Best products from r/APStudents

It's my time to shine :')

Khan AcademyGood for lighter reviewing or if you learn better with audio/video content

The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning which is geared towards teachers, but is a great source of info if you like ppt presentations and traditional classroom learning

Learn Conceptual Physics's site for those tough concept q's

The Physics Classroom which has a TON of simulations and lil physics games, which are great as mini-demos if you can't do labs at home, as well as plenty of text and accompanying diagrams. They also have lots of review questions!

The APlus Physics site which is a great supplement to the book, and is very specific to the test. The book gets great reviews and I am using it currently, just know that it teaches the essentials of the course and isn't bogged down with detail. So it's good to use as a base if you don't know a lot about a topic, and then use another source for more challenging content.

The Learnerator site has a lot of questions for AP Physics as well! I'm not quite sure how many of them are free?? But the ones I've tried so far seem very well organized!

And of course, the College Board's page for AP Physics students! It goes without saying, but anything here is the closest thing there is to official content.

Also, here's an old AP Physics B/C review book! Keep in mind this is for the old test, so it contains less conceptual content, and you'll need to pick out which topics you actually need to know.

Speaking of topics, here's a breakdown of the course content! This will tell you what you need to cover by the end of the year, so you can pace yourself.

There are also a few review books out there now! I'll link you to the Amazon pages of the two I see recommended the most: the aforementioned APlus Physics Essentials book and the 5 Steps to a 5 book, both of which are pretty short, so if you're looking to teach rather than review you'll want to supplement these.

You shouldn't need a textbook if you use all of these resources, but check your local library if you really want one. It's free and you won't be paying to rent 9 months of a textbook you'll use for 5 and never need again.

Hope this helped!

Hey! I'm not OP but I think I can help. It's kind of difficult to summarize how machine learning (ML) works in just a few lines since it has a lot going on, but hopefully I can briefly summarize how it generally works (I've worked a bit with them, if you're interested in how to get into learning how to make one you can check out this book)

In a brief summary, a neural network takes a collection of data (like all the characteristics of a college application), inputs all its variables (like each part of the application like its AP scores, GPA, extraciriculars, etc.) into the input nodes and through some magic math shit, the neural network finds patterns through trial and error to output what you need, so that if you give it a new data set (like a new application) it can predict the chance that something is what you want it to be (that it can go to a certain college)

How it works is each variable that you put into the network is a number that is able to represent the data you're inputting. For example, maybe for one input node you put the average AP score, or the amount of AP scores that you got a 5 on, or your GPA, or somehow representing extraciriculars with a number. This is then multiplied in what are called weights (the Ws in this picture) and then is sent off into multiple other neurons to be added with the other variables and then normalized so the numbers don't get gigantic. You do this with each node in the first hidden layer, and then repeat the process again in how many node layers you have until you get your outputs. Now, this is hopefully where everything clicks:

Let's say the output node is just one number that represents the chance you get into the college. On the first go around, all the weights that are multiplied with the inputs at first are chosen at random (kinda, they're within a certain range so they're roughly where they need to be) and thus, your output at first is probably not close to the real chance that you'll get into the college. So this is the whole magic behind the neural network. You take how off your network's guess was compared to the real life % that you get accepted, and through something called back propagation (I can't explain how you get the math for it, it actually is way too much but here's an example of a formula used for it) you adjust the weights so that the data is closer when put in to the actual answer. When you do this thousands or millions of times your network gets closer and closer to guessing the reality of the situation, which allows you to put in new data so that you can get a good idea on what your chance is you get into college. Of course, even with literal millions of examples you'll never be 100% accurate because humans decisions are too variable to sum up in a mathematical sense, but you can get really close to what will probably happen, which is better than nothing at all :)

The beauty of ML is it's all automated once you set up the neural network and test that it works properly. It takes a buttload of data but you can sit and do what you want while it's all processing, which is really cool.

I don't think I explained this well. Sorry. I'd recommend the book I sent if you want to learn about it since it's a really exciting emerging field in computer science (and science in general) and it's really rewarding to learn and use. It goes step by step and explains it gradually so you feel really familiar with the concepts.

