The day has finally come. You’ve been assigned a classroom and have only a pencil, eraser, an ID card and are hoping for the best. Anyone who has ever taken an AP test will understand that feeling. AP testing on starts May 4 and continues to May 15. Whether you are taking the test for college credits or hoping you get a good score so you can actually pass the class, AP testing, or in some cases multiple AP tests, can be stressful.

Although many recognize that the test are challenging, the actual time and the sleepless nights that goes into studying and preparing for the test sometimes slips under the radar.

Some students take on multiple tests at a time, but this also means their stress level can be even higher.

“I’m in AP government, AP biology, AP U.S. History and AP Spanish, and I am taking the test for all four. I’m currently handling the stress the best I can; I devote an hour to two subjects a day and alternate the subjects each day similar to how we have even and odd days at school. I started doing this over a month ago. I feel like with AP testing there is a fine line between sanity and insanity while studying, and I like to find a balance,” Sara Chilimidos said.

There are many different techniques that people use for studying for AP tests.

“I take AP U.S. History, and the in-class review has really helped me, and the Princeton Review book has definitely made things less complicated. I feel between our teachers and what students use to help them on their personal time makes a big difference in how prepared you feel for the test,” Ozora Cheek said.

In-class review and the Kaplan or Princeton review books seem to be the most popular among AP students, but some take their own approach to preparing for the test.

“I use different websites, our notes from throughout the year, review books and more. I’m in the process of finishing the study sheets for each class where I write down the most important information for each chapter. It helps with both the memorization and reviewing over the material. I’ve also created flash cards for ‘big idea’ concepts as well as court cases for my AP government test, and for my AP Spanish test I’ve done a lot of tense review,” Chilimidos said.

Some students tend to go above and beyond to prepare for their test while some feel confidant with just in-class review.

“I will try to study for it as hard as I can for the AP history test by reviewing most of the class material and hopefully do the best of my abilities,” Anthony Ebrahem said.

There are also the few students who take the AP class but choose not to take the test at the end of the year.

“If given the option to take the test again, I definitely would, because the chance for college credit is a beautiful opportunity. But I forgot to sign up, because this was my first AP class and I feel teachers neglect to tell you how or where to sign up,” Nikki Tucker said.

Even without the chance for college credit, some feel the class is still worth it.

“I definitely feel it’s still worth it to take the class because it prepares me for more AP classes next year, the depth of the material is intriguing, and the GPA boost is an added bonus,” Tucker said.

by SELENA CERVANTES