<p>Hey guys. I thought this might be a neat idea for a new thread. Let's critique some of the books we used for this year's AP exams, based on our experience with the real tests. I know we have a consolidated books thread, but that thing gets crowded with reduntant posts very quickly. Hopefully, this will help all those taking AP tests in the future. :)</p>
<p>I'll start with my own experiences:</p>
<p>1) AP U.S History
- AMSCO: The best book, hands down, for the course. I used it alongside my textbook all year long, and it was a lifesaver for class tests and HW assignments. It's excellent for the AP exam, with great chapter narratives that really help you to understand the links between the different events in history.
- Crash Course: This book was a lifesaver for the AP exam. I really liked the bullet point format, which made the it easy to learn from. The tip boxes are extremely helpful as well! I think the best part of the book is the "Key Themes" section at the end.
~ Overall, both these books were almost perfect for the MC section of the AP exam, and even better for the FRQ.</p>
<p>2) AP Psychology:
- Barrons: This book is seen as the best book for self studiers, and rightfully so. It's also great for people like me, who took the course, and want to brush up before the big exam. I started using it a few months before the AP exam, and it was extremely clear and easy to understand.
- Crash Course: This book just came out earlier this year, and I was quick to go out and buy it. Luckily, it did not let me down! This book is perfect for the week before the AP exam, when you just want to make sure you have everything down. I used it to go through the later chapters such as Abnormal Psych, Treatment, and Social Psych since I did not have enough time to go through the respective Barron's chapters.
~ The Barron's-Crash Course combo for this exam is great! I was only uncertain about a few out-of-the-blue MC questions on this year's AP exam. FRQ was very manageable thanks to these two books :)</p>
<p>Hope you guys will contribute your own reviews :)</p>
<p>1) AP Comp Gov:
-REA: Never, ever, ever, ever buy this book if you’re planning to do Comp Gov. I can tell you that, of the questions on the exam, the book only covered 1/3 of the questions and virtually none of the FRQs (besides two).</p>
<p>2) AP US Gov:
-REA: ^Not as bad, but still pretty bad. The practice exams weren’t even close to resembling any of the actual exams.
-Princeton Review: As always, top notch. My teacher is very good if you actually pay attention so I got most of my information from him, but we didn’t have time to cover some very important sections so I had to rely on PR for these sections and there were several questions on the test (including an FRQ, which the rest of my class bombed but I got right) that I can thank PR for helping me get correct.</p>
<p>3) AP Econ (both of them):
-Princeton Review: Everyone who used PR in my econ class didn’t think that the tests were hard because most of the questions were covered in PR. However, the students with Kaplan and 5 Steps to a 5 either didn’t actually read those books or the concepts covered in the books didn’t even resemble what was on the test as they bombed the test (and these students usually do exceptionally well on AP exams).</p>
<p>AP world -> Barrons for a comprehensive review… PR for a concise review (I prefer that) and good MC practice tests that are harder than the real AP test.</p>
Chemistry
-Chemistry and Chemical Reactivities - Concepts were not explained well, but it has a great source of exercise problems, unlike any other chemistry textbooks.
-Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change - I like this book better since it explains concepts quite well, especially effective nuclear charge and other periodic trend topics.
-Chemistry: The Central Science - I also like this book since I used this to help me study for the AP Chemistry exam. Concepts was well explained, but I say the previous book is better in explaining.
-Princeton Review - Concise in information. It helped me remember electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, and latter part of thermochemistry well for the AP exam. (AP Chemistry teacher was unable to cover all the topics due to lack of time)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Calculus AB
-Larson’s book is the best. Great amount of practice problems and examples.
-D&S Marketing - the practice exams are indeed harder than the real exam. However, it made me more conscious of concept problems.
-Princeton Review - concise and provides substantial review.</p></li>
<li><p>World History
-Earth and Its People: A Global History - although dense in information, I was able to kill the MC and the FR last year. Therefore, in my opinion, this book is a great source of information for the AP exam.
-Princeton Review - it was concise–way too concise. I didn’t like it. I felt that it was lacking substantial information and it will not prepare me for the free-response section. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Junior Year:
AP U.S. History
-AMSCO was pretty concise with the description.
-The American Pageant was my source of knowledge for the AP Exam. Good textbook, especially for the FR. However, the constant metaphors are unbearable and I wish it has a glossary. (I know the 14/e now has one). Due to the no glossary, I have to write my own vocabulary list for each chapter.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>AP Calculus BC
-I really am a fan of the Larson’s textbook. Good amount of exercise problems and examples. And I have used it to teach myself Calculus AB.
-Princeton Review was concise, but I was disappointed that it teaches only what is substantial, especially the series section, for the BC exam (well, that’s the purpose of review books).</p></li>
<li><p>AP European History
-Western Experience(textbook) is a good textbook with much analytical information, but when you get to the later chapters, information becomes unorganized.