(Repost from user wcclirl444 on college confidential)

NOTE: Be sure to order the books listed later in this guide ahead of time so that you have them for the weekend before the exam to study. Almost no store carry's the Smartypants Guide, so you will have to order it online.

Hey everyone. I self-studied for the APES exam this year and started literally 36 hours before the exam. In order to make the best use of my time, I spent hours trying to figure out the most efficient way to study and thought that I would share what I have learned. Although I would recommend to start study for this earlier than I did, if you have the dedication and use my methods listed below, I believe that you should be able to learn the entire AP class in just 2 days like I did.

I would recommend the following to study:

-Smartypants Guide (make sure you know everything in it... the book is small and you should be able to do this in about a full day of serious studying) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Smartypants-Guide-Environmental-Science-Exam/dp/1411644778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336448288&sr=8-1

-Princeton Review (read through this entire book after you read smartypants and use it to connect ideas together and to expand on the concepts that were in the Smartypants guide. Also, this will help with understanding the weather patterns and a few other important topics which Smartypants just skims over. I was able to just read through this the night before the exam and I retained most of the additional information) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Environmental-Science-Edition-Preparation/dp/0375427295/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336448311&sr=1-1

-5 Steps to a 5 500 APES questions book (note that this is NOT a review book... it just contains 500 MC questions. Personally, I think that these were quite realistic in terms of what was on the exam but perhaps a little more difficult. Use this to figure out what topics you need to reemphasize after reading through the Princeton Review book) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Questions-Advanced-Placement-Examinations/dp/0071780742/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336448340&sr=1-1

-1998 Released Exam (this was an incredible resource that I neglected to take advantage of until just hours before the exam. This provided incredibly useful insight as to what they are looking for in the FRQs that might not be explicitly stated in the questions. Also, many of the FRQ questions and multiple choice were incredibly similar to the ones on the actual exam) Link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/env-sci-released-exam-1998.pdf

If you are self studying this or have a bad teacher and have waited until the last minute to start studying (the weekend before the exam), I would recommend the following STUDY PLAN:
Use Saturday to memorize and know everything in the Smartpants Guide by heart. Although it is a fairly short book (about 65 pages of content), this will take all day to get a thorough understanding.

Use Sunday morning to read all of PR and expand on any topics that were not covered enough in Smartypants (try to retain as much additional info as possible. Also, wake up around 8ish for this and it should take about 4-5 hours to do).

Then, go and do the 1st 10 MC questions in each section of the 5 steps to a 5 500 questions book and review any sections where you missed more than 2 questions in by using the PR book (also go over the answers in the 5 steps to a 5 book... several of the questions in here were actually covered on the exam).

At about 3-4ish, you should try the 1st 40 questions of the 1998 exam to give yourself an idea of where you are. I got about 37 of these right and you should be close to that. Also, go over any question that less than 85% of people who got 5s got correct (you can view this at the end of the exam in the answer key).

By around 5, you should begin to go over the FRQs on the released exam and pay close attention to how they grade and give points which is shown in the answer key (focus on how they are grading the questions instead of the questions themselves... by now, you should already know the answers to them).

Lastly, try to get a good nights rest if you can. If you don't know the material, you may have to pull an all nighter, but that should not be the case if you have followed this plan. When you wake up, go over all of the terms in the back of the Smartypants Guide and PR and get ready for the fun!
Hopefully this will help some people in the future. I spent several hours trying to find the most efficient way to study for this, and I believe that my method is by far the easiest and most efficient way to cram for this exam.

>extremely flawed

Explain Stanford's discrepancies.

Asians make up 17.6% of USC's population. Explain that - LA is one of the highest density Asian places in the United States.

You don't think students who apply to UCLA are going to also send in an application to USC?

Asians make up 10% of Claremont McKenna, 20% of Harvey Mudd,12.9% of Pomona, 18.3% of Scripps. Explain that.

Asians make up 11% of Pepperdine's population. Explain that.

The only private institution that does not discriminate against Asians is Caltech. Caltech prides itself as a merit based, race blind school, and does not practice affirmative action.

And we see in Caltech a 42% Asian student makeup.

Need more evidence?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594035822/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=pragmom-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1594035822&adid=1EQANJJ2S3CHT99N027E&

Published by a Princeton professor.

