<p>Ok so this is what I got.
Chem - 650 (studied my ass off w/ Barron's and a bunch of stuff I didn't have to know)
Math II - 650
US History - 580 (didn't study) </p>
<p>I need to retake ALL OF THESE. So I need some other books to study from, and I'm not satisfied with the Barron's I used for the first time. Any suggestions? I'm generally aiming for 720+ of Chem and USH, and a 750+ on math.</p>
<p>bump!
10char</p>
<p>US History: AMSCO, Spark Notes, Crash Course</p>
<p>Got me a 750 :)</p>
<p>19 views and one reply?
bump!</p>
<p>bump!..again.</p>
<p>Use sparknotes it you dont want to spend money.</p>
<p>Personally, I think the key is making sure you are studying for the actual test. How to do this? Do as many practice tests as you possibly can. Just get a bunch of different review books and do ALL of the tests. I actually just took the same tests this past June and got a 740, 760, and 790 respectively on chem, US, and math II. I cannot be of much help in prepping for chem b/c I didn’t do much (I was in AP and did all my studying then). However, for US, your 580 demonstrates that you don’t know your actual history yet. So the first thing you need to do is buy AMSCO and really memorize those facts. Unlike other history tests, the subject test is pretty much fact recall. If you want to work with better quizzes than the ones in AMSCO to check your knowledge as you read each AMSCO chapter (AMSCO quizzes aren’t very good), I recommend using [Kennedy</a> American Pageant 12e – ACE Practice Tests](<a href=“http://college.cengage.com/history/us/kennedy/am_pageant/12e/students/ace/index.html]Kennedy”>Kennedy American Pageant 12e -- ACE Practice Tests), these are the quizzes for the American Pageant textbook, which are all very good (I used these throughout the year in APUSH). Secondly, you need to buy a BUNCH of books and just do all of the tests. I think I did around 9 or so for US. I had the REM SAT US book, which I only used for practice tests, that I think had 6 (they were harder than the real thing, which was a good thing). I also had the 2 college board official tests, Princeton review, and a barrons. I do NOT recommend using these review books to learn content–they are much too general. However, once you have learn the content, do ALL the tests, and the facts will start to stick. Trust me, they repeat questions. Now for Math II, you got a 650, so you are starting out with a decent score. Personally, I skipped any content studying for this test and just learned form practice tests. My first question is, have you taken precalc yet? If not, that may explain some things. Second of all, are you programming your calculator? You are wasting time memorizing formulas–this is math after all, and collegeboard EXPECTS you to program (hence, they don’t clear calculators). I recommend putting all formulas in your calculator (personally, I don’t like programs, so on my Ti-89 I used notfolio and just put in different formula sheets…geometry, trig, probability, etc.). Also, if you are not already using a Ti-89, I high recommend it because it is a time saver. Ok, so for Math II, I did ~15 practice test. I have an old barrons reviewbook. GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS! This was the best prep I had. The book had 10 practice tests all of which were hard but covered questions that actually appeared on the test! These were soooo useful for me! I also had the official 2 college board tests, and Princeton review. I doubt they still make the old barrons book w/ 10 tests (today, barrons are more content based than test based), but ebay it and seriously try to get it! REM might have a good one too, but I personally didn’t use it. When you get things wrong, the key with math is to know why and fix. Also, make sure you save college board real tests for the end, because you can use them to get a REAL number of how you will likely do on the test. Finally, on math II, do NOT be afraid to skip. The curve is really in your favor, you can skip at least 15 on almost all tests and still break 700. That being said, all 3 of the tests you are working on actually have awesome curves, so seriously, don’t be afraid to skip. I hope that helped!</p>
<p>But really, summary of what I said, just do practice tests! Except for the US, where you do not know the content yet, just keep doing test after test! My first 2 subject tests I took (bio and math I), I only got in the mid-high 600s. This is because I focused too much on content! Do practice tests!!! It will work. Sparknotes/cliffnotes also have a bunch, personally, I am not a fan because they are not realistic at all and I hate doing things of the computer, but that’s just me!</p>
<p>Hope I helped somewhat :)</p>
<p>For U.S. History (i scored a 770 in two weeks of prep + decent teacher+ started with a 560 on practice tests)
Look at the Barron’s book. It is the most comprehensive (though it lacks notes) most especially for the tests (nearly everyone i spoke with in my school said there was a lot of overlap between those seven practice tests and the actual May exam) hence I used this book. Try to go through it chunk by chunk, but it’s REALLY REALLY REALLY important to take practice tests.
