concentrated while taking the test, so avoid eating those. ^[11]
4. 4
   Head to the testing room around 30 minutes before the test. Your teacher might take the students to the exam location, or you may have to go yourself. Prepare to exit your original classroom and go to your testing location 30 minutes before the start of the exam. The 30 minutes are needed for every student to find their seat and for the proctors to give out all of the materials and instructions.
5. 5
   Wait patiently in line as the staff members and proctors check students in. There will likely be a line of people outside your testing location. The staff members will be searching for students' names in the school's database to confirm they are taking the correct AP exam. You will probably require your school ID to check in. Once the staff get to you, take out your ID and give it to them. The check-in process does not take a long time; it is only the waiting time in line that takes a while, especially if there are many people (like 50 or more students) taking the exam.
6. 6
   Get your testing materials. Take out your school supplies (like the pencils/pens/calculator you packed the day before) and leave your backpack outside the testing room. This is a procedure to prevent cheating. Next, staff members will likely pass out the testing material, usually the on-paper test booklets for the free-response portion of the test. They might also pass out scratch paper for the multiple-choice portion of the exam. If the proctors allow you to take extra scratch paper, do so. Bring all of these to the testing room and start finding your seat.

   • If you want to bring food and water for the break, place them outside the testing room. During the 10-minute break, your proctor will allow students to leave the testing room to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom.
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Multiple Choice

1. 1
   Read each problem carefully. You do not want to miss out on small details on multiple-choice questions that could cost you points. There is no partial credit on multiple-choice questions, so you want to get the majority of these correct. If it is a free-response question, read every sentence to make sure you answered all parts of the question. Sometimes, people skim over the question and end up forgetting to answer a part of a question, which will cost them points, too.
2. 2
   Mark questions that you are unsure of to check later. Instead of dwelling on a question for more than 2 minutes, mark the question to look at it later when you have extra time after answering all of the questions. It's best not to waste time on one question since you are likely to run out of time to answer the other questions after it. To get the most points, try answering all of the other questions to the best of your ability and come back to the ones you are unsure about in the end.

   • Likewise, try to only spend a minute or two on each question. Most AP tests have multiple-choice sections that are 45 minutes to 70 minutes long, so you want to make sure you have time to answer each question. ^[12]
3. 3
   Try not to overthink a question. Sometimes, you may believe a question to be very difficult since you have never encountered it while doing homework problems or AP practice questions. However, there may be a trick to these questions. You may read it again and find out that the problem actually gives you all of the information you need. Additionally, the things you learned in class are going to be applied to all of the problems, just in slightly different ways. For example, there may be some simplification required on a math problem that will allow you to use the formulas you have learned in class. Just use the formulas and techniques you have learned to try and answer the question.
4. 4
   Understand that you don't need to show all of your work for the multiple-choice portion. The AP exam graders do not care about the work on your scratch paper, so you can get away with not showing as much work. This is also beneficial since it saves time from writing down every single step on paper. Just write down the gist of your calculations (for math and science MCQ portions). You may decide to skip writing down easy addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division steps, as well as cancelling out common units. This leaves you with the most important steps (like solving for a variable or plugging in numbers into a formula). You can also abbreviate words and units.

   • It is also okay to write quickly, making your handwriting slightly messy. You don't need very neat and beautiful handwriting; what matters is finishing each problem! As long as you can read your own handwriting, it should be okay.
5. 5
   Check the timer. There is a timer at the top of the screen that displays how many minutes you have left in the test. Glance at it every few minutes to keep track of your time. This helps you adjust your pacing for each question. If you realize you are going too slow, you can speed up your pacing, and if you sped through the test without reading carefully, you can go back and reread each question during the extra time you have. Additionally, Bluebook will warn you when there are 5 minutes left in the test, since it will automatically submit your exam whether or not you are finished with that portion.
6. 6
   Check your answers when you have extra time. If you are not down to the last 5 minutes during your exam, likely, you can likely still check many of your answers to see if they are correct. Go through each one and try to recalculate it or re-read the question to see if you applied the correct technique. For math and science problems, you can likely do the same steps you did in the reverse order to check your work too, making it easier. Instead of adding a number, you subtract it to get the original number you started with. To double-check a derivative, you can integrate it back to get the original expression.
7. 7
   Get up and take a break during the 10-minute break. There will be a 10-minute break usually after the 1st set of multiple-choice questions. Bluebook will display a 10-minute timer, and everyone's timers will start at slightly different times because each person started the test at different times. However, your proctor will tell everyone to take a break at the same time. During the break, you can walk around the testing room and stretch. This helps you stay awake for the hour or more that is yet to come.

   • You should go to the bathroom at this time so you won't have to go later. It is inconvenient to take an unscheduled break during the exam, and it also costs you time to go after the break.
   • If you are hungry or thirsty, go outside the testing room to eat and drink.
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Free Response

1. 1
   Fill out your response booklet carefully. There is likely a designated section on each page for you to answer each question. Look at your booklet carefully for numbers like 1, 2, and 3 (and A, B, C, and D) to write your answers in the correct section. This will help you avoid losing any points since you answered a question in the wrong box. Also, pay attention to additional instructions inside the test booklet.

