<p>It's enough to have at least one prep. book (maybe two if your need more practice) and a school textbook to score 4-5 on the exam as long as you give yourself enough time to prepare. Thus, it's useless to buy more textbooks from amazon, half, etc. in which the material is already covered on the exam and spend over $100 for textbooks that you probably rarely will not use. Who is with me?</p>
<p>EDIT:
To be more specific:
By prep. books I mean the best once for each subjects such as PR for Calculus and Physics,and Barrons for Statistics and Psychology, etc. Moreover, use the school textbook or get one from the library or buy used one that many people recommend. Otherwise, nothing else is needed besides more practice tests to score very good on the exam.</p>
<p>I'm with you 100 percent man. The prep book craze...people buying three books the summer before they take the exam...is absolutely ridiculous. As long as you have time, and time is a necessity, one prep and one textbook (from a high school or local college) is plenty. I think the value of real textbooks is generally overlooked by AP students who are too caught up in learning for the exam...anything extra is deemed extraneous, superfluous, unnecessary, and even harmful. But anybody who has used Barrons Math IIC book for an 800 can testify against that. </p>
<p>However, if you're trying to study for an exam in three weeks (which is also ridiculous...the goal of an AP course is to simulate a full college course, not just the cram period before the exam), then getting a few extra prep books is probably the most efficient way to study. It's still the best thing to allow a few months to study, and the more time you have, the less important the prep books become.</p>
<p>RHSstudent07, a revolution? To the textbooks!</p>
<p>I wish we could have prep. books in college for big exams, and for board exams in graduate school. The books outline, and organize all the information that's required for the exam, which makes it easier to memorize the material. :)</p>
<p>AP prep books aren't necessary for AP English, AP US History, AP Euro, AP Calc AB or BC, or AP Biology. Course texts are enough.</p>
<p>You don't even need a textbook for AP english</p>
<p>Then why do people use prep. books?</p>
<p>what about self study APs?
and by the way, along the course, which "single prep book" is enough for AP Bio? Cliffs or Barrons?</p>
<p>for self study, is one enough? computer science A, to be specific</p>
<p>For Bio:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cliffs + Barrons is far enough
or
Option 2. Cliffs + Campbells testbook is plety of information</li>
</ol>
<p>I can't tell you much about Computer Science but try out Barrons and Java books.</p>
<p>Of course, prepbooks aren't necessary. But do they help? Heck ya.</p>
<p>i compare them to cliffs notes. those who want to get by can read the cliffs notes (or buy the prep books) and take the easy way out. those who want to excel will just get the darn textbook, pound their way through it, pay attention to a (hopefully talented and knowledgeable) teacher, and assume things will be OK.</p>