For ex my studying consisted of something like this:
Diagnostic Test, read some of book
Test 1, retake Test 1, read some of book
Test 2, retake Test 2, retake Test 1 BREAK
read some book
Test 3, retake test 3, retake test 2 BREAK
read some book
etc. until I got to Test 7
Then I moved on to CB tests from the CB blue book guide.
I took them both in the same manner.
When I finished taking the test I CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF REREADNG EXPLANATIONS and LOOKING UP EVENTS if necessary, or else they’ll never stick.
3 days pretest I was breaking 700. Only 2 days before (I believe it was thurs morning, i scored a 770 on my CB test). 1 day before I looked over q’s i got wrong and went to sleep. </p>
<p>On the June test, there were i think at least 5 questions that directly overlapped with the CB test q’s. Make sure you know and understand these thoroughly (they’re always good candidates). Buying CB tests is also another good idea. (I didn’t do that though I thought 11 tests were enough. I also liked the McGraw-Hill tests they were most realistic besides CB). </p>
<p>note: don’t be too discouraged with the Barron’s because… it’s a lot a lot harder than CB real tests. </p>
<p>or you could try cramming the AMSCO painfully for a long time like my friend. She did well though (790).</p>
<p>@xxLAJxx
Thanks!
I can really only afford 3 more review books, one of which is the 36 ACT, so really only 2 for subject tests. I have AMSCO and I used it for the APUSH, but by teacher was crappy so I did the book but never really got a chance to review it for the APUSH or the Subject Test. I had skipped 33 questions on the USH test, so my score was no suprise. I feel like I need to get another book to supplement the AMSCO though because I noticed some of the test content wasn’t in the book.
I also have the Barrons books for Math II and Chem. </p>
<p>Yes, I took pre-calc this past year and I have programed by calculator. It wasn’t the material on the test that I found hard at all; I ran out of time. I still had 13 questions blank when time as called. I found the Barrons practice tests to be too calculator-based, so I made the mistake of using my calculator too much on the test. </p>
<p>And for Chem, I’m having trouble with the math-based questions because I have trouble remembering what I need to do. It’s not the math itself; it’s just when and how to apply it. </p>
<p>@laughlaughalot
So what one book would you say is the best supplement to the AMSCO since I have that already?</p>
<p>Barron’s. 10char blah blah blah.</p>
<p>I actually got 800’s on those three tests, so let me share my two cents:</p>
<p>USH: I used AMSCO, Sparknotes, and Kaplan. I reviewed AMSCO once before the AP and read through it twice more the week before the exam (I’m a fast reader - a big blessing when it comes to cramming lol). Then I took the Sparknotes tests, which just helped me remember random facts when they keep coming up in those tests. Then I borrowed a Kaplan’s from one of my friends, because most people used that at my school. It was very good to read the night before, especially for the more recent (1950’s-current) stuff. The AMSCO is WAY too detailed.</p>
<p>In summary, review AMSCO for content, take free Sparknote tests (there are only 5, I think. The others are glitched versions of the first three.), and cram Kaplan’s. You already have AMSCO, Sparknotes is free, and you should be able to get Kaplan’s at the library or from a friend.</p>
<p>Math II: Actually, my mom’s a math teacher, and I’ve been doing algebra since I was like…4 or 5 years old lmao yes I’m asian 
But I still found Barron’s incredibly helpful. Do ALL of their practice tests, because there are like 8. The later ones get repetitive, but really they’re awesome. It also has really good review, assuming that you’ve already learned the material (use Princeton Review if you need to learn the information brand new. But then, I would strongly recommend that you wait until at least June of Junior year, when you will have hopefully learned most of the material.)</p>
<p>In summary, Barron’s is incredibly difficult (I never got higher than a 700 on those), but it really is a good workout if you don’t let it lower your self esteem. However, use princeton review if you need to actually learn the material. It’s phrased more easily.</p>
<p>Chem: Again…I took AP Chem, and my school’s chem department is AWESOME! So I didn’t really have much trouble. My teacher collects released practice exams, so I took 3 real ones and a few review book ones before the actual date. I actually never read a review book, so I can’t suggest any. I just used notes from my teacher, who can basically guarantee an 800 on the SAT II and a 5 on the AP if you listen to what he says (all 27 people in his class last year got a 5, and out of the 8 of us this year who took the SATs, 7 got 800s). However, if you want to PM me some questions, I can surely answer them for you!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!
I think I’m going to get PR for math because I was doing things on the calculator that I didn’t know how to do in writing, so I think it would be better for me that way.</p>