A Guide to Taking Multiple APs

By
Mustafa M. Al-Mashhadani
Edited by Zoe Jones
Published on
December 23, 2022

Advances Placement (AP) courses are some of the most rigorous activities that secondary school students may take. Taking multiple AP classes reflects on a student’s ability to challenge themself academically. A single AP is already challenging on its own (since all AP subjects tackle college-level material), so enrolling in more than one AP course may feel overwhelming. By taking the most rigorous courses available, you gain essential life skills–such as time management, organization, and independence–and also display your competence when tackling college-level material at universities. 

Gaining the right abilities to take multiple APs successfully requires organizational and time management skills that allow you to learn material effectively. It is as important to be able to manage APs as it is to score well on them. 

Choosing Your Advanced Placement Courses

Before considering how to manage your APs, you must highlight the workload you will be putting on yourself. Pick the right courses for you. Don’t take a load of APs; try to focus heavily on ones you like and that relate to your choice of major. Remember that APs are college-level material, so although having many of them sounds nice, consider how they fit into your schedule. Ensure that whatever APs you take are manageable with your other non-AP classes. Don’t burden yourself, but at the same time, strive to challenge yourself. 

Also, remember that APs allow you to explore subjects that interest you in depth. Explore the AP subjects during your summer, and exfoliate the courses you appreciate the most. By examining AP subjects during your summer, you’re able to select school courses in a better manner while learning about the feasibility of doing multiple APs before actually having to pay for the exams. 

You can view all the APs college board offers in the link below, with all the necessary supplementary information. 

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/course-index-page

Preparing for Your Advanced Placement Courses

Once you know about the APs you will take, it’s time to prepare for your studies. There are multiple modems of study that can aid you in effectively learning for AP classes. Each student will have a different preference; however, it is reasonable to consider the different resources available to students. 

  • Textbooks
  • Textbooks are a great way to prepare for AP courses. They can be compared to a map that allocates the work required for you to do in a chronological and timely manner. 
  • Websites
  • There are several websites that aid students in gaining AP resources. Explore the sites about your subject on the internet, where you can choose to stick with what you like. 
  • Tutoring
  • Consider tutoring services, which can sometimes be found for free. Though, tutoring can be quite expensive and inconvenient for many.
  • Videos
  • Videos are very straightforward when coming to APs. Some videos may be animated, while others may be more academic. They allow students of all backgrounds to study material in a comprehensible manner. 
  • Simple Studies
  • Simple Studies has so many services that allow students to study without charge. 

You may also find more resources for studying AP courses in the following blog post:

https://www.simplestudies.org/blog/self-studying-resources

Practicing Essential Skills

As your courses pass, ensure you gain time management skills throughout your days. Time yourself during assignments and examinations. Know when to speed up or to give yourself more time. Ensure to stay within the provided time, as you have other APs to study for!

A useful tool is a daily agenda/timetable. Create a timetable for when you will study certain APs regarding time slots. Even if you still need to finish your prior work, move on when the time runs out. Give your APs appropriate timing. By setting up your timetable, you will only occasionally get everything right the first time. It may take weeks to get a working timetable that is realistic to your goals in terms of education. For example, you may need more time in AP Biology to study certain materials while requiring less time in AP Chemistry for the same material. 

Avoid Cramming

Don’t cram everything the night before! Make sure to give yourself weeks ahead of any posted requirements to study for the material. You must take care of yourself in a way that prevents you from requiring to study all the material in a singular dose. Be reasonable and give yourself all the required time. 

Take Care of Yourself

Although you can master all the techniques listed above, they are useless if you cannot perform well. Sleep, eat, and relax well. You need the energy to study for multiple APs, so don’t overwork yourself. However, make sure that you are still working well on your classes. Advanced Placement courses are serious, and you have dedicated yourself to a challenging concept. Progress yourself, use your weekends wisely, and practice whenever possible. After all, doing well in APs also helps you do well with all the skills you learn. 

As a final note, make sure to work as much as possible on your APs while perfecting your time management; however, don’t overburden yourself. 

Find more free resources here!

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