Everybody says that junior year is the hardest year. However, I really don’t think it was to the proportion all the upperclassmen blew it up to. (except for the last few months– they were so right)

Sure, there were more AP classes to take, and the homework load increased. However, it didn’t really affect my sleep schedule. I still slept later than last year, but it was due to YouTube.

Tips for Junior Year:

• You should start preparing for the AP as soon as possible. NOT when teachers tell you to prepare.
  • Two weeks before the AP examination, all our teachers started assigning a lot of homework to review for the AP at once. Each said that it was the “final push” and only took “a few more minutes of your day,” however, when you are taking multiple APs, those extra minutes add up.
• You should take SAT/ACT as soon as possible. DON’T take them together with each other/AP season.
  • I unfortunately had to take my subject tests in the middle of AP testing week and it was not fun. I barely studied for it as a result and made AP testing week awful.
  • YES you should study or at least take some practice tests. It greatly improves you timing so you won’t miss questions simply because you ran out of time.
  • YES you should probably take them at the beginning of your junior year where it isn’t very busy and where you have plenty of time to retake the tests if you didn’t do so good.
• You should (sometimes) do your homework
  • Copying isn’t bad; it’s how you copy that’s bad. Copying is especially good when you are short on time and you already understand the material.
  • If you are copying but not confidant on your ability, focus on the process. Use the “key” as your calculator (since it has all the calculations) and use your brain to decide what steps to do next and use the “key” to check. Refrain from mindless copying. That just delays your studying until the day before your test.
• You should look for careless mistakes
  • For me especially, I lose most of my points due to repetitive careless mistakes.
  • When I was learning integration, there were two variables u and v. When I wrote them, they looked very similar, so to reduce the possibility of getting confused, I wrote the v upside down ^, which made it easier for me.
  • Also, if you make the same mistakes over and over again (on your homework!), remember those mistakes, and write yourself a note on the top of your test. Before you turn it in, look over all the questions where you could make that mistake.
• Plan Ahead
  • Take tests ahead of time or as close to the test date. The longer you wait, the less fresh the knowledge is in your head.
  • I had a friend who kept on delaying his test after he missed a week of school, and he never felt like he knew the material. So he ended up taking the test a month later (and did terrible because he didn’t really remember all the material), and delaying the pass back of tests to other students.
• Have a lunch period
  • Honestly, you need time to relax. Don’t overwork yourself with no lunch. It’s not fun.
  • Maybe also an easy class/off period — to do your stuff.
• Enjoy the year
  • High school is so much fun. Don’t get too caught up into your grades. Instead of studying, learn something you find interesting :)