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Taking, and doing well on, the Advanced Placement (AP) exam gives you the opportunity to save time and money by earning college credit, advanced placement, or both. It can also help you stand out to colleges and give you an edge in getting accepted to your dream school.

No matter what score you get, the experience of studying for and taking an AP exam can help you build skills you’ll need to succeed in college.

The question is, when should you start studying for AP exams? Generally, students begin studying for AP Exams some time between January and March. This gives you enough time to cover all the material, take AP prep courses (if desired), take practice tests, and develop an AP test strategy. Read on for a closer look at when and how to study for AP Exams.

Creating a Study Timeline

One smart way to prepare for your AP Exam is to create a timeline leading up to the test. Giving yourself a schedule you can (hopefully) stick to might help keep you organized while studying.

Here are some ideas to help you prepare for your upcoming AP Exams — all arranged in a timeline leading up to your AP tests.

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January (16 Weeks Out)

To first figure out how to study for AP Exams, you can evaluate how your current AP classes are going. One place to start is by checking your grades from last semester and, if you are struggling with a certain topic, contacting your teacher to see what help is available.

You might want to schedule some extra one-on-one time or join (or even start) a specific class study group. Of course, your grade isn’t necessarily an indication of the score you will get on your AP Exam. But if your teacher has been using AP practice questions on tests, that could still give you a sense of your early performance — and it may even boost your confidence going into the test if you’re acing those practice answers.

This is also a good time to start thinking about which AP Exams you want to take in May. Just because you are in an AP class doesn’t mean you have to take the AP exam in that subject. Consider which exams might help put you on a path toward college and career success.

The test schedule is always published well in advance of the exam days, so you may want to check when your exams will take place and block those dates out in your calendar now. If you have exams scheduled for the same date and time, this is a good time to ask your AP coordinator or teacher about taking one during an approved late-testing period .

January is when students with disabilities must request any accommodations during the exams. If you will need testing accommodation, you’d want to approach your AP teachers or AP coordinator ahead of the deadline.

February (12 Weeks Out)

A productive next step is to learn the format for each AP exam you plan to take. Paying attention to the structure of class tests might give you some insight into the types of questions you can expect.

There are a total of 38 AP Exams, and each has its own requirements. Most will be two to three hours long with a mix of multiple-choice and free-response questions, according to the College Board.

This can also be a good time to take your first practice exam. Since you’re past the midpoint of the year, you’ll have covered enough material in class that you will be able to answer a decent amount of practice questions and problems without getting frustrated. After reviewing your practice exam, you can come up with a study plan to go over your notes and materials for a few hours every week.

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March (8 Weeks Out)

AP Exams cost $98 each, so this month can be a great time to start budgeting for how many exams you plan to take and how you will pay for them. Even if your parents are paying for your exams, you’re responsible for making sure they understand the cost and when to submit payment to your school.

The College Board, which oversees the AP, offers a $36 fee reduction per AP Exam if you have significant financial need. Some states offer additional funding to reduce your cost even more. Check with your AP coordinator to find out what support may be available to you.

This is also the month when you will want to really delve into your AP study regimen and continue taking practice tests.


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April (Four Weeks Out)

By April, you will probably be completely registered for all of your AP Exams. If you haven’t gotten a link from your school guidance counselor, you may want to check in with a school administrator. This is when you really should start to study in earnest, if you haven’t done so already.

Now’s the time to start taking more practice exams, in addition to your regular study and review. You can look up past free response questions (for exams that have them), real student responses, their scores, as well as scoring guidelines so you can see why a real exam taker got the score they did.

Once you’re four weeks out, it might be more efficient to study just the areas you feel less practiced and confident in, rather than trying to cram in all of the information from the past year. The practice exams and questions can help you sort out which topics just need a simple refresh, and which ones you might need to actually relearn.

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May (It’s Time!)

You can kick May off by taking another practice exam and focusing on the results compared to when you first began reviewing all those weeks ago. The focus is now on prepping for test day, which might include checking to make sure you have your test dates and times marked in your calendar and that you are using the correct, approved calculator for math and science exams.

On test day, you can start your day with a good breakfast. If you are taking multiple tests in one day, you may also want to pack some nutritious snacks. Hopefully all of the studying from the last few months will pay off when you sit down to take the AP Exam and you feel prepared.

