During my college biology class in High School, I would always do well in the labs but would do poorly in quizzes and tests. I received the book in the mail a day before my test. I read the chapter we were studying on the way to school and I easily passed the test.

I've reviewed and used all the other review guides during the last 10 years that I've taught AP Biology and this one is absolutely the best. It's the one I order every year for my AP Biology students. I recommend it highly.

The book came exactly as it was described and arrived on time so I had it for school.

This book reviews all the material you need to know for the test, in a clear, simple, efficient way. I bought it too late to use it in my AP Biology class, but I'm sure it would be good for that too. I read the whole book the week before the AP test and got a 5.

I didn't learn a lot in my AP Biology class; we rarely took our lessons seriously and our teacher gave us very few assignments. We learned material slowly--by the time May came around, we still had nine chapters left (out of 56) to read in the textbook!

Everyone in our class was pretty much flipping out over the AP test and how soon we had to take it. Nobody felt prepared. My friend actually reread the entire textbook in the week we had to review before the test. I procrastinated, and didn't want to go through that (our textbook was MASSIVE) so I read this cover-to-cover twice the weekend before the exam. Didn't need to take notes, just highlighted bits of information in spots where there were some excessively detailed descriptions.

This book has excellent diagrams, and except for occasional typos here and there, it wasn't at all difficult to read. I'd suggest it for anyone with a mediocre teacher, or people who know they're going to slack off until a week before the exam :) Reading the book once, slowly and thoroughly, and then rereading it again quickly (skimming through areas that I already knew pretty well) was the strategy that earned me a five on the exam this year! I love this book.

Several students in my class used the Princeton review book, which does spend more time explaining how the AP test works than this does, but in every other respect CliffsAP is far better than the other review book options.

It helped on class tests as well, because it explored concepts in a much clearer, easily understood way than the textbook did.

Absolutely would recommend anyone to buy it.

Yes I mean it, it really is as great as people are saying. I have always been weak at biology, and I was very nervous about taking it at the AP level especially since its so difficult, but I endured it. I got mostly Bs in that class, I got very lazy with senioritis even to the point that I skipped some chapters in the text and didnt even bother to pay attention in class or read summaries.

So although I was getting into lousy habits typical of high school seniors, I was still determined to get a good AP score. So, this book came in handy. I read the book starting in the beginning of May, and read through it by the eve of the exam. I was stressfully cramming the weekend before the test, reading through the densely packed information (very concise too), and I even skipped some parts (esp. animal phyla and plants). Its a great review, and I even learned some stuff that I was too lazy to read earlier that year. On Sunday night before the test, I still didnt know enough, and I felt screwed. But I knew I had to let go. As they say, if you've spent your time studying, you will be prepared.

I notice many people saying "this isnt a substitute for a textbook!" etc, and they are right. This alone will not get you an A in the class. It will not effectively teach you everything about bio. But it will definitely prepare you for a 5 on the AP exam, and its all I used to study for the exam. Most of my classmates used Barron's (good, but way too much info), but I knew this was better. So I called for my scores, and you guessed, I got a 5!!

If you're gonna use this, I highly recommend you start studying during spring break, or in mid April at the latest. That way, you can work your way through the book without stressing and cramming like I did, and maybe do better on any practice tests that count as grades. If this is all you're using for AP studying, make sure you READ (not skim) and understand everything (or almost everything) that this book tells you (look in your textbook if something isnt clear).

Peace out, and I hope this helps

Yes I mean it, it really is as great as people are saying. I have always been weak at biology, and I was very nervous about taking it at the AP level especially since its so difficult, but I endured it. I got mostly Bs in that class, I got very lazy with senioritis even to the point that I skipped some chapters in the text and didnt even bother to pay attention in class or read summaries.

So this book came in handy, I read the book starting in the beginning of May, and read through it by the eve of the exam. I was stressfully cramming the weekend before the test, reading through the densely packed information (very concise too), and I even skipped some parts (esp. animal phyla and plants). Its a great review, and I even learned some stuff that I was too lazy to read earlier that year. On Sunday night before the test, I still didnt know enough, and I felt screwed. But I knew I had to let go. But as they say, if you've spent your time studying, you will be prepared.