It's incredibly misleading when people try to justify affirmative action by suggesting Asians only make up 5% of the population but are 20% representation in school. Well, they also make up something like 30-40% of the applicant pool.

>Additionally, the California schools are all public institutions, while most of the compared schools are private, which adds a whole new dimension of difference.

Right. The UCs are accountable to the public so they can't get away with bullshit so easily. That's why we see a REASONABLE number of Asians in the UCs (not too many; it's a proportionally fair amount), percentages very closely mirroring the applicant pool with differences of <5%, as obeying the laws of probability.

And everything I mention still ignores that on average Asian performance should be expected to be higher than other races given the average Asian household income is the greatest of all races in the United States ($14,000 per year higher than White Americans according to the US Census, which is a significant number - enough to buy you a world class tutor and plenty of college prep programs). Academic success and wealth are closely correlated (do I need to prove this? I'll let you google academics and wealth correlation and find out for yourself if you don't believe this) This is not even going into the speculative stuff, like the type of discipline and cultural values Eastern Asians hold in education.

I got a 5 on AP Bio this year, mainly because I love the subject and my teacher was amazing. You can't control your teacher, but I recommend you do your best to enjoy the class and what you're learning.

I bought a review book, and I didn't really use it, but I would still consider it a great resource:

https://www.amazon.com/CliffsNotes-Biology-5th-Phillip-Pack/dp/0544784685

I'm taking my school's AP Calculus AB and AP Physics B classes, but I'm taking the AP Physics C exams.

Heck yeah it's manageable. After you learn the basics of derivatives and integrals, you're good to go with Physics C. This can be done in or outside of class.

Then, I would start by watching these videos. Also, get this prep book. Go over the chapters concurring with the video topics and do the practice problems.

Afterwards, start doing a lot of released FRQ's and exams. Released FRQ's can be found on the CollegeBoard website.

It's totally doable. Additionally, a lot of top engineering colleges do not give credit for AP Physics B. So you might as well take C.

Btw, try to do the chapters in the way I recommend before your school's class covers it. You'll do extremely well on the tests and the information will be even more deeply rooted.

Oh and you don't need Khan Academy or MIT OCW. Personally, I've never found either to be extremely helpful. MIT OCW goes way more in depth than you'll need to know and could be more bothersome than beneficial. Viren's Videos are by far the best lectures.

http://www.amazon.com/People-Nation-History-United-States/dp/1133312721

It's a college level textbook. It might be a heavy read but I feel like I definitely learned a lot from it and was very well prepared for the AP. Our whole school uses the textbook and our average is like a 4.3 (although a lot of the credit should go to the teachers because they're amazingn) so I guess if that helps?

Great question! The crash course videos were not made to directly align with the AP World key concepts, although there is a ton of crossover with between the two curriculums. In some ways, he actually gives you more than you need, which is not always a good thing.

I have these key concept review videos that are aligned to the exam. Here is the period 6 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oyg2dRby8A&list=PLBqmhPQkwV1-p3pOPSNRDDaun8Ovalapu

I also have period 4 & 5 published at http://youtube.com/highlevelhistory

Watching videos is a great addition to your review, but it should not be a replacement for the textbook. However, I know the textbooks have like a million pages, so get yourself a prep book like Barron's - https://amzn.to/2IzBOzl. They give you short cut chapters that are 15 pages and awesome, plus longer chapters for each section.

Hope that helps!

I am also a freshman who is planning to self-study AP Psychology.

I recommend you get Barron's AP Psychology book. I have heard so many reviews that this is the only book you need to score a 5 on the exam -- I believe it's true. This book contains a little more than all the information you need to know to perform well on the exam. The practice tests seem pretty accurate and the content "review" contain lots of depth.

If you were to desire more practice questions to ensure you get a 5, 5 Steps to a 5's 500 AP Psychology Questions is a well accurate book to get more practice with the exam after you have studied the content with Barron's.

Good luck!

I'm currently in AP Chemistry, and as a supplement to our textbook, we were given this book written by the same author as our textbook: http://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Chemistry-Examination-Fast-Track/dp/1133611516/
It's stupidly expensive, but definitely worth it as an alternative to reading the actual Zumdahl textbook (which is insanely long). I have studied nothing but this book and have gotten high A's all year. I also feel like this book has more credibility than any other review book publishers.

