The text messages started at 7:00 a.m. on a Friday. I was determined to sleep until noon—or at least until I was hungry enough to get up—but my phone kept waking me at random times throughout the morning. It took me three hours to lift my head from the pillow, unplug my phone, and check my notifications.
Aaron: How'd the gov ap test go?
If I wasn't awake before, I was now. I'd known for a few weeks that Advanced Placement scores were coming out today, but it was easy to forget when I wanted to think about school as little as possible. My friends were already messaging each other about which exams they passed over group text.
Pulling up the College Board website rekindled the stress and dread I'd grown to tolerate in my junior and senior year of high school. Forgetting my login credentials didn't help, either. I spent the next fifteen minutes guessing my username, retrieving my password, and resenting the College Board for making their login process as confusing as their actual exams.
The only test I had semi-high expectations for was AP Government and Politics. My friend Aaron and I re-taught ourselves the material three weeks before the exam, and while the non-stop reading and study sessions distressed me, I was proud of our hard work and curious to see if it paid off.
Once I accessed my account, I clicked the link to retrieve my scores and anxiously waited for the page to load. When it did, I stared at the screen in disbelief.
I got a 5 in Government and Politics. Literature, too. I got a 1 in Calculus—which made complete sense; I solved math problems at a snail's pace and doodled flowers in my free response booklet. But holy crap! Two 5's? I'd never done that well on my AP exams. Maybe I could forgive the College Board for all of the sleepless nights and stress-induced tears.
In this blog post, I want to focus on how Aaron and I studied for the AP Government and Politics exam. As it turns out, we both got a 5! Though we only started cramming three weeks before the test, I believe our methods are effective and applicable to longer periods of studying. I broke it down into 5 steps:
1. Depend on someone—and be dependable.
Self-studying doesn't actually require you to study by yourself. In fact, working alongside someone can be a great way to hold yourself accountable. The ideal study buddy should be someone you trust to provide you with good information and keep you motivated in the long run. For me, that was my friend Aaron!
2. Pencil in your study schedule.
If you have a friend or group of friends to study with, divide the work evenly between each person.
Using the AMSCO Gov/Po prep book, Aaron and I scanned the table of contents, highlighted the chapters we felt were necessary to review, and allocated them evenly between the two of us. We decided to take notes on each chapter in our own time and dedicate study sessions to teaching each other the material. Our schedule can be seen below:
3. Divide and conquer!
Now that you have an impressive (and intimidating) schedule before you, now's the time to buckle down and study.
Every due date was a scheduled study session, so I made sure to read my assigned chapters, highlight the important information, and compile my findings on a shared Google Doc beforehand. I took notes in my own words whenever possible so that it was easy to understand them when I reviewed later on.
Learning the material on our own made study sessions more productive. Aaron and I went to Starbucks twice a week; we'd order drinks, kick off our shoes, and teach each other the chapters via our 52-page Google Doc. We additionally completed the chapter quizzes provided by our prep books.
That's an insane amount of work, right?
Before we even started this high-intensity study marathon, I was already doubting my ability to stay on track with the schedule. I mean, I did a majority of my homework during lunch and napped every day after school. I wasn't exactly on top of things.
This is why I emphasize the importance of studying with somebody. Not only did Aaron splice my work load in half, but he served as the reason to do that work in the first place. Depend on someone, and be dependable. You'd be surprised at how much you can accomplish.
4. Tackle the difficult stuff.
I didn't want to do a practice exam. But we'd already used 30+ pages of printer paper at the library, and a part of me secretly wanted that 5. At school, your name was etched onto a commemorative plaque if you got a 5. You had to squint to see it. But it was there nonetheless.
AP practice exams are an effective way to study because they require active learning; in other words, they require you to recall and apply information as opposed to re-reading it in your notes or textbook. I spent a majority of the practice exam staring blankly at questions and scribbling essays until my hand cramped, but I got into a test-taking mindset that made the actual exam a lot more manageable.
5. Practice delayed gratification.
Preparing for an exam that's weeks or months in advance can be tedious. I often questioned if a three-hour test was really worth such a strenuous effort. After all, success isn't solely defined by a 1-5 value on a screen.
However, I gained much more than a 5 in studying for this AP exam. I gained confidence in studying without the guidance of an instructor. I spent time with a friend who I won't see as often once college starts. And I got my name engraved on a plaque! It's the little things I've learned to be grateful for.
While a good score is the ultimate reward for studying, there are a lot of additional benefits to it, too. You just have to keep an eye out for them.
I'm pleased to say that the AP Government and Politics exam is highly manageable, even without the three-week study marathon. In comparison to Literature or Calculus, you're provided more time to answer questions, and the concepts are more straight-forward.
Nonetheless, creating a study plan and sticking to it really helped me score a 5 on the exam. I've never studied without any sort of formal instruction from a teacher. As someone who has taken nearly two years (and counting) to finish online Driver's Ed, self-discipline doesn't come naturally to me. Surrounding yourself with the right people and having a patient, optimistic mindset makes all the difference. If I can do it, you definitely can.
♡
Good thoughts Jaq about relaxation. As we move through this world we tend to forget to feed ourselves with rest.