I know many students nowadays are stacking up on AP courses, especially the AP sciences: AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Environmental Science, and even AP Physics.

There are other AP classes of course, but I guess I just wanted to give some advice if you are taking AP Bio this year as well as how to pass the exam and get good grades in the class. I took AP Bio last year (got an A in both semesters and a 4 on the AP test). Overall, I thought it was a really meaningful class and is something you can learn and use the rest of your life. So, here are some tips:

1. The most important thing in AP Bio is not actually memorizing material! Yes, there are a lot of processes that you have to remember (Krebs Cycle, DNA replication…etc..), but it’s more important to understand the logical processes. How does this work? How does that work with this system? One process that worked for me was to read through the textbook and then brain dump everything I remembered. Then, for the things you forget, you can go back and fill your notes in! It’s a great way to practice your active memorization skills.
2. I would say the other important thing is to use your AP Bio Princeton Review Books if you have them. I think there are some used ones in the library that are very cheap! They are great, especially for summarizing the most important materials. I would recommend using your school provided textbook and the AP Bio reviews at the same time, so that you can have 1. double the amount of information 2. It acts as a great review!
3. The quizlets, Khan Academy videos, as well as some of the online free AP Bio tests are great to use to practice as well. Use the quizlets for the class tests! (p.s some of the questions actually popped up on the exam!) Also, the Khan Academy is great for when you don’t understand a topic since they honestly oversimplify everything. There are good online free AP Bio tests that you can use from Varsity Tutors. Nearing the day of the AP test, there is a public 2013 MCQ and FRQ exam posted from College Board (it was very helpful btw and also contained an answer key!)

To be honest, if you really love science, then you will really have a fun time with this class! The labs were really meticulous, but they are tested on the AP exam, so I would also just recommend looking over those before the exam as well. Good luck!

AP Biology books are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.