As far as APUSH goes, I inherited a ton of review books, but none really helped. I read through about half of the new Princeton Review and skimmed through Barron's flashcards the morning of the exam, but neither helped significantly (I still got a 5, but APUSH was my favorite class so I really paid attention). The redesign of the exam ensures that stupid details are not asked directly. The majority of the multiple choice exam is analyzing primary sources, so I recommend practice reading quickly but carefully. The free response questions are available on the CollegeBoard website (I definitely recommend checking it out.) You don't need a review book to learn how to write essays. Throughout the year, we referenced this handout: http://franklin.episd.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=26669589. It's written by a teacher that my teacher knows personally, and apparently he helped write the AP exam, so he must know what he is doing.

My brother also got a 5, but on the OLD exam (pre 2015). He studied this book (more or less): http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Complete-Guide-History-Essential/dp/0985291206 and watched the Adam Norris videos on YouTube. He claimed these videos covered EVERYTHING on the old exam.

Got a 5 on the AP, here’s what I did

1. Hopefully, y’all have a good textbook. My teacher gave us a few but the best one was Spielvogel
   
2. outline everything you can, outlining is really just your interpretation of the info in the textbook
   
3. the day before the ap, I sat down with my textbook and wrote down all the page numbers of stuff I didn’t know and read through those
   
   If you don’t have a good textbook (looking at you Kagan) get one of these two they’re both solid review books. I personally like birdsall more
   
   Ap Achiever Exam Prep Guide European History 2017 (Ap European History) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0078976421/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_k2NOAb1W9VHJ9
   
   Modern European History https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070674531/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_V2NOAbN4J3224

I teach APCS. There's no doubt that having a good, experienced teacher can make a difference. But I also believe that for a motivated student, there are plenty of resources available online that can prepare you well too. I really like the [Litvin prep book] (https://www.amazon.com/Prepared-Computer-Science-Exam-Java/dp/0982477538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481588368&sr=8-1&keywords=be+prepared+for+the+ap+computer+science+exam+in+java). It tells you exactly what you need to know and its practice exams are just a little more rigorous than the ones on the AP exam. If you do well on those you will definitely do well on the exam. I also like [this] (http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/JavaReview/index.html) online textbook, from Georgia Tech. Finally, [PracticeIt] (http://practiceit.cs.washington.edu/) and codingbat are indispensible. Just do lots of coding on your own and you will be in good shape.

I'm using The Smartypants' Guide to Environmental Science for self study
Here on Amazon; could also find on online maybe
https://www.amazon.com/Smartypants-Guide-Environmental-Science-Exam/dp/1411644778

5 steps to 5 pdf online somewhere. Not currently using it, but it's free, the more the better I guess.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3RVreGMg1lQajVteUl2SzJnZHM

Also PR and Barron's, but someone said Smartypants' was all you needed for environmental science.

Obviously you should practice most of the FRQs before the actual AP test. I am also pretty sure that there are quite a few previously administered MC tests floating around somewhere online. For content, Ive heard that Princeton Review, hands down, is the best. Ive heard from many that said that they memorized the book in the week before the test and got a 5.

https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Government-Politics-College-Preparation/dp/0804125422/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481156164&sr=8-4&keywords=AP+US+gov

The class starts assuming you have no knowledge of Java or programming at all for that matter. It's what you make of it. It's an application based course that requires you to build off of topics learned earlier for creating more and more complex programs. So, by the time the test comes around you should have a good knowledge of all the topics that could be covered(sans maybe ASCII). Don't sweat it I got a 4 without too much studying. I don't reccomend Barons for free response only multiple choice and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0982477538?cache=b6bdf3aee60a715915ae39f5d8504b08&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1414546535&sr=8-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2 for free response.

Bozeman Science (http://www.bozemanscience.com/ap-chemistry/) videos and getting a review book such as Barron's or Crash Course can help you greatly. Good luck!

For AP Biology, I liked Barron's and this book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Biology-School-Pearson-Education/dp/0133458148/
The second book is basically an outlined version of the Campbell Textbook. I found it really helpful and easier to read.

