A student walks into school, dreading her AP exam later in the day. She spends any free waking moment that she finds cramming for it. She studies and studies, binging YouTube review sessions and filling up her notebooks with notes. She does all of this in hopes that she can get her college credit and not let a whole year of prepping go to waste.
Many students who take AP classes often end up taking multiple at some point in their high school career, bringing on a whole load of stress when AP season rolls around.
With many exams occurring within the span of a week or two, it causes students to cram an entire year’s worth of learning into the span of the few weeks they have before their exams after completing the curriculum.
“I feel like AP exams can be kind of hit or miss, so I’m just planning to try my best and pull through,” says sophomore Mairin Mercado.
With the variety of AP classes offered to sophomores through seniors, a handful take 2 or more exams, causing them to face the height of stress that comes with these classes.
“I’m taking 2 exams, so I’ve had to prioritize one over the other,” says Mercado. “I want to go into the field of psychology, so I’ve been paying more attention to studying for that over my AP world exam.”
With the new law that pushes students into higher level classes starting next year, these exams will likely cause more stress for students who may not have even intended to take classes at the AP level.
Even if said students opt out of the AP exam, they are still required to take the final, and therefore forced to prepare excessively either way. This still results in stress. It’s all a matter of how students decide to cope with it.
“I’m taking the AP World exam soon, and I’ve had to pretty much lock myself in my room and cram for it,” says Sophomore Aylin Castaneda. “It’s been pretty stressful, and I can’t wait for it to be over. ”
When students are able to manage their stress and just keep swimming through, they know that it’ll be okay in the end.
“I’ve been doing okay honestly,” says sophomore Kyra Hanneman “I’ve been spreading out my studying, watching youtube videos and taking notes. I’m a little stressed, but I know it’ll be okay in the end.”
“I feel pretty good, I think prepping is similar every year with students,” says AP Psychology teacher Pamela McCarel-Burmeister. “I think overall, we’ve been preparing well enough.”
As long as students are able to prepare in a way that is suitable for their learning style, they can rest assured that everything will be alright in the end.
