AP Prep Book Reviews

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>Let's help out people who will be looking for books next year.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP Economics: Micro & Macro
4.5/5 for the Micro section</p>

<p>It's a very good book. It's concise but detailed enough at the same time. I'm confident I scored at least a 4/5 and there were no surprises on the exam except for one or two MC questions. I didn't use the Macro section so my score is only for the Micro part. Pick up an introductory economics textbook by N. Gregory Mankiw at your local library if you need additional materials (helpful if you're going to self-study).</p>

<p>Barron's - AP Human Geography
5/5</p>

<p>It made the essays extremely easy. The explanations are clear. Reading this book and learning most of it well will guarantee you a 5 if you're reasonably smart. The exam is straightforward stuff. This is really all you need to self-study for the exam.</p>

<p>REA - AP U.S. & Comparative Government & Politics
2/5</p>

<p>Pure crap. It's way too short for sufficient preparation. The review questions at the end of each chapter test what you've read and are extremely easy. When you get to the practice test, you'll encounter questions that weren't even covered in the text. It basically fools you into thinking you're prepared and then owns you in the end with a practice test that's way harder than you expected. I bought this to self-study for the two exams thinking I would save some money (two for one is good, right?) but I regret it. I ended up not taking these APs because this book was horrible and I didn't have enough time to order good ones. Don't get this unless you have money to blow and want a concise review after taking the class or after reading through better and longer prep books. If you use this by itself don't expect a good score.</p>

<p>Tell us what you thought of your books!</p>

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<p>Barron’s - AP World History
4.5/5
This is an awesome book and is great for supplementing a class all year. It has a lot of information and is fairly in-depth. Reading this will guarantee you a 5. The only reason I didn’t rate this a 5 is because it is so long (over 500 pages), making it difficult to use as a last-minute read.</p>

<p>5 Steps to a 5 - World History
3/5
The best thing about this book is that it is brief and can be read in a weekend and a day. However, it isn’t all-encompassing, and should only be used if you already have a solid understanding of the majority of the curriculum; it’s best as a mind-refresher and not as something to learn from. Review questions at the end of each chapter have questions that ask about material that wasn’t even covered in the text. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Cliff’s - Biology
999/5 (Yes, 999 out of five)
This book is the AP Biology BIBLE. Read it the weekend before the exam (which is on a Monday) and you’ll get a 5. I kept up with the course all year, but Cliff’s still taught me some things in the weekend of cramming. It’s a light read, but covers everything you will need to know. The only downside (albeit a minor one) is that some of the diagrams are crappy (they’re 2D) making it sometimes hard to follow. But that’s not a big deal because you can always look in a textbook or online for a better diagram of the same thing.</p>

3

<p>Here are my reviews for the books that I used to prepare for the AP exams which I felt prepared me best. I did use some additional materials in my preparation, which I mention in the review. However, this review is for the books that make it easier to prepare you well.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP European History
4/5</p>

<p>Excellent history review. I read through it in the week before the exam and pulled a 3 with only daily lecture notes, which were somewhat decent. I also read the textbook along with it, but with so much information it was hard to retain it all. The history review of this review book is what helped to condense it and put it all together for me. The practice MCs were also very helpful and modeled the exam closely. My only complaint is that while it does give the basics for exam knowledge, it probably could have expanded on some topics a little more. This could be solved if it is paired with the book Modern European History. Nevertheless, it is an excellent guide all by itself.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP U.S. History
4/5</p>

<p>Another excellent history review. I read the entire review in the week before the exam and it helped a lot. The practice exams were also very helpful, and modeled the exam very well. I scored a 4 on the exam, which I believe can be credited to my intense note taking throughout the year. My only issue with this book is that although it helped to pull everything together as a final review, I believe that my success on the exam came from a more in depth review than the book provided.</p>

