<p>I am planning to self-study several APs this year. So I was wondering whether or not I will need textbooks to help me get a 5. Or will AP study aids (barrons, pr, cliff notes, etc) be enough for a 5?
If I just memorize everything in those study aids, will I be guarenteed a 5 or atleast a 4?
or are textbooks a must? or does it vary for each subject?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>It varies by subject.</p>
<p>how about for world hist, macro/micro, u.s. govt, environ. science, euro hist, and english lit and comp?</p>
<p>you definitely need a text for ap world and euro, they ask the most minute details and just really a prep book will get you a 2 or 3 if you are good at frqs/dbqs. Macro micro I would say 2 prep books would cover it for a 3/4 unless you are naturally really really good at econ. + I found that a book covering the millions of graphs was helpful. APES needs a text that you need to make sure you know for the specs. but the prep should cover a 3 or maybe a 4.
Rarely any prep aid will guarantee you a 4 or 5 maybe for stats or something but a good score on that isn’t that prestigious.</p>
<p>You need a text for most of them, but aids are only meant to supplement the knowledge in classes, they don’t go into great detail. There will be several questions that will just bewilder you if you just take the study aid approach.</p>
<p>thank you so much xFocus</p>
<p>just one more thing: which textbook would you recommend for world, euro and APES?</p>
<p>APES and U.S. Gov do not need a text. Princeton Review is fine for both. Scored a 5 on APES and U.S. Gov off PR alone. Just be sure to go over FRQs on AP central to get an idea of what types of questions they may ask.</p>
<p>Personally, I felt that AP Achiever and REA’s Crash Course were sufficient for my 5 in AP Euro. The textbook given to me by the district (Spielvogel) really didn’t interest me; I rarely used it.</p>