Are you thinking about taking AP Human Geography to bolster your high school transcript and appear more impressive to the colleges to which you’re planning to apply? Are you not sure what the class covers, how the AP exam is structured, and what resources you can use to work ahead, study, or review? You’re not the only one who wonders about this information. AP Human Geography, like all AP courses, can appear very intimidating due to the large amount of information it requires you to learn, but its focus may not become immediately apparent like other AP courses, like Calculus or Chemistry. After all, unlike Calculus and Chemistry, high schools don’t usually offer courses in “Human Geography.” This guide will explore the structure of the typical AP Human Geography course, focusing on the topics that it stresses. It will then outline the format of the AP Human Geography exam, and conclude by introducing you to a source of high-quality free AP Human Geography resources online. With this information, you will be able to feel less apprehensive about the prospect of taking AP Human Geography, and may even find yourself excited to take the course.

AP Human Geography is a high-school course taught at the college level, mimicking the content and experience of a college-level introductory human geography course. By succeeding in the course, students will be well-prepared for success on the AP Human Geography exam, which awards exemplary performance with college credit. Human geography doesn’t just look at the different ways in which we humans have divided up the globe into different areas; it also looks at the ways in which we have interacted with the Earth’s surface, and the consequences this has caused.

The course typically covers the following categories, each of which are tested on the AP Human Geography exam’s multiple-choice section in the following ratios:

Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives (5–10%)

Population and Migration (13–17%)

Cultural Patterns and Processes (13–17%)

The Political Organization of Space (13–17%)

Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use (13–17%)

Industrialization and Economic Development (13–17%)

Cities and Urban Land Use (13–17%)

AP Human Geography courses typically conclude with students taking the AP Human Geography exam, which determines whether or not they will receive college credit for the course. The AP Human Geography exam lasts for approximately two hours and fifteen minutes; it consists of a one-hour multiple-choice section and a 75-minute free response section. The multiple-choice section of the AP Human Geography exam is scored only according to questions which students correctly answer; questions that they answer incorrectly or leave blank do not contribute to their score. So, in other words, if you are taking the AP Human Geography exam and find yourself stumped on one particular question, guess! It can’t hurt your score. The free response section of the AP Human Geography exam consists of three essay prompts, each of which is worth one-third of the section’s total score. Students are advised to spend about one-third of the given time (that is, about twenty-five minutes) on each question, and to use some of this time for outlining each response they plan to give. These questions may require students to provide their own examples, and the questions expect students to be able to express themselves in prose; lists are not accepted as answers.

Now that you’ve looked over the structure and content of AP Human Geography and its corresponding AP exam, perhaps the next thing on your to-do list is to find a great source of free online AP Human Geography resources. Varsity Tutors offers such resources through their free Learning Tools website, especially in the form of AP Human Geography Practice Tests. Each AP Human Geography Practice Test’s ten to twelve problems comes with a complete explanation of how to arrive at the correct answer, so if you miss one, you can learn from your mistake and hopefully not make it again later. Completing a Practice Test also lets you view detailed statistics about your performance—how well you did in comparison to other test takers, for example, or how long it took you to answer each question. You can choose to answer questions selected from a variety of AP Human Geography topics, or concentrate on improving your knowledge of just one.

Another Learning Tool that you can use as you prepare for the exam are the Full-Length AP Human Geography Practice Tests. These exams let you see what the actual test is like, and allow you to learn about your pace and timing. As on the concept-specific practice tests, the results page includes thorough explanations and additional information on each question’s relevant concepts. The free online practice tests can also help you focus your AP Human Geography review plan by showing you which concepts you might want to work on. Then, you can use your new study plan in conjunction with the other Learning Tools. Once you feel you’ve reviewed sufficiently, you can take another Full-Length AP Human Geography Practice Test to track your progress!

You can use Varsity Tutors’ free AP Human Geography resources in a variety of ways to help ensure that you keep up with your AP Human Geography course and totally prepare yourself for the AP Human Geography exam!