How Do I Self-Study AP Statistics?

3 min read•december 16, 2021

Harrison Burnside

AP Statistics 📊

265 resources

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Overview 🗣️

If you are reading this, you are probably considering self-studying for this exam 😬 If you are afraid of doing so because you don’t know anything about it, we got you!

Let’s dive into all about AP Statistics 🥳

The Exam Format 🤔

MCQ Section 🧐

The AP Statistics exam is formatted relatively similar to any other AP Exam. When you walk into the exam, the first section you will be given is the multiple-choice section of the exam 📎 On the AP Stats exam, you will have:

40 MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions 😉)

90 Minutes (a.k.a 1.5 hours) to solve those MCQs ✅
- That math works out to about 2 minutes and 10 seconds per question ⌛

The MCQ section of the AP Stats exam is worth 50% of your exam score. Like most other AP MCQs, the AP Stats MCQ has 5️⃣ choices, A through E to choose from, with each question having only one correct answer.

FRQ Section ✍️

The second and final section on the exam is the free-response questions. You'll receive 90 minutes to answer 6 FRQs, including one special Investigative Task 🤔 The AP Stats exam has two parts to the FRQ section. Courtesy of the College Board Website 💻, the free-response question will include:

Multipart question with a primary focus on collecting data 🔎
Multipart question with a primary focus on exploring data ☝️ + ✌️
Multipart question with a primary focus on probability 🎲 and sampling distributions 📊
Question with a primary focus on inference ⚖️
Question that combines 2 or 3 skills from the first four questions ➕

The last section of your FRQ is called an investigative task 🤔 This question assesses 2 or 3 skills from the first four questions and asks you to apply your statistical skills to new contexts or in non-routine ways.

Free-response questions, like the MCQs, are worth 50% of your total exam score, with the first five 5️⃣ questions worth 37.5% and the last investigative task worth 12.5% overall!

Check out the MCQ Help for AP Stats

Get a Practice Book 📓

Barron’s and The Princeton Review are the two prep book companies that adequately prepare you for the exam, varying in the way they deliver information and the format they use.

The books act as a good source of practice with a detailed explanation for every answer. The books will also provide you with tips about how to approach each type of question.

Check out AP Stats Textbooks and Prep Books

Understand Key Vocabulary 🗃️

While you taking this course, identify the words you don’t understand and write them 📝 down on a sheet of paper, or even better, make a quizlet.That way you will be able to review these words before your exam 😄

Don't know what quizlets to use or where to start? Check out: AP Stats—Best Quizlets by Unit

Review Previous Exams 📝

Another good way to prepare for the exam 📝 is by looking at previous exams, which are posted on the College Board website. Reading through FRQ ✍️ sample answers will help you know what mistakes not to make. Make sure to check out our list of all of the released FRQ past prompts so you can practice for your exam.

Read: AP Stats —Past Prompts FRQ by Unit

Want to learn more about how to get a five 5️⃣? Check out: AP Stats—How to Get a 5

Final Tips 💡

The most important thing you need to remember is to pay for your exam on time. Also, talk with your school to know if they do any “practice week” before the exam.

You got this 🎉

Browse Study Guides By Unit

👆Unit 1 – Exploring One-Variable Data

✌️Unit 2 – Exploring Two-Variable Data

🔎Unit 3 – Collecting Data

🎲Unit 4 – Probability, Random Variables, & Probability Distributions

📊Unit 5 – Sampling Distributions

⚖️Unit 6 – Proportions

😼Unit 7 – Means

✳️Unit 8 – Chi-Squares

📈Unit 9 – Slopes

✏️Frequently Asked Questions