AP European History: Final Book decision

Test Preparation AP History & Social Sciences
1

Background: My teacher is really nice, but really bad. We will be using the western Experience text book. So, </p>

  1. Should I stick to Western Experience and really read it or use a prep book. (which?)
    a. AP Achiever
    b. MEH
    c. PR
    d. Crash Course</p>

  2. What is the best book/book duo to prep for the exam?</p>

a. PR alone
b. AP Achiever alone
c. Crash course alone
d. MEH alone
e. PR + AP Achiever
f. PR + Crash course
g. AP Achiever + Crash Course
h. AP Achiever + MEH
i. Crash Course + MEH</p>

2

<ol>
<li>I would stick with the textbook since your teacher might base her exams on it. Same info but more depth.</p></li>
<li>My friend used g (Achiever and Crash Course) to supplement his class and he got a 5. Other CCers say f (PR and Crash Course) works as well!</p></li>
</ol>

3

Western Experience is actually a good textbook because it is actually analytical in its information, so it is worth reading. For the prep books, I used AP Achiever and Crash Course. Because of what I did, I received a 5.</p>

4

I “used” PR and Crash Course. I have used in quotations because I really didn’t read more than a 100 pages of PR. Instead, I read Crash Couse about one and a half times and took 5 old official AP Euro MC Sections. I got a 5 as well.</p>

5

<ol>
<li>I used combo g (it was a quasi-self-study, since the teacher was THAT bad) along with the 1999 MC/FRQ and the Audit Exam and got a 5. I did read through PR for its post-Cold War section and found AP Achiever’s section on the same thing to be a lot better.</li>
</ol>

So, I prefer AP Achiever over PR.</p>

6

Sparknotes Power Pack… I feel like I’m advertising for them, but it is actually really good.</p>

7

Use MEH. It’s much easier to understand than most Euro textbooks.

MEH + PR is a lethal combo. If you’re reviewing then PR + (any of the choices you listed) should be good.</p>

8

MEH is a fine choice. My teacher suggested it but I never got it, made a 5. The best reviews, I found, were historyteacher.net and retired AP exams.</p>

9

Crash Course was awesome. Best text is A History of Western Society by McKay.</p>

10

I used Barron’s, Western Experience textbook (really liked it!), and Crash Course for a self-studied 5. I found MEH to be unhelpful; it was very dense and bland to read.</p>

11

Use MEH throughout the year (read it conjunctively with your textbook). In the last month use crash course</p>

12

MEH and your current textbook make a great combo. I didn’t read the entire textbook or all of MEH and I wound up with a 4 -_- but still get the book…just read more than i did xD</p>

13

I am self-studying and I am doing MEH + Crash Course/PR. I might go with PR because of the practice tests, and read Crash Course at Barnes and Noble all at once the weekend before the test.</p>