<p>CliffsAP - English Language and Composition
5/5</p>

<p>This is the absolute must-have review book if you are taking this AP exam. The practice MC was excellent and modeled the exam perfectly. The literary terms glossary was very helpful in brushing up on important terms before the exam. The essay guidelines were great as well, especially since I had no instruction on writing the synthesis essay. This book really helped me out a lot, and I credit it with helping me to score a 4.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP U.S. Government and Politics
5/5</p>

<p>This is the perfect book for studying for this exam. I read the entire review several times in the month before the exam and it really condenses everything in a way that the information is stated simply yet thoroughly. The review chapters were life savers when it came time for the FRQs on the exam. The practice multiple choice modeled the exam perfectly. I would highly recommend this book for anyone taking this exam. This book is sufficient for preparing all on its own.</p>

<p>REA - AP Statistics
5/5</p>

<p>I got Barron’s like everyone recommended, but I found that the REA book was much better. I found Barron’s to include some unnecessary information and a few topics were confusing the way Barron’s presented it. I did read through the entire Barron’s review though, which was helpful, but I had to dig around and find the important information. I thought that the review was a little wordy as well.
In REA, the chapters only give you what you need to know and cover all of the essential information in quick and easy to read chapters. There are practice questions to help you along the way and to make sure you understand and retain the information as you read it. The practice exams are spot-on, as they are closely based off of released MCs. I found it very handy and essential in feeling prepared for the exam.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP Calculus AB/BC
4/5</p>

<p>The review chapters of this book are the most important information I reviewed in preparation for this exam. This book covers everything that you need in order to feel prepared for the multiple choice section of this exam. My only issue is that the FRQs are not a very close comparison with those that are found on the exam. This can be fixed with reviewing the released free response questions from AP Central. Those, paired with this review book will allow you to feel extremely well prepared for this exam.</p>

<p>5 Steps to a 5 - Microeconomics
4.5/5</p>

<p>This book is great for MCs and FRQs. The review chapters are excellent and cover everything in detail. There is some humor thrown in if you appreciate that kind of thing. There was material in here that my teacher never covered, which saved me on one of the MCs, which contained a topic that my review covered in detail but my teacher “forgot to mention.” The MCs model the exam very well as far as how the questions are asked. I thought that some of the questions on the MCs were easier in this book than the ones on the exam, but it didn’t make that big of a difference.</p>

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<p>Barrons-Psychology
4.5/5</p>

<p>The book covered almost everything on the exam. There were perhaps only 2 or 3 topics that I don’t think were covered by the book. The practice tests I thought were a little harder than the actual exam. But the difference wasn’t that much. I liked that the book was very straight forward. It was easy to read and gave many examples after a concept is introduced.</p>

5

<p>Cliffs - AP Biology:
4.8/5</p>

<p>Do yourself a favor: please buy the book.
In terms of content - EXCELLENT. My only qualm is that diagrams in Cliffs are convoluted and to hard to follow. But other than, it’s really the ideal book out there for Biology. </p>

<p>REA Crash Course - AP Biology
1/5</p>

<p>In all honesty, I didn’t use it much because I wasn’t impressed with the content/organization and it seemed to miss a lot of important points and ideas. Looking back at it, I think it’s pretty ambitious for anyone to attempt to cram in an entire course on biology, given the sheer volume of information, in a little book. I’m happy I stuck with Cliffs as my primary review book - if not, I would have been screwed. </p>

<p>REA Crash Course - AP US Government & Politics
5/5</p>

<p>I really don’t think there is a better book out there when it comes to tackling the MC portion of test. Everything you need to know for the test - I promise you. Because of this book, I came out confident from the test knowing that I had answered at least 55/60 questions correctly on the MC.</p>

6

<p>Cliffs-AP Biology
5/5
It’s really good, buy it even if you just have like 2 or 3 days left before the test. I didn’t have time top study for AP Bio because I had to focus on AP Euro since it came first. I now had 2 days: Saturday and Sunday. I basically spent the whole weekend cramming. I didn’t have time for the last chapter, that’s the only thing that hurt me. But I’m pretty sure I got a 4 or a 5, so buy it!</p>

