AP sign up deadline here today, gone tomorrow
As a requirement for their freshman curriculum, all ninth grade magnet students must take AP Human Geography, a course taught primarily by James Auld. “Historically, we have about anywhere from 95 to 100 percent of students [sign up for exams]. This year we have 83 out of 88 [students]. We still have to finish two whole units. Then they do a group collaborative study project outside of school that goes in as a comprehensive exam grade, and then we have after-school sessions for anyone and everyone that would like to come. So between those two, they have twelve different opportunities,” Auld said. In addition to attending various study sessions and using the college prep and information books pictured above to ready themselves for their upcoming exams, students may also look to self-help books like Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, for guidance. This influential book explains the secret to accessing the deepest facets of human potential, offering a fuller, more complex definition of success.
February 28, 2019
The final day to register and pay for AP exams, Thursday, February 28, looms large today, and students scramble to gain an academic edge as exam season comes. Historically, millions of students across the United States send in last minute payments to ensure a test booklet on the morning or afternoon of their various exams. In 2018, this number reached 2,808,909 with a total of 5,090,324 tests administered.
Students like Magnet sophomore Aiden Pierre prepare to take the exams for all of his current AP courses: AP Psychology, AP World History, AP English Language and Composition, and AP Seminar.
“[I feel] moderately prepared, but I definitely need to study before the tests. At this point, I’m expecting mostly threes,” Pierre said.
Junior Damariz Ortiz also outlines her preparation plan. In May, she will take four exams, including AP Statistics, a subject with only a 60.7 percent pass rate.
“I feel prepared for the exams that I have for classes that I’ve had year round, but I’m a little iffy on the classes that I’ve only taken for a semester. I plan on attending the study sessions that teachers provide for first semester students. I’ll be studying at home too and using Khan Academy. Anything that I have from last semester I will be using as well,” Ortiz said.
For most students signing up for AP exams, study groups will reap numerous benefits. According to JEE Mag, studying in groups counters the monotonous stigma typically associated with solo studying through social interaction. It can also increase exposure to new study methods and, through positive peer pressure, combat likeliness to procrastinate, a vice that more than half of US high school students give in to regularly as evident by the increasing number of late test sign-ups.
AP testing will commence on the morning of Monday, May 6. College Board will administer the final exams on the afternoon of Friday, May 17. As of this year, The College Board will also cover the price of one STEM exam per student, significantly reducing the average price of exams for students, like Ortiz’s AP Environmental Science exam. One may find the complete exam schedule, as well as additional pricing information on the College Board website.
