As AP Season approaches, it’s normal to get a little apprehensive. However, keep in mind that AP Exams in no way define you as a person nor are they the ultimate deciding factor when it comes to college admissions. Sure, a good score can boost your app, but it’s not going to make or break an acceptance. With that in mind, there a couple things you can do to help prepare for the exam:
First, don’t procrastinate. It’s really easy to let AP test prep slip down the ranks on your To-Do list, but doing a little prep everyday is better than spending the weekend before your test cramming a year’s worth of information into your brain. If you haven’t already started, start gathering up the prep materials that your teacher has given you so far and organize them by topic. Pick a topic and give yourself at least an hour or so everyday and start reviewing the material.
Second, don’t do the same type of prep everyday. Change it up. For example, instead of reading through your notes or summaries first, you may want to look at the questions on an old AP exam and see what you remember and what you don’t. That way you can focus on weaker topics and review the stronger ones later. If you need/want more material for your studies, check out the College Board website (may have old exams posted) or go to the library and flip through a couple test prep books (Barrons, Five Steps to a 5, etc.). Study groups are also a great way to motivate both yourself and others!
Lastly, know that you’re not alone in this! The Study Hut is here to help you! The tutors have all been through the AP exam process multiple times and have taken a wide array of subjects. Not only are they familiar with the material and exam structure, but they also know how you feel and what you’re going through and are always here for that extra moral support!
Juniors: The busiest of High School schedules.
October 9th, 2011When a students claims Junior status in HS, we realize it’s not only a moment for discrete gloating but also a time for stress and scrambling for steady ground. Juniors have the most coursework. Unfortunately, this is just how things work. Juniors have to mark down the upcoming SAT dates, ACT weekends, and AP exam weeks. On top of that, they have to start looking at colleges and majors. College Board is responsible for all the SAT & ACT exams. Juniors have to get off their FB accounts for a couple min, stop Twittering, and get onto the College Board website, make an account, and register for tests. Once you register, the stress starts. We will do all we can to ensure students meet their deadlines and are ready for the exam. We provide SAT, PSAT, ACT, and ISEE diagnostic tests. We assist not only in the academic coursework but also in how to juggle the immense workload of stuydying for the SAT, AP, and midterms in U.S. Government. ACT is optional, but if students find themselves splattering over the SAT, they have to take the ACT. So, how do students know if they need to take one or the other if the SAT and ACT registration dates are so close? SAT diagnostics. Juniors, whether they are confident in their ability or if they are not even planning to study, have to test the waters and check where they stand. Once they know where they stand, everything starts growing clearer — set a schedule, take another SAT diagnostic every other week, and stay for extra time at Study Hut to ensure you will know what you are doing when the awful date comes. We have cereal so feel free to stay — but no overnights…obviously. With SATs done, Juniors should be ready for AP exams. What the — ? While studying for the SAT, Juniors have to stay on top of their AP courses in order to prepare for the AP exams. Unfortunately, this is how it is. On top of all of that work, Juniors have to start thinking about Senior status. Start volunteering in community events to rack up the minutes, join a writing competition, work your stress away in track and field, juggle your academic coursework with extracurricular activities — it will all come back not only when college apps are due but also when you gloat about it in interviews and over Christmas when you are starting on the 30s. While this may be an overwhelming academic year for Juniors, Study Hut is there to set a schedule, give diagnostics, comment, give quizzes on the functions of the mitochondria and the political reasonings of the English Civil War. We will assist in the year of cramming and if students start hallucinating from the stress — we are there with crunchy granola with dark chocolate — and then it is back to grinding out information, constantly editing the weekly schedule to fit their needs, and prioritizing work to make things just a bit less stressful.
Planning Makes for Better Scores
May 13th, 2010At The Hut, we know that all students learn differently and come to tutoring with unique expectations. For those high achieving high school students who are immersed in Advanced Placement courses, SAT practice, and extracurricular activities, time management is key.
Junior and senior year of high school are the most academically demanding years of the four. This is the time when students are mastering those tough classes (AP Euro, Bio, US, Chem, Spanish…) and special skills (soccer, music, community service…) that will make them competitive at the university of their choice. With little sleep and less free time during the day, what these teens need is a schedule.
Mira Costa junior Danny came to The Study Hut in need of a little planning. With a full schedule of electives and extracurriculars, Danny had no trouble learning the material; he just needed to find the time to do it. During tutoring sessions, Danny and I spent time organizing his schedule for the week – ensuring that he would have time to do the activities he loves as well as the focused studying that he needs to ace information-dense AP Biology. With a realistic amount of time blocked out every day for biology review, and the creation of specific goals for the completion of assignments, Danny’s test scores immediately improved. With the continued use of these organization techniques, as well as weekly concept review at The Study Hut, Danny’s grades are steadily improving. By the time of the AP Biology exam, he had drastically improved his grade in the class and his ability to retain large amounts of information.
One hour of one-on-one tutoring for high school students is not only an excellent way to clarify difficult concepts, it is also a way to keep busy students on track all week long. Short-term study techniques will prepare a student for an upcoming test, but organization and planning skills with a long-term focus are the key to improving a student’s ability to learn information, retain information, and succeed in the analytic-based learning that is in their future. The commitment to a regular schedule allows students to anticipate assignments and plan their schedules accordingly. This reduces stress, which in turn makes test-taking less of an ordeal. Less panic means better decisions and higher scores. Period.
If a student can stick to a study plan and stop relying on last-minute cramming, they are guaranteed to see positive results. And a little more sleep never hurts either…
