<p>Ok so I am taking APSUH next year and was wondering what I should buy to get a 5 on this thing next may.</p>
<p>Should I shell out the dough for AMSCO?</p>
<p>Anything else?</p>
<p>amsco is only 16 (or 17, i forgot) dollars
and worth every penny</p>
<p>Should I also buy REA?</p>
<p>Buy AMSCO, read it 2 times, if you can than read it 3 times. And you WILL get a 4 or 5. Guaranteed.</p>
<p>Just bought it. :)</p>
<p>Barrons flashcards are wonderful to review before the test</p>
<p>Should I buy those too?</p>
<p>Are there any books that will help me with my essay-writing for the APUSH exam?</p>
<p>I’m self-studying this exam.</p>
<p>I’d like to know that too.</p>
<p>The essays are I heard a *****.</p>
<p>I’d also like to know why the essays are so “hard.”</p>
<p>They just are.</p>
<p>It’d help if I could get a gist of how the essays are “hard.”</p>
<p>An example essay, a description, maybe.</p>
<p>Anyone who tells you the essays are hard was probably not prepared. The AP exam never has essay questions that are “way out there.” The essay questions, at least for APUSH, usually have to do with a general trend and tend to be broad when it comes to how much you can talk about that specific topic. One thing I’ll say is know your dates well, like when each major trend happened, that helps a LOT for the essay questions.</p>
<p>One other thing. You have to believe me when i say i prepared for this exam ~3 days in advance. I read Crash Course (which you DEFINITELY need, more so than AMSCO) twice, and that was all the prep i had. I didn’t think the exam was bad at all, but then again i may have gotten a low score.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Get Fast Track to a 5, especially if you’re using the American Pageant. About a month before the test I started studying and the questions were about the same if not harder than the actual test. I don’t know what score I got, but I am fairly confident I got at least a three.</p>
<p>To me, the reason APUSH essays were “hard” was that in APUSH, I had to incorporate both vast amount of information and meaningful analysis, unlike in other AP exams. For example, (and this is purely from my experience, so it might be different for others) AP bio was an exam for which I definitely had to memorize a lot, but once I memorized them, all I had to do was just spitting them out on the exam day. On the other end of this spectrum, AP Eng Lang was an exam which didn’t really have any “material” to be learned, but involves lots of analysis skills and insight. APUSH requires both - knowing the material AND making meaningful historical connections - and I think this is why APUSH essays are considered to be “hard” compared to those of other AP exams.</p>
<p>Can anyone vouch for the Crash Course book?</p>
<p>i’m taking APUS next year and from what i heard your best bet is to become best buds with the Amsco book. Crash Course is supposed to be a good cram book as well.</p>
<p>AMSCO didn’t help on the satIIs though…well, I really don’t know until next week actually</p>