<p>Princeton Review-AP European History
5/5
Really good book! If you study it, like REALLY study it, you are GUARANTEED a five. I would suggest since it goes in order (sort of) with the AP Euro book, you should study in depth the Princeton Review book and just read over the AP Euro book chapters, that is, if you have time. If you don’t, just thoroughly study the AP European History book and you’ll get a five.</p>

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<p>5 Steps to a 5 - English Language
1/5
I got this book because my teacher used it to teach the class. Turns out that the book FAILS, and it does so epicly. Get CliffsAP for Lang instead~the 6 practice tests are quite representative of the Multiple Choice portion of the exam.</p>

8

<p>Cliffs-AP Biology
5/5
It’s a great book that every AP Biology student should have. It’s very concise, easy to read, and it covers everything that you’ll need to know on the exam. Use it as a supplement to your textbook, and read it a couple times. The only thing I didn’t like about Cliffs was that the diagrams weren’t as helpful as some in other books.</p>

<p>Princeton Review - AP European History
4.5/5
This a great book that covers just about everything you need to know for Euro. I wouldn’t recommend cramming with this book, so just use it to supplement your Euro Textbook, and read it through a couple times a month before the exam. The practice MC are representative of what you’ll see on the exam. My only qualm about this book is that it can sometimes be a little hard to read, and I feel that it doesn’t cover art that well.</p>

<p>AMSCO/Crash Course - AP US History
5/5
Enough said. These books are undoubtedly the best prep books out there for APUSH. Read them through a couple of times and you should get a 4 at the very least.</p>

<p>Barrons - AP Human Geography
4/5
Having a good grasp of history, geography, and current events will help you immensely on the APHG exam. I feel that the exam itself just tests your knowledge of certain vocab. That said, Barrons is a fairly good book that should prep you well for the exam if you study it extensively. I would also recommend using Princeton Review for a more thorough review. The MC on Barrons is easier than what you’ll see on the exam.</p>

9

<p>Here are the ones I’ve used:</p>

<p>Princeton Review: AP European History 4.5/5</p>

<p>Has a good understanding of the general trends of history and I felt like the practice tests were similar to the real one. I read it once, underlining stuff, read it again and made note cards for all the key terms, and just plain read it through one more time before the 2009 exam. I pulled off a 5 having done nothing but read Palmer all year and review with this book for a month or so beforehand. However, it does have some factual mistakes - it said the Black Death was in the early 1400s, for example. </p>

<p>Princeton Review: AP US History 4.5/5</p>

<p>Good details on the history of the US, especially of the pre-Revolutionary era. I felt that the practice test MC was significantly harder than the actual MC on the 2010 exam…but I don’t have my score yet so we’ll see. I wish it had time lines like in the AP Euro book. </p>

<p>Barron’s: AP Biology 5/5</p>

<p>In-detail, systematic, and well-written. The practice test MC was MUCH more difficult than the 2010 MC; on the Barron’s MC, I skipped at least 10, on the actual test, I skipped 2. Although people swear by Cliff’s for Biology, I say go with Barron’s. </p>

<p>REA: AP Latin Vergil 3/5</p>

<p>Its practically the only review book for AP Latin Vergil. Had too much pointless information, the MC were extremely unrealistically difficult, and did not focus enough on the Aeneid. I think it should have had an interlinear translation of the lines of the syllabus and less on how to answer the questions (it has 12 chapters of information about the test format). It did, however, have a cool Aeneid plot review section and provided some useful information among those 12 chapters or so.</p>

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<p>Circular, I find your comment on Barron’s for AP Bio to be rather interesting. According to what is referred to as the “master” of all book recommendations, Barron’s is the only one on the “What NOT to use” list: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ap-tests-preparation/201793-consolidated-book-suggestions-ap-58.html#post1063224009[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ap-tests-preparation/201793-consolidated-book-suggestions-ap-58.html#post1063224009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If it had way too much information, then it obviously won’t hurt you, but IMO, the point of a review book is to REVIEW the material. It shouldn’t be so in-depth that you can learn about something using a review book as a primary source.</p>