-A History of Western Society is a good textbook, yet concise. However, it is more organized and it provides more substantial information.
-AP Achiever for this book has a concise amount of information and it did help me with the MC.
-Crash Course was also great. It helped me kill the MC.</p></li>
<li><p>AP Physics B
-Physics by Cutnell and Johnson. I really like this book since it teaches me concepts quite well, but it doesn’t encourage that critical thinking necessary for the AP exam unless you do the Concept questions at the end of the chapter. However, no answers on the back. You might want to buy the answer book for the concept questions if you really want to do well on the MC.
-Princeton Review was alright. I felt it was lacking in substantial information since it was concise. The oscillation section is, however, useful for the MC.</p></li>
<li><p>AP English Language and Composition
-The Bedford Handbook - it really teaches you the basic the grammar and sentence structure. Because of this book, I was able incorporate the style of using dashes and colons into mine and it is useful when writing for conciseness.
-Prose Style: A Contemporary Guide - it get rids of your wordiness. It makes you more conscious of your writing. I absolutely love this book and in the near future, I will buy my own copy.
-The Language of Composition - it has a great number of interesting essays to read, from classic to modern. Most, if not all, is rich with rhetorical strategies and devices. Moreover, it is organized according to controversial topics, so it’s useful for the argumentative essays, where you will be able to reference an essay from The Language of Composition.
-Patterns for College Writing - great number of essays to read and it is organized according to rhetorical modes. Each chapter will gives a descriptive information of a rhetorical mode. So, if you’re planning to write a paragraph of a rhetorical mode for a rhetorical analysis essay, the information will help. </p></li>
<li><p>AP Statistics
-The Practice of Statistics - good book with nice amount of practice problems. The concepts are taught concisely. The tests in the book are somewhat unorganized.
-Stats: Modeling the World - good book with nice amount of practice problems. Moreover, the topics are more organized and concepts are explained well.
-Barrons was alright. I believe I got most out of the MC problems for each chapter.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ll have to agree with motion1234. I thankfully read PR for the first time about one hour before the exam (I already read through 5steps the night before). If it weren’t for PR, I would’ve completely bombed the Economics exams.</p>
<p>AP Human Geography: Barron’s is extremely helpful. I basically skimmed through the vocabulary at the end of the chapters the night before and I’m pretty confident in my score, but I think it helped that I had a really great teacher too who really knew what he was teaching. :)</p>
<p>AP Biology: CliffNotes. Can’t do better than that. Concise, though thorough.</p>
<p>AP Language & Composition: No study book, but I had a really good English teacher. For this test, though, I think having a high level of writing and fast- paced reading comprehension is good enough. I’m crossing my fingers for a 4 or else I’ll feel incompetent because that’s what most of my senior friends got last year with the same teacher.</p>
<p>AP U.S. History: I used REA, but it was incredibly detailed. I only got to the events that occurred before WWI, but a lot of the exam didn’t ask about 1915- ish and beyond, so I was lucky. =] I hear AMSCO is better though …but REA is really good too if you can fully comprehend everything it throws out. I was prepared though, so kudos to REA lol</p>
<p>AP Calculus AB: No prep book, but I did look through my friend’s PR review book the afternoon before the test… not much help. Is the Larson’s book better? I’ve never heard of it, but I’ll check it out! =)</p>
<p>AP Chinese: I didn’t use one, but my friend used Barron’s, and she usually picks up really great prep books, so I’ll trust her on this one ;]</p>
<p>Hope people learned from this? hahah , great thread =))</p>
<p>Apush- amsco is enough to get a 5 in the test. I loved the review book, it was like an actual outline of the whole book of american pageant. Also it is perfect for the analysis part as for dbqs and frqs as each chapter of the asmco book has its own detail explanation to help you on the writing part. Some mc questions of amsco actually came in the real ap exam and that really helped. Rea is good, but asmco is just what you need. Totally awesome.
Ap environmental science- barron’s, i did not like it at all. It went just brief on the issues of the environmental class. The exam actually asks you for specific things which barron’s was not successful at all. I would not recommend this book, anyways it’s easy to retain information from the class.
Ap english- cliffsap, i think this was good as it gives you all the literary devices as well as how to write a concise essay and how to manage the mc questions. After all, it has 6 practice tests, which actually are similar to the actual exam. Really good review book. Recommend it.
