Hey everyone! Last year I took AP Calculus AB and not only did I have an A throughout the entire school year in the class, I also got a 5 on the AP exam! Because of this, I thought I’d share with you all some tips on how to do good and what things worked well for me when studying for the AP exam. This is specific to Calc AB since I don’t know the material of Calc BC, but I think a lot of this advice could be generalized to Calculus as a whole.
How I studied
I mostly used my teacher’s resources because she was a really great teacher and a lot of her assignments were direct past AP exam questions. I did lots of past exam practice problems on every unit and made sure to correct the ones I got wrong and understand why my answer was not correct.
I condensed and rewrote my notes for each main topic/unit (derivatives, related rates, definite integrals, indefinite integrals, etc.) to serve as cheat sheets. Both writing these and reviewing them was an easy form of studying for me.
Throughout the year I had written important formulas and definitions on sticky notes or flashcards. This made it easy for me to review them daily (or try to) and eventually memorize them.
I planned on using the Princeton review book, but I didn’t really use it much besides the full length practice tests. I found that the book explained certain concepts in a much more confusing way than my teacher did (which I had already understood) and felt that the practice questions offered were sometimes more difficult than the past exam questions I had done.
I reviewed my notes at the beginning of my studying as a refresher of material I learned at the beginning of the school year and did practice problems timed without notes.
I did past FRQs found online and saw the grading breakdown to know what I would need in my response to get certain points and practiced accordingly.
My tips
Practice, practice, practice!!! Try to do official/released practice problems so the AP exam feels like just what you did in class and you’re familiar with the format.
Don’t just do the practice FRQs, but also look at the scoring for them to improve your own answers/how you approach FRQs and see what areas you need to work on.
Know what you struggle with and spend more time (but not all) studying that.
Know your derivatives and unit circle! it’s one of those things that you just have to memorize, but it’s better to start that process throughout the school year than cram it at the end.
Throughout the year, review past notes to avoid forgetting certain units or how to do a type of problem altogether. This will also make studying in April/May for the exam easier.
Start out strong with a good understanding of the fundamentals of calculus (basic derivative stuff, meaning of 1st and 2nd derivatives, etc.)
Don’t panic or stress last minute! You have studied and practiced all year for the exam and are totally capable of succeeding on it.
I hope you guys found this helpful and can use some of my advice to do well in AP Calc! A lot of people think AP Calculus is difficult and while it may be at times, it is definitely possible for you to do great both in the class and on the AP exam. If anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them! Good luck in AP Calculus!!