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AP Study Hacks and Habits

The habits you start honing as you study for AP Exams can not only help you do well on your exam, but also prepare you for college, when you’ll likely be managing a larger workload and juggling multiple assignments and deadlines. Here are some study hacks that can help now — and later.

•   Build in study breaks. Even if you feel you need to spend several hours studying in one sitting, it’s a good idea to work in a short break every hour, even if it’s just a five-minute walk around the block. This can help keep your mind sharp and your energy from sagging.

•   Incentivize yourself. You might hold off watching your favorite TV show or playing your favorite video game until after you have finished studying for the day. This delayed gratification could help keep you motivated to study efficiently.

•   Consolidate class notes at the end of every week. When you are reviewing your notes from your AP classes, try organizing the information as it relates to the sections on the exam. By grouping your notes into related “chunks,” you might find that it’s easier to remember (or refer back to) key points as you get further away from the lesson. An added bonus: Instead of having a year’s worth of scattered information to review as you start taking practice AP Exams, you’ll have clear, organized information with your note summaries.

Planning for Your Future

The College Board says that nearly all colleges and universities in the U.S. offer credit, advanced placement, or both based on your AP scores, typically with an AP score of 3 or higher.

In some cases, students are able to reduce their time in school by one, or even two, semesters, meaning that your AP Exams could end up saving you a lot of money in college. Of course, you will still need to find a way to pay for college, whether it is three, four, or more years.

Fortunately there are a number of ways to fund your college education, including college savings accounts, financial aid (which includes scholarships, grants, work-study, and federal student loans), as well as private student loans.

If you’ve exhausted all federal student aid options, no-fee private student loans from SoFi can help you pay for school. The online application process is easy, and you can see rates and terms in just minutes. Repayment plans are flexible, so you can find an option that works for your financial plan and budget.

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SoFi Private Student Loans
Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student Loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. You should exhaust all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs. SoFi Private Student Loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, and applicants must meet SoFi’s eligibility and underwriting requirements. See SoFi.com/eligibility-criteria for more information. To view payment examples, click here. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is subject to change.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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When you’re in college, you don’t have a lot of control over the interest rates on your student loans. With federal loans, the U.S. Department of Education sets the rate each year for all borrowers. And if you get private student loans, a limited credit history can make it hard for young people to score favorable terms.

But once you graduate, there are a few things you can try to save money on interest. Here are a few tips that may lower your interest rate on student loans.

Refinancing Your Student Loans

Scoring discounts with your current servicer can help you get a lower student loan interest rate, but there is another option to consider. Depending on your financial profile, you may qualify for a lower student loan interest rate than what you’re currently paying with student loan refinancing.

There are multiple advantages to refinancing student loans. You can potentially lower your interest rate by bundling several loans (federal and private) into one new loan. And if you shorten your loan term, you may be able to pay off your student loans much faster and pay less in interest over the life of your loan.

Student loan refinancing is ideal for borrowers with high-interest student loans who have good credit scores and know they won’t use any of the federal loan benefits, like student loan forgiveness. (All federal loan benefits, including income-based repayment, will be lost if you refinance.)

Here are a few things that can help you improve your chances of getting a lower student loan interest rate with refinancing:

•   A high credit score: Lenders typically have a minimum credit score requirement, so the higher your score, the better your chances of getting a low rate usually are.

•   A low debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: Your income is also an important factor that lenders consider, especially as it relates to your overall debt burden. If a smaller portion of your monthly income goes toward debt payments, it shows you may have more income to dedicate to your new loan’s payments.

•   A co-signer: Even if your credit and income situation is in good shape, having a co-signer with great credit and a solid income might help your case.

•   A variable rate: Some student loan refinance lenders offer both variable and fixed interest rates. Variable interest rates may start out lower but increase over time with market fluctuations. Fixed rates, stay the same over the life of the loan. If you’re planning on paying off your student loans quickly, a variable rate might save you money.

•   The right lender: Each lender has its own criteria for setting interest rates, so it’s important to shop around to find the best lender for your needs. Some lenders, including SoFi, even allow you to view rate offers before you officially apply.


💡 Quick Tip: Enjoy no hidden fees and special member benefits when you refinance student loans with SoFi.

