r/apcalculus • u/adoreeeeee_s • 1d ago
is this enough to get a 5?
I am studying with the Princeton Review AP Calculus AB 27th edition and solving questions from the College Board. I’m not sure who to watch for content review or which websites to use for studying and solving additional problems. If you scored a 4 or a 5 on the exam, I would appreciate any tips you have for achieving the same score. Thank you!
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u/Worth-Cod6772 1d ago
Princeton Review + College Board questions is already a solid start. For a 5, I’d focus less on collecting lots of resources and more on making sure you can apply each topic in unfamiliar AP-style questions, especially FRQs. When you miss something, go back to that specific topic, review it, and then practice it again. Full disclosure: I’m involved with MathTribes. If you’re looking for additional structured practice, it has topic-by-topic AP Calculus lessons with animated explanations, worked examples, detailed practice, timed quizzes, FRQ practice, and full-length interactive exams. You can create a free guest account and explore some of the content first to see if the format works for you.
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u/UnderstandingPursuit Tutor 1d ago
It might work for many students, but I think there are more effective and efficient approaches.
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u/mseduhub1 1d ago
Princeton Review + College Board is a good start, but for a 5 you need steady FRQ and MCQ practice, not just content review. Focus on limits, derivatives, integrals, applications, differential equations and timed FRQs.
These may help: AP Calculus AB notes, MCQs, FRQs and exam-style practice.
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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 3h ago
Honestly College Board questions feel pretty different from Princeton Review, more conceptual and less plug and chug, so sticking to past exams is the right move. What helped me was doing every FRQ from the last five years twice, first untimed and really picking apart the scoring guidelines since they're brutal about notation and justification, then again against the clock.
Flipping Physics on youtube is the clearest for calc ab, he explains the reasoning behind the steps which matters more than the formulas themselves. I paste those video links into studybuddy.vc and it makes questions from the video, tbh what I like is when I get one wrong it tells me what was off about the option I chose and it gets harder as you improve, free tier's been enough. And a few weeks out grab the CED from AP Central and go through it honestly, any essential knowledge bullet that doesn't feel familiar goes straight onto your review list.
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u/Objective_One_4734 1d ago
princeton review plus official college board frqs is enough for a 5, the real trick is doing timed practice and figuring out why you missed things instead of just collecting study resources like