AP (Advanced Placement) exams in 2027 run across two weeks in May: May 3 to May 7 and May 10 to May 14. Each day has two sessions (the College Board now labels them Session 1 and Session 2, roughly morning and early afternoon in most US time zones), and every subject sits on a specific date and session set nationally. You don't get to choose when you take a subject; the timetable is fixed.
Below is the full 2027 schedule pulled from College Board's published calendar, with a few notes on late testing, digital exams, and what to do if two of your subjects clash. If you're planning your study calendar around this, Cognito has full AP course notes for AP Biology, AP Psychology, and other AP subjects.
Week 1: May 3 to May 7, 2027
| Date | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, May 3 | Human Geography; Physics C: Mechanics | Biology; Italian Language and Culture |
| Tue, May 4 | Business with Personal Finance; US Government and Politics | European History; Microeconomics |
| Wed, May 5 | Cybersecurity; English Literature and Composition | Physics 1: Algebra-Based; Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
| Thu, May 6 | French Language and Culture; Physics 2: Algebra-Based; World History: Modern | African American Studies; Chemistry |
| Fri, May 7 | German Language and Culture; US History | Macroeconomics; Networking (pilot schools) |
Week 2: May 10 to May 14, 2027
| Date | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, May 10 | Calculus AB; Calculus BC | Music Theory; Seminar |
| Tue, May 11 | Japanese Language and Culture; Precalculus | Statistics |
| Wed, May 12 | English Language and Composition | Art History; Computer Science A |
| Thu, May 13 | Spanish Language and Culture | Chinese Language and Culture; Environmental Science |
| Fri, May 14 | Comparative Government and Politics; Computer Science Principles; Spanish Literature and Culture | Latin; Psychology |
In most of the contiguous US, Session 1 typically starts at 8 AM local time and Session 2 at 12 PM local time. Start times differ in Alaska (7 AM and 11 AM local time) and at international test centers, which set their own start times to keep the exam windows aligned. Your school will confirm the exact start time and reporting location closer to the date.
Late testing dates
College Board offers late testing for students who can't take an exam on its scheduled date for a valid reason (illness, religious observance, a scheduling conflict between two AP exams, or a school emergency). Late testing exams run in the week after the main window and use different question versions.
You can't just decide to take the late-testing version. Your AP coordinator has to request it, and there needs to be a documented reason. If you sit a late-testing exam, your score is released on the same July timeline as everyone else.
Because the late-testing versions are freshly written papers, the difficulty and question style are broadly similar to the main sitting but not identical. Don't expect the same questions your classmates saw, and don't rely on any leaked accounts of what came up on the main-window exam.
Ready to boost your grades?
Join 1M+ students who have used Cognito to ace their exams.
Get started for free!
The busiest days on the calendar
A few dates on the 2027 calendar are especially heavy. Wednesday May 5 stacks AP English Literature and Composition in Session 1 with two physics exams (Physics 1: Algebra-Based and Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism) in Session 2, which will hit any student taking the double-physics track hard. Monday May 10 sees both Calculus AB and Calculus BC sit in Session 1, so anyone considering both (rare, but it happens) needs a late-testing arrangement.
Friday May 14 is a scheduling squeeze on its own: Session 1 holds Comparative Government, Computer Science Principles, and Spanish Literature and Culture together, while Session 2 holds Latin and Psychology. AP Psychology is one of the most-taken exams in the country, so Friday's Session 2 is often the biggest single-exam moment of the whole window.
If you're taking three or more APs, take five minutes now to circle your specific dates and check for internal clashes on the same day. Same-day back-to-back exams are legal (you just sit through both, with the standard break between them) but they're draining, and knowing in advance lets you plan your Bluebook charge cycle and lunch.
Digital and paper exams
Most AP exams have now moved to digital administration through College Board's Bluebook app, taken on a school-issued or personal laptop or iPad. A few subjects (particularly those with heavy diagram or free-response drawing requirements) still use paper or a hybrid format.
Your AP coordinator will confirm the format for each of your subjects well before exam day. If you're taking a digital exam, you need to complete Bluebook setup and the Digital Practice check on your device in the weeks leading up to the test. Missing the setup deadline can mean you can't sit the exam.
For digital exams, charge your device the night before and bring a charger. Bluebook is designed to handle brief connection drops, but a dead battery halfway through a section is a real problem.
What to do if two of your exams clash
Direct clashes are rare because College Board schedules subjects to avoid the most common combinations, but they do happen. If two subjects you're taking are scheduled for the same session (for example, two Session 1 exams on the same day), your school will arrange for one of them to be taken during the late-testing window.
This isn't something to ignore. Flag it with your AP coordinator as soon as you can (before spring break is ideal), so the late-testing paperwork is submitted in time. If you notice a clash and your coordinator hasn't already mentioned it, ask directly.
How to use the schedule for study planning
The most useful thing you can do with the schedule is work backwards from your first exam. If your earliest AP is on May 3, that's the date your peak study needs to be aimed at, and everything before that is prep for it.
A rough rhythm that works for most students:
- Six weeks out: Finish first-pass content review. Every unit should be at "I can explain it out loud" level, not just "I've read it".
- Four weeks out: Start weekly full-length past exams under timed conditions.
- Two weeks out: Focus on the specific units your practice exams show gaps in.
- The final week: Light review of high-yield topics, one or two past exam sections a day. No new content. For a subject-specific example, our AP Biology study guide shows how to structure your prep across the eight-unit curriculum.
If you're taking two or three APs in the same week, stagger your studying so you're peaking on each subject in the days just before its exam, not the week before your first one. Our guide to building a revision timetable walks through how to structure that mix, and past paper strategy covers how to use practice exams well.
