Surviving AP Human Geography

AP Human Geography was the first advanced placement class I had ever taken. I chose to take it freshman year because I wanted to get a feel of what AP classes were like and how they worked. I will admit it was a shock at first, but eventually I got used to it. I took the class two years ago but I still use what I learned in that class today in my current AP classes. Overall I think it was a great introductory course and it prepared me for what was to come.

The first thing I had to learn was to read with a purpose. Before, I thought I could just read the textbook and, if I understood it, be able to pass quizzes and tests. But, this class taught me that it takes a lot more than that. You have to pay attention to the details and try to remember the specifics as well as the overall concepts. This was a hard lesson because that meant the time it took me to read a chapter more than doubled and I had to spend hours every night reading. But, today I can read with a purpose in the same amount of time it takes to just read the textbook. It is a very important skill to have and it will make your other AP classes a lot easier if you have it.

The next thing I learned was I had to take advantage of every handout or study opportunity available. This meant every worksheet was filled out in complete detail and every class I took notes over what we cover. Yes, it took longer but at least I was prepared for those pop quizzes my teacher would throw at us. This also meant that once it got closer to taking the AP exam, I spent every lunch in her room studying with friends. So maybe sometimes it was more talking than studying but we still did review sometimes. But, my point is that learning how to take AP classes is hard and it takes up a lot of your time at first. But, later you will know how and be able to do things more efficiently and in less time.

The third thing AP Human Geography taught me is that nothing is as complicated as it seems at first. If you look at other materials, ask your teachers for help, or just reread the section in your book you can understand it. It might take some time, but it will make sense eventually. But you do need to put in the effort to understand the complicated concepts because that is probably what you will be tested over. Those will be the things that separate the people who will excel in the class from the people who might fail.

Helpful Tip: You need to stay up on your work. The teacher is not going to stop giving out homework each night, so the more you get behind the worse it is going to be to get caught back up. I know most people will recommend sleep over studying but, if you can, finish your homework. You won’t regret it later.

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