Hello everybody. I am going to take the exam in May and i haven’t really studied yet so i am screwed. Anyways i wanna know which prep book is the best for the revised exam?Also i am planning to get the Insider’s Complete Guide. Would this book be enough? But i read some reviews on Amazon saying that the book now is outdated for the new exam? So i am really stressed now and don’t know what to do.
By the way i am also taking the SAT USH test and i bought a Princeton Review and an Insider’s SAT II essential content(i just decided to take the AP exam as well yesterday so i should have just bought the other one).
I would really appreciate nay help. Thank you!
Crash course or 5 steps to 5? Which book has better practice tests? Thanks
I’ve just read a lot of threads on CC, and I think I have a list that most agree with:
-Essential Questions predicted the AP test well, in 2012, but it’s a bit outdated now.
-AMSCO covers everything on the test, but it’s over 700 pages long (I should’ve read this thing instead of my textbook. It pretty much summarizes everything you need to know for each section of a chapter)
-Crash Course has saved lives, lol. Apparently, it’s really good for last-minute studying.
-Adam Norris’s videos has also helped a lot of people.
@NicetyL So would you not recommend I get the Insider’s Guide? It seems like such a good book going to waste.
Does crash course cover most of what I need to know to score a 4 or 5? And do I need to know more details for the free response questions? I bought the Essentisl Content for SAT II(not AP), and it contains more content and details. So does that mean the MC are harder in the subject test?
it looks like the Insider’s Guide could be useful, but some information it gives you might not be needed for the test. I think the only thing is, that the questions it has aren’t up to date with the AP test now, but it’s still a useful book.
I’m going to try to read as much of AMSCO as I can and then brush over the information I read with REA.
So much of what you encounter on the APUSH exam is going to call on you to meld the information that is coming to you in your course study. In the long essay, you will be required to analyze a moment in time, and surmise the impact of the decisions on today’s world, incorporating players, dates, names of battles and/or treaties and documents.
Make sure for all the memorization, that you are connecting with something in the material and thinking and “seeing” the ways in which, say, The Dingley Act of 1897, impacted international diplomatic relations, and domestic consumerism, at the turn of the century (20th century). Be prepared for the writers of the test to ask you to tie it into the political climate of today.
It is important to see things on the timeline in which they occurred. Study well, and try not to stress.
Thank you! Which MC questions are harder, AP or SAT II? And about how many questions can i miss on the SAT to get a 750+? Is it true that i can only miss about 7-8 to get a perfect 800? Seems like the AP’s curve is always a lot more lenient.
Has anybody used 5 Steps to a 5’s 500 APUSH questions? I am doing it but it is so hard and detailed that frustrates me. I have no clue for half of the questions so far. Is the actual exam really like this hard?
@jackwang0703 :
Your results will vary depending on what you understand of the subject matter and the structure of the AP Exam.
No one can tell you what will work best for you, or know the conditions under which you are studying, and how strong a student you are. But you seriously need to not stress out. Plan your moves forward, but do not stress.
She abandoned 5 Steps to a 5 after the first practice exam, probably for the reasons you listed above. She also abandoned Princeton Review’s Cracking the AP U.S. History Exam text. Exposure to those books helped her to know neither was right for her. Maybe they are not right for you, either.
In the last two weeks before the exam I found the Crash Course book for her, and she studied under that format and was comforted. She got a 5, and she does attribute it to being able to focus on the material because of the way it is laid out in that book.
Can’t address your questions about how many to get wrong, as I don’t focus on things like that, and don’t encourage her to, either.
Good luck to you.
@Waiting2exhale Thank you. I read the Crash Course book too and I like it pretty well. I like the format and the conciseness of the book. But it doesn’t have practice questions so I have to find other sources.
How many MC questions(out of 55) can I miss to score a 4 or 5e on the new exam? Thank you!
I got a 780 on my SAT II USH. Not really excited it’s been too long…
That is absolutely awesome. You can be excited tomorrow, as you’re taking on your next challenge and reaping the rewards.
Congrats.
Thank you for your inspiration!
@jackwang0703 Congrats on the subject test score! Which book did you find most helpful for getting a 780?
@ambitionsquared Thanks! Definitely Insider’s SAT II Essential Content by Larry Krieger! It pretty much covers everything in a very concise form!
Question for you, @jackwang0703. Did you take these exams without taking the course? Were you learning both content and structure at the same time?
Congrats to you - you hit your goal!