AP Exam Day Checklist: What to Bring and What to Expect

The AP exam is mostly decided in the weeks of studying before it. But a bad exam day can absolutely cost you a score band. This is the checklist we wish someone had handed us: what to pack, what to eat, and what to actually expect when you walk in.

What you must bring

• Photo ID (required at some testing sites, always check yours)
• Multiple No. 2 pencils (for multiple choice, bubble sheets)
• Black or dark blue pens (for free response essays)
• Approved calculator with fresh batteries (and a spare set)
• Watch without audible alarm or smart features (test rooms often have no clock)
• A sweater or layers (test rooms are notoriously hot or cold)
• Water bottle and a snack for breaks

What you must not bring

• Phone, smartwatch, fitness tracker, earbuds (all banned; if you bring one, you might lose your score)
• Scratch paper (provided in the test book)
• Your own formula sheet (provided where needed)
• Notes of any kind
• Food inside the testing room (usually you can eat during the break)
• A mechanical pencil for bubble sheets (No. 2 wood pencils bubble more reliably)

The night before

1. Lay out everything on the checklist the night before. Do not do it at 7 AM.
2. Eat a normal dinner. Not your favorite spicy food if you are nervous.
3. Avoid any new caffeine routines. If you do not drink coffee, do not start now.
4. Sleep 7 to 9 hours. The single best thing you can do for your score that night.
5. Set two alarms. The AP exam is not the time to oversleep.

The morning of

Eat breakfast with protein and complex carbs. Eggs, toast, oatmeal, peanut butter. Not a donut or a sugary cereal; you will crash an hour in. Drink some water but not so much that you need the bathroom mid-section.

Arrive 20 to 30 minutes early. Parking is harder than you think. The proctor usually opens the room about 15 minutes before start time. Use the extra time to use the bathroom and settle your nerves.

What the testing room is actually like

The proctor will read instructions from a script. This takes 15 to 30 minutes. During that time, you cannot open the booklet, take notes, or start. Just listen.

You will get a short break between the multiple choice and free response sections. Use it. Eat your snack. Drink water. Go to the bathroom. Do not look at notes (you cannot) or talk about the test with other students (you are not supposed to).

Pacing for the multiple choice section

Know your per-question time budget in advance. If the section is 45 questions in 60 minutes, you have 1 minute 20 seconds per question. Never spend more than 2 minutes on a single question. If you are stuck, mark it, skip it, and come back.

Pacing for the free response section

Look at the question count and the time budget. Divide. Stick to it ruthlessly. A perfect first essay and a blank last essay is worse than two average essays.

Leave 5 minutes at the end to reread. Catch the silly mistakes. Label units. Double-check a formula. The highest ROI 5 minutes of the entire test.

When nerves hit

If your heart is racing when the proctor hands out the booklet, that is normal. Box breathing: inhale 4 seconds, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. Three cycles and your pulse drops noticeably.

If you hit a question that makes you panic, skip it. Your brain is not reliable when it is in fight-or-flight. Move to a question you can answer. Come back when your rhythm is back.

After the exam

Do not ask your friends how they did. Scores come out in July. No amount of comparing notes now will change anything, and it almost always makes one of you feel worse about an answer that was actually correct.

Take the rest of the day off. You earned it.