I notice many people saying "this isnt a substitute for a textbook!" etc, and they are right. This alone will not get you an A in the class. It will not effectively teach you everything about bio. But it will definitely prepare you for a 5 on the AP exam, and its all I used to study for the exam. Most of my classmates used Barron's (good, but way too much info), but I knew this was better. So I called for my scores, and you guessed, I got a 5!!

If you're gonna use this, I highly recommend you start studying during spring break, or in mid April at the latest. That way, you can work your way through the book without stressing and cramming like I did, and maybe do better on any practice tests that count as grades. If this is all you're using for AP studying, make sure you READ (not skim) and understand everything (or almost everything) that this book tells you (look in your textbook if something isnt clear).

Peace out, and I hope this helps

Yes I mean it, it really is as great as people are saying. I have always been weak at biology, and I was very nervous about taking it at the AP level especially since its so difficult, but I endured it. I got mostly Bs in that class, I got very lazy with senioritis even to the point that I skipped some chapters in the text and didnt even bother to pay attention in class or read summaries. My teacher got very irritated; I even fell asleep in class. By spring, I got lousy scores on AP practice tests, and knew i would need more than a bit of studying.

So this book came in handy, I read the book starting in the beginning of May, and read through it by the eve of the exam. I was stressfully cramming the weekend before the test, reading through the densely packed information (very concise too), and I even skipped some parts (esp. animal phyla and plants). Its a great review, and I even learned some stuff that I was too lazy to read earlier that year. On Sunday night before the test, I still didnt know enough, and I felt screwed. But I knew I had to let go. But as they say, if you've spent your time studying, you will be prepared.

I notice many people saying "this isnt a substitute for a textbook!" etc, and they are right. This alone will not get you an A in the class. It will not effectively teach you everything about bio. But it will definitely prepare you for a 5 on the AP exam, and its all I used to study for the exam. Most of my classmates used Barron's (good, but way too much info), but I knew this was better. So I called for my scores, and you guessed, I got a 5!! My teacher was very surprised, and I knew he wouldn't expect this from me.

If you're gonna use this, I highly recommend you start studying during spring break, or in mid April at the latest. That way, you can work your way through the book without stressing and cramming like I did, and maybe do better on any practice tests that count as grades. If this is all you're using for AP studying, make sure you READ (not skim) and understand everything (or almost everything) that this book tells you (look in your textbook if something isnt clear).

Peace out, and I hope this helps

I used this book and Dr. Sanghera's AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet to prepare for the AP Biology exam. I love both of these books and here are my reviews:
This book is cool. It's to the point and covers all the topics very concisely. So, that saves you lot of time that you can use elsewhere. However, it gives you all the info that you need to pass the AP Biology exam. It's short and sweet: material is covered in a reader-friendly way; easy to follow, understand, and retain. I used this book in combination with the following book: the Flashcard Quicklet.

AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet: Flashcards in a Book for Biology StudentsFlash cards are cool tools to review your preparation for the exam. I like this style of flash cards though: flash cards in a book. Loose flash cards could be annoying; they are hard to keep together...flash cards in a book are cool..no lost cards...easy to keep them together..Besides, in this book, the flash cards are very much self contained; good and easy to follow answers and explanations....You can use this flash card book with any AP Biology book or without any book...it's not tied to a specific book...The coverage of topics is quite comprehensive and there is lots of space to make your own notes...I love it...
I would say these are the only two books you need to pass the exam.

Great Resource. All you need is this book with Paul Sanghera's AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet, and you will be in very good shape to pass the AP Biology exam. This book is a no-nonsense, to-the-point guide to prepare for the exam, and Paul Sanghera's Biology Flashcard Quicklet is a great tool to quickly review your preparation. I have found that these two books together is a blast. Although the AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet is very self-contained and can be used with any Guide or without any Guide, but I will recommend, first read this book then use Sanghera's book.
Great book....highly recommended.

This book is only only a great resource for the AP Biology exam, but it is also awesome to keep around especially for those who are going to take Biology courses in college. I had AP Biology two years ago when I was still in high school. I am currently taking a Biology course in college and I STILL go to this book to get clarification on things that I might have forgotten or want to update myself on, or even to help me prepare for an exam which I actually am doing now with this book! This is a great book to have especially when all you want is a simple map of what is going on instead of a wordy overdone paragraph!

This book was helpful, it gets to the point and provides a summary of the need to know facts for the AP Biology Exam. However, it is not helpful in picky details, it's very helpful for review and pointing out small facts that are easily forgotten. The practice exams and set up is easy to follow and utilize.

