bio self study?

<p>how does one self study for the SAT II biology??
i have not taken bio since freshman year, but im thinking about taking the test in November. I will be taking ap bio this upcoming year, but obviously i wont have finished the course by november.
Can anyone help me, personal experience, advice, prepbooks, etc etc
i'm interested in taking bio because of people's responses to my other thread:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/541357-i-need-another-test-two.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/541357-i-need-another-test-two.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>or if after looking at my other thread you think itd be better if id take another test, let me know</p>

<p>thanks!!</p>

<p>Um... You get yourself a study guide and go through it. What more is there to get advice for?</p>

<p>Same situation here, havnt taken bio since freshman year, and taking AP bio senior year. Gonna take bio E subject test (to decide which one, just do some practice questions on collegeboard.com)</p>

<p>All you really do is just review the material from prep books until you feel totally confident.
Ive heard sparknotes and barrons for SAT II Biology.</p>

<p>But im wondering, being in the same situation as stuydue, would Barrons AP Bio suffice for studying for SATII Bio??? So i dont have to buy two bio books??</p>

<p>Yeah, Barron's AP is fine.</p>

<p>i used Barron's and PR's SAT Bio books.
i had no previous knowledge of Biology except for an introductory course freshmen year. After about 2 weeks of hardcore studying i managed to pull off a 770 (97%ile)</p>

<p>Same situation here, havnt taken bio since freshman year, and taking AP bio senior year. Gonna take bio E subject test (to decide which one, just do some practice questions on collegeboard.com)</p>

<p>That's exactly my situation. I'm taking E in Nov.</p>

<p>I'm studying with Barrons and PR.</p>

<p>llpitch, TTWhite... we're all in the same boat haha
except you guys have a plan, and i dont... lol
i guess i'm going to study barron's first and then i'll move to another book</p>

<p>How much time does self-studying an entire subject test that im unfamiliar with for the most part take?? how many hours a day/week should i be devoting until november????
thanks</p>

<p>It is very possible. I took an honors biology course in my freshman year, then studied from PR's SAT Biology book May/June of Junior year and scored a 740 on Bio-E. It takes some hardcore studying (it's all memorization), but it can be done with diligence.</p>

<p>how does one do it though??
like how many hours per day should be spent?
sorry these may seem like naive questions but i've never self-studied anything before</p>

<p>
[quote]
like how many hours per day should be spent?

[/quote]

Do you really think there's some magic number or formula? Every person has a different biology background, different abilities, talents, ways of learning, resources, and motivation. You have to find what works for you. Look at all the material you need to get through, then set up a schedule based on your situation to get through it in time.</p>

<p>lol srry goldshadow i messed up on that question i obviously know there isnt any magic formula
i meant to ask what other people have done or are doing so i could compare my situation</p>

<p>I honestly would just get started semi-early and test the waters start reading a little maybe every other night or something. see how much you can absorb and get thru relative to time.
when you hit about 2 or 3 weeks before the test, i would be reviewing it a good bit (having already read whatever book once, taken a practice test).</p>

<p>I took world history test end of junior year after taking honors WH freshman year. read PR for like two weeks and got a 750.</p>

<p>**and does anyone else experienced with AP and SAT II BIO agree that Barrons AP bio will suffice for SAT II Bio??? </p>

<p>I want to make sure before I do it.</p>

<p>ttwhite thanks for actually anwering in a way i wanted someone to respond</p>

<p>im assuming that you're also taking bio?? if so, when?</p>

<p>Well I'm probably going to read both PR and Barrons twice, highlighting both. I'm also going to take all the tests in both books. I really want a high score lol.</p>

<p>Yeah I'm taking bioE and probably Math II, i'm not exactly sure when.
i'm doing the september ACT and october SAT, so maybe november, possibly december. I don't want to take it in december because that is kind of last minute.</p>

<p>The way I'm doing it:</p>

<p>October: SAT and ACT
November: BioE and Math2
December: SAT retake if necessary</p>

<p>similar schedule ^ :</p>

<p>October: SAT
November: Bio E/M
December: SAT retake if necessary</p>

<p>when do you guys think you'll begin the hardcore studying?</p>

<p>Well I've already started studying for SAT/ACT. I kind of flipped through both Bio books already. I'll probably start my Bio prep a month before to be safe. I really want 770+.</p>

<p>ya im thinking i'll start the day after the October 4th test date for bio studying because i too, want a 770+</p>

<p>I wanna 800 :P. I'll probably retake Bio in March.
tentative standardized test schedule (junior btw)
October: Chem
January: SAT I
March: Bio, USABO, and SAT retake if necessary
June: USH and Math II</p>

<p>I noticed how no one discussed what they did.
What I am doing with Chem and anhtimmy suggested to someone else:
1. I took textnotes from the Ebbing book, but maybe that's overkill cuz the Campbell book was really thick.
2. Find the corresponding chapters in the reviewbook (Barron's for chem and PR for Bio; I like Pr for their most realistic practice questions and for not being overly difficult). Read and take notes on anything you didn't know before.
3. Do questions. Highlight any questions you got wrong.
4. Repeat for every chapter of the review book.
5. Reread PR after you go through everything once. Do the questions
6. Repeat forever until you get everything right.
7. Take as many practice tests as possible.
8. For practice tests, someone on CC suggested doing them open notebook. That's actually what I do for math in school. Do it like that and use your notes when needed. highlight those. set it aside for later after you go through your inventory of practice tests.
9. After you're done doing them open notebook, repeat except without the notes.
10. Infinitely repeat until you have no wrong answers.</p>

<p>oops. I forgot to mention you should always add to your notes as you go along.</p>