By Andrew Georgy
Every AP season, students spend hundreds of dollars on AP prep books, either trying to help their AP scores or just for a quick overview of the material. Many think these AP prep books (like 5 Steps to a 5, Princeton, Barron’s, etc.) are the only way to prepare for the exam. But how effective are they? And is $30 worth the results?
Why buy AP prep books?
When students often look at the price tag of AP prep books, most justify it by saying there’s no other way to prepare for the exam. That statement is completely false. There are hundreds of free, online resources like Khan Academy as well as the resources College Board offers for free (along with your exam purchase of course) on AP Classroom. These videos and practice tests, while long, are still the best way to study as they come from the exam-makers themselves rather than the “professionals” that write AP prep books. However, there still are some benefits to prep books. If you rushed for time, they can help summarize most of the curriculum to refresh your memory. The practice tests that come (depending on the publisher) can be more realistic practice if you already finished all of the practice tests on AP Classroom.
What about the price?
Most AP prep books range anywhere from $20-$30 depending on where you get them from (Amazon has pretty great deals), and they only get cheaper the older you go; depending on what your subject is and when the exam was updated, newer versions won’t add much benefit. Considering most AP exams are over $100, $30 might not seem significant until you multiply it by 4 or 5 AP’s; all of a sudden, it’s like you’re paying for an entirely new exam!
Do most students maximize AP prep books effectively?
No. Most students will just skim over the summaries, solve a couple of practice problems and leave the rest of the book such as the tips and full practice tests untouched. Also, if you are rushed, you’re most likely not going to go in depth with the tips and correct answer explanations, which is the main reason for purchasing an AP prep book. Finally, cramming a book right before an AP exam won’t help your memory retention on the exam itself and only adds stress and anxiety.
So are they worth it?
It depends, but often not. If you utilize the book correctly by buying it at the beginning of the year to learn and then preparing for the exam by reviewing at least two weeks before, AP prep books can be your best friend, especially if you use them only on your weak subjects. But if you buy four AP prep books a week before the exam and set out on cramming all of them, you probably won’t get all of the benefits intended. So when you pick up your next Princeton, make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into: either a year of learning or a waste of $30.