Ap spanish- did not buy any review book and did not practice at all. If you are a native speaker you can actually manage a 5 without doing much.</p>
<p>AP World History - I used Princeton’s review, and I liked it a lot, personally. The practice tests really helped me on the multiple choice part of the exam. It was definitely better than Kaplan’s, which is what my teacher suggested. Kaplan’s was extremely vague on a lot of the information. I looked in it after the test to see if I had included all the correct information for one of the essays, and there wasn’t even anything on the topic in the book.</p>
<p>AP Biology - Cliff’s AP Biology (3rd Edition) was amazing. There wasn’t really anything on the exam that wasn’t in this book. I’ve heard there’s a lot of good books for AP Bio out there, and this is definitely one of them. The practice tests really helped, too. I highly recommend it.</p>
<p>AP Statistics:
Princeton Review - Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Thank god I found:
5 Steps to a 5 - Amazing. So detailed yet it is an easy read and makes the subject seem simple.</p>
<p>AP US History:
AMSCO - Obviously, it covered everything on the test. Of course, the only downside is its length. I never finished it but it was very helpful</p>
<p>AP Chemistry:
PR - Didn’t use it.
5 Steps to a 5 - Didn’t use it.
Peterson’s - Didn’t use it.
I really don’t know how I studied for Chem.</p>
<p>AP Psychology:
Barron’s - AMAZING. Covered everything on the test. Feeling a 5 (self-study).</p>
<p>AP English Language:
An easy test, I had a Cliff’s book but I only read it the night before for like any rhetorical devices I didn’t know. Pretty decent.</p>
<p>AP Human Geography:
Barron’s - not as good as it was for Psych. I also self-studied this one. I think I underestimated the test. Barron’s should have been more detailed than just explaining general concepts bc the MC was very specific.</p>
Amsco+Crash Course for APUSH. Even if you don’t read the whole thing, it’s extremely helpful throughout the year. Crash Course got me a 5 on this test. Buy it and read it twice. In a class that is as big as APUSH, a quick review like this that still includes everything you need to know is amazing. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Cliffs for Bio. Great to study for tests and great for the AP. The Barrons flash cards are good too. </p></li>
<li><p>PR for Chem. Not too long and clearly explains everything. I didn’t really understand chem until I read this book. </p></li>
<li><p>PR and Barrons for Calc BC. PR is great until you get to sequences/series. Then Barrons is good. </p></li>
<li><p>AP Achiever for Economics. I read this book at that last second and it really helped me understand everything I wasn’t taught during the year. </p></li>
<li><p>PR for Physics B and C. Good explanations, good example problems. Works for either test. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Didn’t Work:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>PR for Stats. Didn’t like it at all. Made things more confusing and didn’t really focus on how to do things on a calculator. There are not many good Stats books. </p></li>
<li><p>PR for US. Just not very good. Go with Amsco.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Human Geography: The Barron’s is way too easy, PR is much better though you can’t really get that much better at the FRQs. I was lucky, knew all the FRQs</p>
<p>AP U.S History: REA. When Amsco was nearly impossible to find, I got this and it was amazing. I would have gotten like a 2 without it. I think I def got at least a 4.</p>
<p>AP Biology: Cliffs AP. Best review for Bio. Loved the chapters and review questions at the end of each one. Great explanations of important points. Wish I had studied a little more with this one.</p>
<p>Statistics: Self studied and only used Cliffs - it was brilliant except made a small error pertaining to null hypotheses (on the AP exam, null hypotheses are always = but the Cliffs said it can be <= or >=, which is technically true - real statisticians do it this way - but for some reason is wrong on the AP test)</p>
<p>Computer Science: I had a class, but I found the Barron’s a bit wordy, but if you can get around that, very thorough. Practice tests were good preparation since they were harder.</p>
<p>Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: I self studied using 5 steps to a 5, Kaplan, and Princeton’s. All were really good though very different from each other.</p>
<p>Chemistry: I partially self studied using a textbook, 5 steps to a 5, and Barron’s. All were great, although Barron’s was way too hard. I got a low 3 on a Barron’s test and a high 5 on a released exam… go figure.</p>
<p>Calculus AB and BC: I partially self studied and used Princeton and another book, along with a textbook. Frankly, any book is just fine for Calculus AB/BC - it’s very straightforward material and there is not a lot of variation.</p>
<p>World History: I had a class, and used my textbook, Barron’s, Princeton, and Kaplan. All the books were great; Barron’s was closest to the actual difficulty of the test, Kaplan easier and Princeton harder.</p>
<p>I’m a little generous because I can’t talk harshly about books.</p>
<p>APUSH
I agree that AMSCO and Crash Course were amazing, especially AMSCO, which covered pretty much everything on the test. (:</p>
<p>English Language
Cliffs was great. The practice tests were very similar to the real test.
After I bought Cliffs, my teacher got us Barron’s, which isn’t nearly as good. It has a grammar review section and a list of rhetorical strategies (Cliffs has one too), but the practice tests are horribly inaccurate. There were a lot of questions about identifying which strategies the author used, but not many questions about analyzing.</p>