<p>Hi, I would like to self-study AP Biology. I know the curriculum has changed, and I need help figuring out what strategy I should adopt. I do not want to just read a review book and get a 5, I also want to actually understand biology.</p>
<p>Should I just read Campbell & Reece? If so, what chapters (I heard some sections like plants and others were taken out)? Should I do the problems inside the book at the end of each chapter?</p>
<p>What other resources can I use? I plan on using OCW Scholar and a review book sometime in Spring. However, are there other resources I should look at for learning biology or studying for the AP exam?</p>
<p>College Board is changing AP Bio quite a bit this next year, so self-studying might not be a great idea! It is going to be more lab-based which will be hard to teach yourself without the class. But if you really want it, then go for it!</p>
<p>I REALLY don’t think you should self study. The review books don’t come out until January for the new curriculum (which doesn’t give you enough time to start studying for AP Bio), plus the changes make it much more lab intensive, which you will have to purchase items and set up the labs yourself. Sorry, I know how you feel and it didn’t fit into my schedule this year like I wanted it to, though I am taking it next year. If you want to go into the Biology field in college, I would suggest working your schedule around it, or AP Chemistry wouldn’t be too bad either.</p>
<p>NEVER READ CAMPBELL AND REECE! It’s so long and so badly written that I doubt you’ll make it through, even if you’re very driven, and it contains a fair amount of outdated information. I would suggest studying with a review book, but reading review articles similar to the ones in Science or Nature and looking up terms you don’t know. (Get a subscription to Science, if you can afford it—they often have good deals for students, and you even get a free AAAS nerdy T-shirt. Otherwise, scour the internets for open access articles, or see if you can get access through your school or library.) Review books have all the general ideas, but they don’t have a crazy level of detail the way that the textbook does, reading papers should get you this detail, and reviews articles are a lot more readable than the actual reports. You can also read books in specific topics you’re interested in. They won’t necessarily help your AP score, but they will help you learn biology, and you’ll remember more than you would if you forced yourself through Campbell and Reece.</p>