Not gonna lie your Euro class sounds kinda aids. That being said, I believe in you! Reading is obviously going to be extremely beneficial and if you havent already gotten a review book, been reading the textbook, or been reading some supplemental book I would suggest doing that. One of the books I found most helpful last year was Viault's Modern European History. Its kind of a no bullshit approach to everything. Only what you need to know.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0070674531?keywords=viault%20modern%20european%20history&qid=1449366444&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1



Not sure how much help this was but good luck!

best book https://www.amazon.com/AP-Physics-Essentials-APlusPhysics-Guide/dp/0990724301


this is exactly what you're looking for trust me

I used the most underrated but best reviewbook ever (Pearson) + Barron's
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0133458148/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If anything, get the first one's newest edition (if there is one) because the authors of this book specifically pulled out main ideas from the campbell book that the test will test

Since the exam is way to close to read hundreds of pages in Barrons or PR, I bought the Smartypants Guide to AP Environmental Science. It is not too wordy compared to other review books and everything is right to the point with definitions and diagrams. It has 2 practice tests and also only 79 pages of content, but it doesn't take long to read at all.

Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Smartypants-Guide-Environmental-Science-Exam/dp/1411644778

Happy studying!

I hear AP Physics 1 Essentials is an amazing book for learning concepts, but I haven't personally used it myself. You could probably give it a good read this summer.

I recommend getting this review book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0133458148/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_NN.-zbQBBNHT3

It's kinda pricey but it's a really good outline of the Campbell textbook with practice questions.

The Pearson-Holtzclaw review book that accompanies the Campbell textbook is hands down the best review book for AP Bio. Here's a link to it on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Biology-School-Pearson-Education/dp/0133458148

This is the best book for AP Biology hands down. Questions are very similar to test and give lots of need to know information and practice.

https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Biology-School-Pearson-Education/dp/0133458148/ref=pd_sim_14_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0133458148&pd_rd_r=a939490d-36cd-11e9-a692-13b9b4e07a01&pd_rd_w=lXCcT&pd_rd_wg=ci0aF&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=GJD161GBEJMXXBPCJZD6&psc=1&refRID=GJD161GBEJMXXBPCJZD6

I've been using this review book for AP Bio, and I have to say that I really like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Biology-School-Pearson-Education/dp/0133458148/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/134-8148887-7079342?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QZQHYQZPXJQ0RG840WVP

I've also used Barron's AP Bio a bit, and it's pretty good overall, but it goes way more in depth on a lot of stuff than it really needs to, and the practice tests are hot garbage.

Yeah, amazon does

​

https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Course-Online-Advanced-Placement/dp/0738611549

Flipping Physics (YouTube channel)

Khan Academy

For the exam: 5 Steps to a 5 (AP Physics 1 prep book)


This book for extra help throughout the year: https://www.amazon.com/AP-Physics-Essentials-APlusPhysics-Guide/dp/0990724301

I've been using AP Chemistry Crash Course to self study. The Princeton Review Cracking the AP Chemistry Exam 2015 edition also got good reviews. If you have a textbook I would recommend really going through it and doing all of the chapter questions.

https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Course-Online-Advanced-Placement/dp/0738611549

This is a good recap, I used it and cannot recommend it enough. The Barron's book for chem seems to also help people, but I haven't used it.

https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Biology-School-Pearson-Education/dp/0133458148/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0133458148&pd_rd_r=5PD225KY0Q6VEGMWB8E2&pd_rd_w=oTcbg&pd_rd_wg=4T6DA&psc=1&refRID=5PD225KY0Q6VEGMWB8E2 this one?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0133458148/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

I bought this one

AP Chem is one helluva ride—but provided you have the right resources, you’ll get through it. A lot of the chem relies on building off of the basics—stoichometry, periodic trends, etc—and the rest is pretty self-teachable.

The AP Chem crash course book really helped me. It’s best to read it when reviewing, or after you’ve finished a unit and are not quite sure. You can get is here. The same company makes a killer APUSH book, too.

Edit: if anyone wants my APUSH and chem crash course books for like $7 shipping hmu

Those all suck. Get this