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<p>Barron’s AP Biology
5/5</p>

<p>Loved this book. I suggest buying review books at the beginning of the year. I used this one to study for all my tests and for the exam. Diagrams are good, glossary is helpful, and it’s well organized. I’m confident I got a 5 on the exam. Heard Cliffs is a good one, but after looking through about 8-10 bio review books at Barnes & Noble, I decided on Barron’s. Recommended.</p>

<p>Barron’s AP Psychology
4/5</p>

<p>I didn’t get a chance to use this throughout the year as much as I’d like to have. It’s a good book and ended up being the only way I studied for the exam. The few topics that I looked at from this showed up on the exam! The exam was super easy. I was hoping for a 3, but I definitely think I pulled off a 4 or 5. If I had to rate this…it would be 4/5 because there was no glossary. Most of the vocab is only italicized.</p>

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<p>Barron’s: AP French Language
3.5/5</p>

<p>I thought this book did a good job of covering the various areas of the test (speaking, listening, reading, writing). I liked the detailed (albeit LONG) grammar review, and its list of idioms really helped. I also found the test-taking strategies specific to this exam quite helpful. Their listening questions are pretty similar to the real test, while their fill-ins and reading questions are not. I would still recommend this.</p>

<p>Kaplan: AP Physics B
3/5</p>

<p>Honestly, this book isn’t bad at all. I think the concepts are well-explained, and that it points out (and tells you how to solve) types of problems that show up on a FRQ (like the mass spectrometer for magnetism). However, the practice questions aren’t very good. I would recommend this book for the explanation, not the practice.</p>

<p>Kaplan: Calculus BC
2/5</p>

<p>Fortunately, I had an amazing teacher, so I really didn’t need a review book. However, I did flip to a couple of sections and found that some were well-written and others were convoluted and confusing beyond reason. Their practice questions don’t help, either. I would not recommend this book.</p>

<p>AP Achiever: European History
4.5/5</p>

<p>I thought this book provided a review that was in-depth, but not too detailed. The practice tests also modeled the real exam quite well. However, I would have liked more test-taking strategy type tips like the (see next review)</p>

<p>REA Crash Course: European History
6/5</p>

<p>This book is a godsend. Seriously. It tells you what to study, what not to study, and it gives you a list of vocabulary that you must know (and some did show up on this year’s MC). The chapter on how to write a DBQ is superb. Plus, it’s cheaper than most (if not all) other AP Euro review books out there, which is always good.</p>

13

<p>SeekingUni, it looks like on that thread they advised against Barron’s because of the amount of information in the book; I found it not have a lot of filler. It seemed more factual and concise than the Princeton review book for Biology. I haven’t looked at Cliff’s and didn’t use it this year, but I’m sure it probably is good since it is so raved about, but Barron’s, in my experience, was also good. I actually prefer the review book to have a lot of info: I’d rather be over prepared than under prepared. And, frankly, I never want to read another chapter of Campbell’s Biology textbook ever again. </p>

<p>What works for me does not necessarily work for you or someone else.</p>

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<p>Princeton Review’s AP World History
4.5/5</p>

<p>I felt the book was great in terms of outlining the test and essential information that would most likely appear on the test. However, I felt the study guide did not go into detail on some areas I wish I had had more knowledge of for the AP exam. If you’ve been attentive in your class and actually have a good teacher, get this book as a review. Otherwise, get Barron’s, which supposedly provides more information and reads more like a textbook.</p>

15

<p>REA: AP French
5.5/5</p>

<p>Very concise, but detailed at the same tame. Makes a point of showing exceptions to grammar rules; listening very similar to what was on the AP. Especially helpful for self-study, if combined with Barrons!</p>