I took the AP test last year and I recieved a 5
Honestly, I am the worse biology student out there.. I tried to learn the material but I am just not "biology-oriented" I can't do it.. I can learn math, chemitry just fine..just not biology...
So... I totally failed the class... I can't remember jack.. and I couldn't learn jack...
I borrowed this book from my friend and i spent about... 40 hours on it
I can't give a time in days.. because i might have spent random 10 min or 2 in random place...
actually I don't think I even spent 40 hours... maybe even less..

I just know I stayed up all night the night before the test studying and.. just cramming.. because that was all I could have done.. I really didn't know biology... and I am not exagerating at all...

So the next day when I took the test it was a breeze.... I was soooo surprised the topics in the book are EXACTLY the same topics tested.. it was unbelivable...
on the tests I took in the AP Biology class (regular one in school)... I usually get around 10-20 percent on the tests...
I was completely unbelievable.. during the actual ap test... I flew throught it... I only skipped about 5 questions.. and those of which I had sufficient time to go back and fill in... on the written portion.. I knew the answers to every single one...
I know.. this sounds like I'm making everything up.. but I'm not...
I honestly failed every single biology test I took, except 2... and I took about 50 all together
During the school year I had pretty much given up....
Then.. who would've known.. I crammed all the information from the book (according to the test break down in the book) in two days.. and I ended up with a 5
It's not just me who can't believe this... neither could my teacher.... yeah..lol....
Some of my friends who maintained a 80-90 percent test avergae in the class had a 4 on the test... I'm not sure what book they used to prep.. but.. heh.. wow.....

This book is a great review to use before tests, but not substitute the text book. It has all of the main information from the AP Text, but not all of it. The only downfall I've seen so far is that the labs are not quite in as much detail as I would like.

This book goes well with the Campbell 5th to 7th Edition Biology books, and helps me a ton when preparing for tests! THANK YOU Cliffs!

The book was delivered on time, in great condition. This is a great review book for the AP BIO exam. It has very concise review information, followed by sample miltiple choices questions. It reviews each of the 12 required labs, also followed by review questions. Finally, it provides 2 sample tests for students to take and practice for the exam.

I used this book as a review for tests in my AP Biology class last year and found it to be somewhat lacking. I thought that it would be a good choice to read this when I didn't have time to read the Campbell textbook. BUT when I did do this, the tests covered WAY more. The Cliffs notes seem to just skim the top layer.

Also, I found the graphics to be extremely rough. I'm a visual learner and the diagrams were just convoluted and messy.

While there are several organized charts (i.e. hormonal glands), I would reccomend the student study quide for Biology. This is made by the makers of the Campbell textbook. Each chapter--each section--is outlined for you so that you can review the key topics.

This book is great. I received a 5 on my AP test, and trust me, my teacher sucks. Phillip Pack offers concise, informative explanations that serve as good preview and review tools for your coursework. I recommend using this as a SUPPLEMENT, as sometimes it does not go into too much detail.

I swear my teacher reads this. Sometimes the lectures are so similar to the same chapter it's obvious.

This book is great. I received a 5 on my AP test, and trust me, my teacher sucks. Phillip Pack offers concise, informative explanations that serve as good preview and review tools for your coursework. I recommend using this as a SUPPLEMENT, as sometimes it does not go into too much detail.



I swear my teacher reads this. Sometimes the lectures are so similar to the same chapter it's obvious.

I found reading this book and answering its questions while covering the material in class to be incredibly helpful. The content is thorough, and it covered several topics that were never discussed in my class (which happened to turn up on the exam). Most importantly, this book is easy and entertaining to read. Buy it at the beginning of the year and let it guide you through your tests and quizzes as well as the exam. I owe my 5 to this book.

I bought this book and used it to prepare in the 3 weeks preceeding the exam. It was very useful in refreshing my memory on topics from earlier in the year that i was a little rusty on. In fact my score was much higher than I anticipated getting. I only have two complaints. The first is that the quizes and practice tests did not in any way, shape or form represent the type of questions on the actual AP exam. The other is the fact that this edition is from 2000 or 2001 and the newer edition didn't come out until July, two months AFTER the exam. I definately recomend the 3rd edition that came out in July 2007, I'm sure it will be a far better help.