<p>Got a 5. Barrons is definitely the best as it covers all the major concepts which are crucial to the test. Cliffs has a lot of extra information that is not needed</p>
<p>I’m really curious to see the scoring guidelines for this test because my friend and I both got 5s but disagreed on some FRQ answers (most notably #7).</p>
<p>As far as prep books go, I didn’t use one but I did the practice exam MULTIPLE times. That, I feel, got me accustomed to the question types. You definitely need to know your stuff content-wise as well; for that, I would recommend old practice tests. Don’t sweat every wrong answer. Treat them as opportunities to learn, and stay calm.</p>
<p>Damn, I got a 3. It was my first AP test ever, (I’m a sophomore). But i thought I’d get at least a 4. Oh well, and I agree FRQ #7 had a lot of controversy in my class. I also didn’t like FRQ #1 as I didn’t know what an SEM graph was. </p>
<p>Lots of 5’s so far, probably because most of you are from California lol. </p>
<p>To be completely honest, I bought Barrons and Cliffnotes for show cuz my parents forced me to and I didnt open either books til the Sunday before when I opened barrons to go over immune system. I did not even read the ap bio book during school and I got a 5 on this test and an A in the class. This test is more for critical thinking than anything else. Considering im also a sophmore and took my first test this year, you’ll do great 
</p>
<p>Oh yeah, Barrons did not help at all. Read Shmoop if your school subscribes to it and take their practice quizes :)</p>
<p>I self studied for Bio and took it along with my Stats and Euro tests. Pleased to report that I got 5s on all of them!I
It’s nice because I can report them all to colleges!</p>
<p>I’m in FL and I got a 3. I thought the long response questions were super hard and I had a first year ap teacher who didn’t really teach ap subject matter but I guess I did good enough!</p>
<p>But what someone said^^^ Barrons does not help. Watch some Bozeman bio videos!</p>
<p>I got a 5 on Bio. So relieved to find that out, especially when I knew I messed up a few free responses…good luck to anyone who has yet to check.</p>
<p>Got a 4. I’m peeved, but not surprised. The thing is that my class didn’t do the immune system, so I depended on my knowledge from 8th grade biology 3 years ago for FRQs. I’m not gonna make excuses for myself, but it’s so annoying because I love biology and it’s my best subject and I studied so hard. I’m also like 90% sure that I was only a few points from a 5.</p>
<p>how do you know what you got in fl, fl comes out tommorow im in fl also</p>
<p>Got a 4 as expected! I checked out of the class about 1/4 of the way in and never studied. The AP test was such a joke. The MC was essentially the ACT science section and even if you didn’t know the material I bet you could guess well enough to pull off a 3 if you’re a good reader. I had a different form that covered such a small portion of the curriculum I felt like the class was just a huge waste of time. Definitely the worst AP test I have taken in terms of content tested…maybe if I had the regular form I would’ve felt differently. At least I’ll never have to take a college biology class now!</p>
<p>Don’t stress too much about the test. You only have to get like 80% on the test to get a 5. If you pay attention all year, watch crash course, and cram the week before you will do well</p>
<p>^Agree completely. I was a Freshman, it was my first AP test but I still didn’t start studying until the weekend before the exam. It won’t work for everybody, but if you’re the kind of person who can explain over-arching bio concepts and apply them to different cases, you’ll be fine. There are going to be questions that you don’t know, questions that you narrow it down to two and guess on, and questions that were insanely easy.
I spent way too much time trying to memorize the details of animal development and memorizing phylum (none of that was on the exam). Pay attention during class, watch a few Bozeman videos on things you don’t understand throughout the year, and spend the week before the exam looking at details. </p>
<p>I had the Campbell’s, Barron’s and 5 Steps to a 5 books. Hated Campbell’s and Barron’s. Barron’s is seriously overkill. I used it to help me on coursework and on class tests (where the questions were very specific to the unit), but on the AP exam, 50% of it is unnecessary. Barron’s also doesn’t do a good job of separating the unnecessary information from the crucial information. Campbell’s made no sense. I didn’t do any practice tests, so I don’t know how they compared to the real thing. </p>
<p>5 Steps to a 5 is short and concise. The weekend before the exam, I started reading the book to regain details. I actually bought a big poster-board sheet of paper, sat down on the floor, and used colorful markers to map the bio concepts with arrows connecting them. It really helped me get a comprehensive view of how things worked. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone taking it in 2015! </p>
<p>Got a 5 on this! I didn’t use a prep book so I don’t have any advice in that respect, but I would like to tell people that I used Cambell and although it is awesome and can teach you a LOT, it over prepares you for the AP exam. Know the concepts and don’t worry about memorizing every detail in Cambell.</p>
<p>What prep book do you guys recommend? Cliffnotes or Barron’s? I looked at the reviews and everyone said that both were good. I’m aiming on getting a 5 on the exam. If you read Campbell and the prep book, would that be enough? </p>
<p>I stopped caring about this class in October. I never did my homework. I didn’t do any labs. I failed the tests. I never paid attention. I fell asleep in class most of the week. I never studied for the AP exam, didn’t cram or ANYTHING.</p>
<p>And I got a 4</p>
<p>Got a 5!!! I was a sophomore,and I remember everyone saying I would get a 3 on all of my ap’s because it was my first year…
honestly I used solely Barron’s, I think it really helped. I read it through twice, and when I didn’t understand subjects or they weren’t taught in class (ex: reproduction) I referred to the big Campbell book. I also did all the mini multiple choice questions at the back of each Campbell chapter, and studied for every test throughout the year so I had a solid foundatioon of information. I started studying in march, which might be etiher early/late depending on how you look at it but i think i had adequate time to prepare.
@Tajmahal you will be fine with just one prep book and Campbell. One thing – make sure you study ALL the math, you never know what’s coming on the test. I’m sure you’ll do fine, good luck :)</p>
<p>ive gotten 2 of my 4 ap sores. One of the ones im waiting for is AP Biology i think borderline mid-4/high-4 but based on the luck of people who got a 5 and thought they got a three in other posts and that ive been unlucky in other tests with borderlines i feel i will probably get a 5 </p>