<p>So we have less than a month until AP exams and I want to order my AP Gov book online today and start studying soon since I took the class first semester and I'll be somewhat rusty. Last year for AP USH I used the Princeton review since the teacher and everyone heavily recommended it since it's made by the very people who make the test. Well, I found it to be a lot easier than the real exam so I definitely don't want to use Princeton Review for any of my other 7 AP exams.</p>
<p>So what book is the best/hardest in your opinion? Also, does it matter if it's a few years old (like the 2006 edition?). Because it's so much cheaper if you buy a used book online for 1-3 bucks instead of a new one for 20-25 when I'm only going to use it once.</p>
<p>The books that usually have all the needed information are the Barron’s books. They usually have harder tests, but test differently. It is best to do practice tests from past MC’s rather than the prep books. That said, I think the best series is PR, just because the information in it is very valuable and it had enough info to get a 4 and with a little extra work a 5.</p>
<p>Thanks, I bought Barron’s actually. And congratulations on getting into Duke! A boy from my school with a 33 ACT was rejected ED and was a varsity athlete for four years with charity work over seas and the money for Duke without financial aid. What were your stats?</p>
<p>I think Princeton Review is the safest choice if you don’t bother researching your review books; most books are adequate for a good score on whatever exam you’re taking. Barron’s books tend to be way too in-depth; also the font, the paper, and the overall aesthetics just doesn’t look as appealing as PR.</p>
<p>This isn’t the place for stats, but I’ll give you a quick gloss SAT: 2280, GPA: 4.0, ED. I volunteered and had leadership positions.</p>
<p>Yeah, I prefer PR for most things as well. Barrons is good for some subjects but it tends to include a lot of useless information. As immortalix mentioned, the Barrons books just don’t look as …nice as the PR ones. They’re not organized the way I like and not as clear and easy to understand as PR. PR really gets to the point. </p>
<p>I used Barrons for SAT Math II and I’m using it for AP Human Geo and I heard it’s good for AP Psych but otherwise, I stick to PR or some other company. I think that PR is the safest choice for most subjects.</p>
<p>(I know this isn’t about the SAT but I thought the PR SAT book was horrible. Just fyi haha. Maybe it was because it was just so different from the BB but I didn’t like it at all)</p>
<p>PR Bio is ****ty as well…there hasnt been single thing i’ve learned from it</p>
<p>however, PR SAT French was amazing…it was short, concise, clear, and it had questions featured on the actual test…THE SAME ONES…I hadn’t taken French in over a year and managed to get a 730 (not native)</p>
<p>PR chem was very solid and so was their physics. I can’t really comment on any other test. I have PR Econ now and it seems very decent (maybe not enough information), but I won’t know till I take the AP test. For AP Bio I have Cliff’s and Barrons are the two best. I think instead of buying a set, you should look at each individual test you plan to take, because each company has its strong suit in a different subject.</p>
<p>How is Kaplan?</p>
<p>I liked REA for World History btw. And 5 steps to a 5 in general.</p>
<p>Kaplan fails for the most part. I don’t know a lot about their books, but I’ve flipped through some of their books. The books are professionally done, but its usually written by some PhD who cannot simplify the concepts for the average high schooler. I remember their SAT Chem and Bio, way above my head, mainly because there was so much detail. It’s not really engaging either; the writing is bland, just plain facts. Effective prep books usually have some sidenotes or some comments by the author, but Kaplan has it too professionally done.</p>
<p>Oke! Thanks! I got some Kaplan books, but haven’t used them yet (luckily from my school library)</p>
<p>I heard Kaplan is the best for SAT Lit. </p>
<p>Umm it was pretty good for SAT USH. THat’s what I used to review after the AP exam because it’s much shorter than the REA version and I just needed to touch up on a few things so I used Kaplan and it was really good.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I haven’t heard much about Kaplans.
I liked REA for APUSH.</p>