Consolidate Your Student Loans

Have multiple student loans floating around that you’d love to combine into one? Consider loan consolidation, where you’ll merge all your student loans into one easy monthly payment with a single interest rate. Here’s the rub, though: Consolidation alone does not necessarily get you a lower student loan interest rate. It just offers you one payment instead of multiple.

When consolidating federal student loans, you can use a Direct Consolidation Loan. Your new interest rate is simply the weighted average of all your current student loan interest rates. The weighted average might be a smidge higher than the interest rates you were paying previously. Often folks utilize consolidation to stretch out the life of their student loan, which lowers your payments but may increase the amount you owe over time.

Even though consolidation itself is not a direct way to get a better rate on your student loans, it can be helpful if you’re having trouble keeping track of your monthly payments. Consolidation may also be useful if you want to merge non-direct federal loans (like Perkins loans) with direct loans, in order to qualify for income-driven repayment and/or loan forgiveness programs.

By the way, the term “consolidating” is often used interchangeably with “refinancing,” but they technically mean different things. When refinancing student loans, you also happen to be consolidating, but it is done with the goal of achieving a more favorable interest rate on your student loans.

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Set Up Automatic Payments

Many student loan servicers — both federal and private — offer an interest rate discount if you set up autopay on your account. Depending on the servicer, you can lower your student loan interest rate. SoFi, for example, offers a 0.25% autopay discount.

The reason servicers offer this discount is that by setting up automatic payments, you’re less likely to miss payments and default on the loan.

In addition to getting a lower student loan interest rate, you’ll also (hopefully!) have peace of mind knowing that you won’t accidentally miss a payment. If you feel you’re putting a little too much money toward student loans, check with your loan servicer to see whether they offer an autopay discount.


💡 Quick Tip: Refinancing could be a great choice for working graduates who have higher-interest graduate PLUS loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and/or private loans.

Get a Loyalty Discount

In addition to an autopay discount, some private student loan companies also offer a loyalty discount when you have another eligible account with them.

If you’re already a member with SoFi, for instance, you receive an interest rate discount of 0.125% on all new loans.

Other lenders may require that you have an eligible checking or savings account with them to qualify for the bonus, and you may even get a bigger discount if you make your monthly payments from that account.

To get an idea of how a change in interest rate would impact your loan, take advantage of a student loan refinance calculator to see what your new payments could be.

Choose the Right Repayment Plan

If you don’t choose a specific repayment path, you’re typically opted into the Standard Repayment Plan. In this plan, your payments are generally based on a 10-year timeline. But this one-size-fits-all plan is not the best option for everyone.

The federal government also offers four income-driven repayment (IDR) plans — Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) — where the monthly payments are based on your income and family size. While choosing one of these plans may lower your monthly payments, it will likely not alleviate how much interest you pay over time. In fact, you might even pay significantly more.

After 20 or 25 years, depending on the IDR plan, any remaining balance is forgiven. However, the amount forgiven may be considered taxable income by the IRS. So even though your student loan debt goes away, prepare yourself for a big tax bill that year.

Another money-saving repayment option for federal student loans is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. If you work in a qualifying public service job — for the government or a nonprofit organization — you might be eligible to have your student loans forgiven after 10 years of service.

You can confirm whether your work qualifies here. You’ll want to submit an Employment Certification as soon as possible to be sure that you’re on track to qualify.

Recommended: 4 Student Loan Repayment Options, and How to Choose

Lower Your Student Loan Interest Rate

There are several ways to get a lower student loan interest rate. It can be as easy as calling your servicer to find out what discounts are available. You can also choose a new repayment plan, consolidate your federal loans, or refinance federal and private loans. With refinancing, you may secure a lower interest rate if you have a high credit score, low debt-to-income ratio, a cosigner, or a variable interest rate. Just know that when refinancing federal student loans, borrowers lose federal protections and forgiveness.

Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
If you are a federal student loan borrower, you should consider all of your repayment opportunities including the opportunity to refinance your student loan debt at a lower APR or to extend your term to achieve a lower monthly payment. Please note that once you refinance federal student loans you will no longer be eligible for current or future flexible payment options available to federal loan borrowers, including but not limited to income-based repayment plans or extended repayment plans.