Academy Life

How To Keep Your Cool During AP Exam Week

Ashley Repar, Senior Staff Writer|May 3, 2016

With the dreaded AP Exam week approaching, it easy to feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted even before the exams begin. It’s no surprise AP Exam week is one of the most feared weeks of the school year – wedged in between the end of the school year and final exams for seniors, it’s definitely going to get stressful.

AP Exams start TODAY! Congratulations on all your hard work and go do your best!

— AP for Students (@APforStudents) May 2, 2016

Whether you’re taking one exam or five, take these easy tips to staying calm and relaxed during the two weeks of AP exams.

Day of the Exam:

Go to bed EARLY the night before the exam, it will only help you the next day to be fully rested and not tired
Eat a healthy breakfast in order to get your mind working
Be prepared! Bring a surplus amount of pens, pencils and erasers just in case, it’s always better to be overly prepared than not prepared at all.
Before the exam, take a couple of deep breaths to completely relax yourself and get in the right mindset to take the test

Ah AP exams…that glorious time of the year when Crash Course viewership, for some reason, always seems to double.

— Hank Green (@hankgreen) May 2, 2016

Many Academy girls are fully rehearsed in preparing for AP exam week, such as Senior Christina Thompson.

She explains, “I’m taking four AP Exams this year, but I really haven’t started to feel stressed out yet. I really believe that all of my teachers have prepared me for my exams next week. To relax before exams, I make sure that I have studied well enough that I am confident when I first sit down to write the exam – confidence is key.”

As Thompson reveals, studying well is key to being relaxed the day of the exam. In order to study well, there are many things to consider to make sure you don’t go crazy while you’re locked up in your room studying for an exam. Always makes sure to take breaks whenever you study so your brain doesn’t get tired as quickly.

"Working out is the key to relieving stress during exam week. It always works!" Christina Thompson exclaims — Photo Credit: Christina Thompson (used with permission)
“Working out is the key to relieving stress during exam week. It always works!” Christina Thompson exclaims

Thompson claims, “To stay relaxed during AP exam week I find that working out really helps get the weight of exams off my shoulders and feel calm. Also, when I’m studying, I like to take quick breaks and eat a healthy snack so I don’t go crazy!”

To take off at least a little bit of stress, here is the complete AP exam schedule, time and dates, so you will never have to worry about when your exam will take place!