How to Excel in AP/Honors Courses

Welcome back everyone!

Now that school is about to be or already is in session depending on where you live, it’s back to doing homework and studying for tests. If you’re in high school, you probably had the option to enroll in some AP or honors level courses. Choosing to take these courses is a great way to challenge yourself and boost your GPA, but you have to do well in them for it to be worth your time and energy. I’m here to give you some tips that will help you succeed in these classes, so if you’re interested, keep reading!

Do all your homework – A lot of worksheet/reading question type assignments will mainly be graded for completion, so it’s silly to not get those points. Doing your homework will also prepare you for your tests, so you won’t need to study as much.
Write down all due dates and test dates as soon as you hear about them – Having a written record (especially in a planner) of when things are happening can help you plan ahead and you won’t drop the ball and forget anything.
READ the assigned readings for classes, ESPECIALLY books for English – Similar to doing your homework, this prepares you for your tests and there’s no reason not to do it. If you really don’t have time it’s okay to skim it, but make sure to try your best. Most books you’ll read in English are actually pretty good, too.
When there’s extra credit offered, do it – Even if you have a high grade, it’s important to get the extra points since they can help you out at the end of a grading period. Often times extra credit comes in form of study guides/review type things, so it also helps prepare you for tests!
Befriend your teachers – If your teachers like you, they’ll be a bit more lenient if you are a bit behind on assignments. Ask for help when you need it and just get to know them because they can be pretty cool people!
Start studying on the weekend or two days before a test – Again, you obviously won’t always have time to do this; when you do, it helps LOADS. I always study in advance for vocab tests because it’s just memorization and then I barely have to worry about it the night before. Whatever works for you and fits in your schedule, do it!
If your teachers don’t give you study guides, make your own – I find that study guides really help me master material before a test. Sometimes teachers will give you a clear-cut one that tells you what’s on the test which is amazing, but other times you have to figure it out for yourself. Either way, make some form of study guide you can quiz yourself with.
Take advantage of online resources – Quizlet, SparkNotes/LitCharts, and other helpful websites are lifesavers! If there’s any others your teachers/peers recommend, use those as well. Also, your teachers/school will often have their own websites where they post resources, assignments, a calendar of dates, etc., so make sure to check that.
Pay attention in class and participate – Sometimes participation is a part of your grade; in which case this is very important, but even if it’s not graded, you still want to show your teachers you care. Listening to lectures and participating in class activities makes time go by way faster- most of the time.
Keep all of your papers/materials organized – It’s easier to get everything done when you have it organized and together. You’ll work much more efficiently when you know where all your papers are and everything is laid out for you. Keep things in order of when you’ll be turning them in and/or importance, and have a notebook or binder for either every class or one for every two classes- whatever you prefer.
Work ahead when you know you’ll be busy later in the week – If you already know you have a test Thursday but you have a sports game Wednesday, study for the test Monday and Tuesday. As long as you have everything written down in a planner, you’ll know how to build your schedule around your work and other time commitments.
Compare notes/study with others – Collaboration definitely helps, as long as you stay on task. Pool all your knowledge and study material, and quiz each other (I find back-and-forth quizzing works the best). It also helps to collaborate on intimidating assignments, but make sure you’re doing your own work- cheating is only cheating yourself.
Get the Princeton Review AP prep books and start studying about a month in advance for AP tests – This is only for AP classes, but it’s an essential step for acing the test in May. Make sure you have prep books that can help you review all of the general curriculum and give yourself plenty of time to study. Drilling practice tests is the best thing to improve your score.

I hope these tips helped you and made you feel a little bit more confident in your abilities to do well in a high-level course. Once you get a bit farther into the school year and adjust, the workload won’t seem too much harder than a normal class. It’s all about learning how to maximize your points/grading and figuring out your teacher’s grading style. However, it’s also important to actually engage in the class and learn from it; I personally feel that AP and honors courses are way more interesting. Let me know if you have any more questions about these types of classes or any requests for future content!

-Brooke