<p>I'm thinking about doing an AP Bio self study next year and I was wondering which review book had the MOST comprehensive review on the subject. Please leave your comments or suggestions below.</p>
<p>Cliffs…there’s no debate, it’s the best prep book out there for AP Bio</p>
<p>Oh really? I didn’t know they made good AP review guides…I guess I have a lot to learn.</p>
<p>I second that! It was great last year.</p>
<p>Is it worth getting teh cheaper 2nd edition version? I mean is the info roughly the same?</p>
<p>ehhh idk… i think the 3rd version is where its at… specially with the cd …which i don’t have…</p>
<p>never seen the 2nd though</p>
<p>Get the 3rd version. The 2nd version basically has the same information as the third, but the Third is a little bit more updated and has six useful practice tests.</p>
<p>noo…</p>
<p>dont get Cliffs if you will self study.</p>
<p>If you give yourself a good one month and find some old AP tests, definitely get Barron’s AP Biology. they just came out with a brand new book (most updated on the market). It is detailed, but will leave you feeling prepared for the AP!</p>
<p>I second cliffs. It has ALMOST EVERYTHING you need to know. By almost, I mean just right really. No prep book will cover EVERYTHING. However, compared to Barrons, Cliffs contain more information that will be useful on the test. For example, Cliffs has lab write ups compare to Barrons, which only gives very brief descriptions of the 12 labs required by the course.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken AP Biology yet, I will tomorrow. But from the CB Ptests I’ve been taking, I’m very well prepared by Cliffs.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Cliff’s is awesome to review and prepare for the exam… but it would be pure gibberish to me if I hadn’t taken the course at school and had my Campbell’s text book to look up for a better explanation.</p>
<p>If you self-study, you should find the most detailed book possible… OR use Cliff’s and buy a textbook, such as Campbell’s Biology. The Campbell’s book is boring, but it has everything you need, good diagrams, and is a good way to learn the material. I bought a used copy online for like $24, and it’s in pretty much perfect condition. (Thanks to <a href=“http://www.betterworldbooks.com%5B/url%5D”>www.betterworldbooks.com</a>)</p>
<p>So yes, Cliff’s is great, but it isn’t a good primary source of learning the material. I see it more as a review tool than a learning tool.</p>
<p>Oh…Ok, I have the campbells book too. I guess I can use that huge thing although I didn’t really want to crack it open. Thanks, and I looked at the barrons and didn’t really like it too much 
It might also help that I have a decent background in Biology, and I’ve taken a year of AP Chem. I honestly think I can get by with just the review book for at least around 80-90% of this stuff.</p>
<p>Well I mean, you don’t necessarily have to read from the Campbell’s… but there have been times when I’d read Cliff’s and have NO clue what it’s talking about, so I’d take a peek at Campbell’s and it’d have a nifty diagram that instantly clicks with me and makes it understandable. Also, many of the diagrams in Cliff’s are 2D and really suck; Campbells’ are pretty and cool. :p</p>
<p>It’s just good to have more than one source of information. 
</p>
<p>Hey I’m having second though on Cliffs, I looked at the barrons google books for ap bio and compared it to cliffs, and it actually looks like barrons has more info/diagrams. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Barron’s is known for being more detailed, so it might be a good choice since you’re self-studying. :)</p>
<p>I agree, Barrons has better diagrams/pictures compared to Cliffs</p>
<p>If you plan on self-studying, start from the beginning of the year. Use Campbell + Barron’s as a supplement. Go to AP central, and find a AP Bio syllabus and follow the schedule. At around March, get Cliffs or PR (to me, I prefer PR as a review, Cliffs is too detailed) and start brushing up the things you’ve forgotten. AP bio isn’t too hard, the curve is really nice.</p>
<p>Cliffs is good for self-study, but but when you get to the Plant Diversity chapter and beyond… oh boy… be ready to have you brain fried with information overload.</p>