   • For example, you are required to fill in a bubble that corresponds to the question you are answering for AP English Language and Composition exams. For example, if you are writing Question 1, fill in the bubble that says "Question 1" on top. ^[13]
2. 2
   Pace yourself. You need to pace yourself for both the multiple-choice and free-response sections. The free response sections typically have 3-6 questions you need to answer. For the subjects (e.g. AP U.S. History, AP English Language and Composition) with long essays, you will be given fewer prompts, around 3 of them. For short-answer questions on math and science AP exams (e.g., AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Statistics, AP Physics 1), you will be given 4-6 questions. Each question will have parts A, B, C, and/or D.

   • Divide the total amount of time you have in minutes (such as 70 minutes) by the number of questions you have (e.g., 6) to get the time you need to spend on each question.
   • If you finish a question quickly, move on to the next one. Only check your answers if you have time, since checking each sentence or calculation as you go is time-consuming.
3. 3
   Read the questions carefully. Each question may contain several short parts, so make sure you answer every part of the question. Avoid missing points because you didn't answer part of the question. In addition, if you are writing an essay, make sure you think about what to write for everything in the question.
4. 4
   Use your regular knowledge to calculate and solve STEM problems. If you are taking a science or math exam, after you read the question, figure out what strategy or formula to use for the problem. You likely know how to do this already because you have practiced frequently throughout these past months. Remember to show as much work as possible for these, since the grading rubric is based on whether you did each step correctly.

   • Do not forget to put units! Whether it's meters per second, joules, or amu, make sure to write the correct units on your paper.
5. 5
   Use your calculator when you are allowed to . There are a few free-response problems for which you won't be allowed to use a calculator, so read the instructions carefully. Only use your calculator if the instructions for that section or question specifically tell you "Calculators are permitted for this section" or a phrase of similar wording. ^[14] Use this calculator to your advantage; if you are allowed to bring a graphing calculator, use it to graph out equations and find their intersections. Even if you have a regular scientific calculator, you can use this to calculate long strings of calculations.
6. 6
   Read the sources you are given. On the AP English and AP History exams, the FRQ section will tell you to write a few short essays with around 4-6 outside sources. These will generally be a few sentences to a few paragraphs long. They may also give you an image, such as a political cartoon or a graph. Pick the ones you want to use in your essay and summarize the main points of each. Use the ones with sufficient information to prove your point. This will make it easier for you to format your essay.
7. 7
   Draft up general topics you want to write about if you are writing a paragraph or short essay for the FRQ sections. Jot down a few topics you want to mention in your writing on scratch paper. You may also think about it in your head. Avoid writing a whole rough draft on your scratch paper during this time, since you won't have time to finish the actual draft! Write down everything you think about; it's better than leaving bits blank. If you need to add in a few words you missed, you can write them on the last line you used and then draw an arrow to the place in your essay where you would insert them.
8. 8
   Start writing! After you have thought of a rough draft for your writing, start writing it down! Remember how to properly cite your sources in your essay. Also, be specific. Write down the context of each quote/excerpt/picture you are using and explain thoroughly how this relates to the topic you are writing about. How would this piece of evidence prove your point, or how does this relate to a key event in history?
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1. 1
   Check your work when you have time. Check your work after you have attempted all of the questions. Check for any silly mistakes you made or any words you may have missed when reading the prompts. Do this until the timer on your screen runs out.
2. 2
   Do not close your computer screen after you are finished with the exam. The test will automatically submit once the timer on your screen runs out, so you don't need to do anything. However, you will not be allowed to close your computer screen once the exam is finished. There will be a screen that shows you have completed the test, so leave that open for the test proctors to see.
3. 3
   Wait patiently. It may take a while for other students to complete the test, so wait patiently at your seat. Do not do anything disruptive, like talk to other students or make other loud noises. You could do a few things at your desk, like spin your pencil, daydream, zone out, or fidget.

   • You will not be allowed to get your personal devices or things until everyone has completed the test. So, plan on sitting idly for some time.
4. 4
   Hand your test booklet and scratch papers to your test proctors. Your test proctors will collect everyone's test booklets and scratch papers. The test booklets will be sent away, where they will be graded by AP exam graders. The scratch paper is not sent with the booklets because the graders only care about information written in the booklets- only that information will determine your exam score. However, your school will still keep the scratch paper for up to 30 days in case someone is suspected of cheating. ^[15]
5. 5
   Gather your things and prepare to leave the testing building when you are permitted to. After the test proctors have collected all of the test material, they will announce whether everyone can leave the test building or not. Once you are allowed to, gather the things you placed outside of the test building (food, drinks, electronics, your backpack, etc.) and leave the building.
6. 6
   Take time to destress and take your mind off the exam. It's best not to worry about your AP test scores since they won't be released until July. Relax for a bit since you've worked quite hard to study for this test! Treat yourself to a yummy dessert, watch a movie, or schedule a hangout with your friends to celebrate. Worrying about your score won't change future events, so you should just focus on the present moment.

   • If you have more AP exams coming up, continue to do the steps in this article! You can host an even bigger celebration after you've finished all your exams.
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