<p>Hey guys, I am taking 3 AP courses next year and I am looking for the best review book. I am taking AP Chemistry online through a course approved by John Hopkins (my school doesn't offer it). I will also be taking AP Biology and AP English Language and Composition at my school.</p>
<p>In your opinion what review book is the best? Personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. I have heard Barron's goes into too much detail but the Princeton Review only covers the basics. What do you think?</p>
<p>Thank you very much! Did you take these exams? If so, do you think the review books were adequate in preparing you? Also, is there a lab aspect I need to cover since I am taking this course online?</p>
<p>Haha this is funny - I’ve taken all of these. </p>
<p>I agree with all of arghwhy’s suggestions.</p>
<p>For AP Chem, Princeton Review does a good job of reviewing labs. Just make sure that you brush up on titrations and so forth before the exam, though.</p>
<p>A review book for Lang, if you’re taking an online course, isn’t really necessary. I’ve taken the Lang class at my school and I haven’t even opened my Cliffs book yet.</p>
<p>For Bio, if you’re taking it next year, be wary of Cliffs (even though it is a godsend). CB is changing the layout of the Bio exam next year (effective Fall 2012).</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely be ordering those review books.</p>
<p>I hope my online AP Chem class will be sufficent. My school doesn’t offer it but I really enjoy the subject and wish to get more Chemistry under my belt before college. </p>
<p>Biology will be at my school. The teacher seems pretty decent, I am only worried about his preparation for the exam. He wants to get in 27 labs before the end of the year and only spend one day of the week on the actual material.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about Lang. I am only taking the course to become a better writer. English is my weakest subject and I think AP will help me improve.</p>
<p>Thank you! I hope my AP Bio teacher covers all of the labs.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of a AP Chem book or website that includes lots of practice problems? I don’t think my online Chem class will have these. Does Barrons include more practice than Princeton?</p>
<p>As a general rule of thumb, I always prefer Barron’s over Princeton’s. But that depends on your reading level and preference; Barron’s covers all topics with extended explanations to help you prepare for Free-Response as well as Multiple-Choice, but the Princeton’s gives you very concise details on each topic you need to know, which is helpful for Multiple-Choice. </p>
<p>For AP Biology, I would prefer the Barron’s and Cliff’s.</p>
<p>For AP Chemistry, I would prefer the Barron’s.</p>
<p>For AP English 3, I would prefer not to buy one. Much of what you do in an AP English 3 classroom helps you very well for the AP Exam. But be aware, it is one of the lowest “5’s” out of all AP Exams. Anyway, if you still want to buy a exam prep book, buy the Barron’s; it won’t be detrimental. </p>
<p>This year as a sophomore I took three AP’s. I took AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Music Theory, and AP Chinese Language and Culture. I finished all of my AP Exams yesterday. As a junior next year, I will be taking AP English 3, AP U.S. History, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and AP Chemistry. I’m going to self-study AP Comparative Government and Politics next year as well (I really liked AP U.S. Government and Politics and would like to finish both classes of AP Government and Politics). I used the Barron’s for all of my three AP Exams this year and they really helped. </p>
<p>Hope this message will help you in the future!</p>
<p>@alexliyue & @wiseguy: Thank you very much! I think I am leaning towards Barron’s for AP Chemistry since my course is online. When I saw some of the reviews of the course provider many of them said there wasn’t enough practice problems and examples from what I have heard. I think Barrons outshines the Princeton Review in this aspect.</p>
<p>Since Biology is my best subject I will probably just read the Cliffs. My AP Biology class will be very extensive, 90 minutes a day for the entire year. I am thinking this amount of class time will be sufficent for a 5 on the exam.</p>
<p>@wiseguy: Wow, awesome! I will probably take the subject test in Biology and Chemistry at the end of my AP’s next year. Would the Cliffs be sufficent for the Chemistry SAT subject test? Thank you!</p>
<p>Will do, thanks for the suggestions! Do you think I should take the SAT subject tests for Chemistry and Biology since I am taking the AP’s for them? Also, I heard Barron’s contains copious amounts of unecessary info. Is this the case?</p>
<p>Agreed. Barron’s, especially for Math II subject test, is a sure way to get an 800 if you understand and remember everything presented in the book.</p>
<p>Don’t worry if you get 680 or 700 on the practice tests in Barron’s. Many people who do end up with 780+ on the real test!</p>
<p>@wiseguy: Awesome! I will definitely keep that in mind :). Do you think Barrons or PR would be a better supplement to my online AP Chem course? This course does not include lots of practice problems, which I have heard is abundant in all Barron’s books. But yet when searching for feedback on Barrons, I kept on stumbling across the fact that the questions and the way the book was worded is too difficult to follow. Is this true?
Thank you!</p>
<p>It really depends on the exam… you really can’t generalize. For example, for APCS, Barron’s contains just the right amount of info. Also, for some exams, there are some unknown books that are 100x better than Princeton or Barrons. An example would be the Smartypants Guide for APES and The Insider’s Guide to AP US History for APUSH.</p>