Across the country, students are preparing to sit in an overly crowded, bright room to take an exam that will determine their college acceptances, personal worth, and entire future. While everyone knows that’s not true, efficient studying can greatly increase exam outcomes. From Knowt practice exams to Khan Academy Review, here are some of the easiest-to-use study tools for AP exams.
Youtube Review
As any worried AP World or AP United States History (APUSH) student will tell you, Heimler’s History is simply the best. For these courses, it’s enough to know most of what he goes over for a high score on an exam. Using a combination of watching the videos, taking notes, and lightly quizzing yourself will have you well on your way to a passing score. But what about STEM subjects?
Biology
- Marco Learning: unit review & FRQ practice
- HeyNowScience: unit & concept reviews
- Lasseter’s Lab: cram sessions & topic reviews
- Gabe Poser: breaks down units & new reviews until the exams
- The APsolute RecAP: speed reviews & unit breakdowns
Calculus AB/BC
- Professor Dave Explains: breaks down the major simply
- Organic Chemistry Tutor: example problems and explanations
Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry Tutor: are you surprised?
- Michael Farabaugh: breaks down units piece by piece
- Jeremy Krug: large unit and concept reviews
Computer Science Java
- Bill Barnurr: unit and topic reviews
- Colleen Lewis: approaching coding & issues
Computer Science Principles
- Mr. Kaiser: breaks down units
- Dr_Wu: topic & MCQ review
Environmental Science
- Mr. Smedes: basically the Heimler for APES
- Bozeman Science: approachable AP review
Physics (1, 2, E&M, Mech)
- Physics 1
- Flipping Physics: topics review & Kahoot livestreams
- Marco Learning: “crunch sessions” to review topics
- AllenTsaoSTEMCoach: topics review & FRQ breakdowns
- Physics 2
- AllenTsaoSTEMCoach: lesson series & FRQ reviews
- Yau-Jong Twu: practice problems
- Electricity & Magnetism/Mechanical
- Flipping Physics: huge video playlist for review
- AllenTsaoSTEMCoach: FRQ practice & lesson series
- Viren’s Videos: reviews topics in bite-sized pieces
Statistics
- Organic Chemistry Tutor: this guy’s famous for whiteboard style reviews
- Skew the Script: large, unit-based reviews
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is one of the best free review resources. From videos explaining niche topics to MCQ reviews (that are sometimes identical to in-class unit tests in APUSH), it offers a variety of ways to study for any AP exam, from sciences and math to history. It follows the units set by the College Board and includes progress checks along the way.
Fiveable
This application has multiple unit breakdowns, particularly helpful for social studies and physical sciences. Without paying, you can look at a couple of unit guides, which are great for taking notes on, and then switch emails and look at more for free. Pay particular attention to their key term tables. Fiveable, yeah, you are.
Knowt
Hands-down the most underrated study resource. It is like Quizlet on steroids, and even lets you import your flashcards for free Quizlet features like Learn mode. It also offers full MCQ practice (simulated AP tests too, dork), unit reviews, and users can share resources for AP exams including flashcards and notes. For users unopposed to AI, you can even do practice FRQs and get feedback. It’s a fully customizable experience.
Master Documents
Many AP courses have been around for decades, so past students have compiled all of the major things to know about a course into a large document. These are great if you want to print out, annotate and highlight it—not if you’re just reading it over. Most famously, there is the APUSH(er), clearly written by a teenager and great for review, and more niche there is the 18,000 word AP World Course Review. A great place to find these resources is the online forum Reddit, just be careful.
To be clear, you can’t cram eight hours of studying the night before the exam and expect to do anything other than fall asleep during the MCQ. But, using these resources even once a week in addition to completing classwork can majorly improve your confidence and capability. Most exams are about half content and half mental stamina and strategy. So, even if your exams are not as content heavy (like AP Lang), just practicing can help you feel better on exam day. Go forth, and study smartly.
