Sophomore Alice He, eyes glued to a computer screen and ears encased in a set of cheap headphones, was shaking with nervousness as she clicked the button to launch her AP Chinese Language and Culture test at the AP test date this year.
Hours of outside classes and mountains of prep books were all about to pay off in the next few hours. The delay caused by those who had to be taught how to register for the AP test didn’t help.
Something about her situation might have struck other AP test takers as strange. She takes Chinese 5 Honors, but took the AP test a year early because she wanted to get the test out of the way.
Although students in AP classes usually take the AP tests associated with them, many students in recent years have chosen to self-study for AP tests.
Students also see a chance to get ahead in their studies and be able to take more advanced classes in college.
Those who attend AP classes frequently have homework and tests to reinforce the concepts that appear on the AP test, while those who do not must rely on study textbooks and their own motivation to learn those concepts.
For He, who took an outside class every Sunday to prepare for the test, her motivation was to free up more time for APs her junior year.
“Knowing that junior year I'll be packed with heavy courses and especially more AP's, I figured I could get the Chinese AP over with quickly so I don't need to stress about that in the future,” He said.
He said she thought her class prepared her well for the AP test, even mirroring the test preparations one would expect in the AP class.
“I thought I was pretty prepared, since the class I took outside gave me a lot of Chinese readings and vocabulary to study throughout the year,” He said. “We practiced speaking and a lot of random multiple-choice problems during class.”
For any test takers who are thinking of taking AP tests outside of class, He recommends that they should try to prepare to exceed the AP standards to comfortably secure their ideal score.
Sophomore Josh Dey, who self-studied for AP Computer Science, believes that students engaging in this path must be disciplined in their work habits.
Dey chose to self-study because he wanted to be less pressured while learning the subject while finding ways for him to learn well.
His motivation came from all sorts of different places, all inspired by getting a great score on the AP test.
“Thinking about doing well on the test beforehand drove me to study even more diligently and patiently for it,” Dey said.
