<p>I self-studied APES this year and got a 5. I didn’t study that much either. I suggest you get Princeton Review for AP Environmental Science. It really has all the information you need to get a 5. Honestly I didn’t use a textbook and crammed solely with Princeton Review for about 2 weeks before the exam. I really didn’t use any other study guides and I found Princeton Review to be very helpful. Also AP environmental science test wasn’t too bad because a good amount of it is common sense that you learn or hear about from news, books, schools etc. I don’t know too much about Cliff’s for APES, but I do know it is great for AP Bio. But you can’t assume it is good for APES as well.I tried to use Barrons but Barrons was TOO LONG! Barron’s was more like a text-book. Similarly with 5 steps to a 5, I think both Barrons and 5 steps to a 5 OVER PREPARES you. If you memorize like every detail in Barron’s/5 Steps to a 5 you most likely can guarantee a 5( don’t quote me on that). If you have a lot of time and nothing else to do then go ahead and read through Barron’s or 5 steps. However I think those books have excess information, but like I said if you do use those books you can probably will get a 5. I just think that is too much effort to get a 5. IMO PR is concise and has everything you need to know to get a 5.</p>