I need some feedback on what books to get for the upcoming year. I have read review and stuff but they are outdated and with all the AP exam revisions I need the best. Also how many prep books do you recommend for each AP class? I need prep books for APUSH, AP CHEM,and AP BIO. Please include the your favorite book and a few pros and cons about the book.
Also are the barron’s flashcards helpful at all? Thanks
check reddit they have tons of old tests and ebooks from baroons princeton review ect. /r/apstudents
I used Barron’s flashcards for Psych. Personally, they were great. They have good explanations and are organized well. Just a tip with them: try not to spill them. My cards all spilled out and it took a while to organize them all back. It wasn’t too hard because they are organized by topic and numbered within the topic, though.
For APUSH, definitely get the AMSCO book and read through it. It’s pretty long, and not really a prep book but it’s worth it. I wish I would’ve read through the whole thing.
For Chem, I’ve heard Princeton Review is the best (I looked through it and it seemed good enough), but I personally didn’t use a prep book. Look up Abigail Giordano Chemistry on youtube and watch her videos. She’s amazing and was one of the main reasons why I got a 5 on the exam.
I recommend the AMSCO. If your classroom has a textbook, disregard the textbook and learn straight from AMSCO.
Pro: If you know it back and forth it’s a guaranteed 5.
Con: Thicker than a Barron’s prep book but more concise than an actual college textbook. (The perfect hybrid for early studying)
Barron’s was really helpful for chem, and a friend of mine used the flashcards. The flashcards are nice to review concepts with every one in a while (esp. for those “it’s been six months since I learned this and forgot it existed” moments), but you need the book to work though any real problems. The practice tests were accurate, if not slightly more difficult than the actual exam, but they didn’t include any extraneous material as some prep books seem to.
Do not get Barron’s for AP Chem; that is a significant mistake. The book is filled with useless information that would never be tested on the new AP Chem test format. You are much better off with Princeton Review (what I used), but the practice tests in PR are extremely off, especially the multiple choice. The multiple choice questions in Princeton Review were too straightforward and no convoluted enough. Maybe you try other test books because Barron’s and Princeton Review were disappointing study aids. You should look at Crash Course for chem; I have heard it is a good book. I got a 5 on the chem exam, but it was definitely not the help of PR and Barron’s that got me that score.