Hey everyone, I have a handful of handed-down Math 2 books, from 2013-2014.
I’m wondering if there have been any significant changes since then to the format of the test/types of questions asked?
Is it worth buying a new book?
(taking it June 3)
Thanks.
It’s not worth it. If you have taken precalculus or higher at honors level or higher you will be fine. It’s pretty simple to do well on it because you can miss 4 or 5 questions and still get a perfect score.
@ams355 I skipped pre-calculus, but have scored above 750 on a practice test so I guess that’s good enough
A 750 would be a raw score of 38 out of 50. An 800 is typically a raw score of 44 out of 50. If 750 is satisfactory to you, then you’re good-to-go. Personally, I’d prep my butt off for the next 10 days.
The tests are not updated regularly, so older prep books are generally fine.
If the book is a Princeton Review or Barron’s, you may want to get the official College Board math subject tests book because it has two actual released exams for practice.
@sushiritto Easier said than done, I’ve taken 8 tests this month and am tired as hell.
I got 8 wrong and that got me a 760. I just think these tests prove nothing if I am obviously excelling in calculus BC (they will tell from the 5 and from my grade in the class). Pre-calculus is not a very high-level math.
A 750 does not sound amazing, but I don’t think it will be a huge difference from an 800 in the eyes of admission at Harvard or any high level institution.
I do plan to take a practice test at least every other day, though. I’ll see where that gets me.
I never said it was easy. I was insinuating the exact opposite. My point to the OP was to prep your butt off, because it isn’t an easy test. The group of kids that take the Math 2 subject test are typically all very good at math, so the group is self-selective.
It’s a standardized test that colleges to compare kids from different areas of the country and world. That’s all. And if you’re excellent at BC, then you’re very smart. If you’ve taken 8 practice tests, and studied your mistakes, then I’ll bet you’ll get an 800. Good luck.
750 vs 800 is a difference in the eyes of the top STEM school like MIT, Cal Tech, CMU et. al. They will get a lot of applicants with 800 on both math sat and math 2 and a 5 on BC AP (note that APs are not used in the admissions process).
@theloniusmonk I can see that it would make a difference in those cases, yes. But plus or minus 50 points is how good or bad someone can get based on if they had a good or bad test day.
@sushiritto Alright, thanks for that! I will try to take a few tests yep.
The thing with math level 2 is that if you get a 800, colleges don’t know how many you got wrong, anywhere from zero to 7 or 8 I think. With a 750 they’ll pretty much how many. So if they’re thinking 1 or 2 wrong vs. 10 or 11, that’s not a good or bad testing day, that’s knowing the subject more.
@theloniusmonk that is very true, but they know that not every 800er likely did get a few wrong
You’re drastically overestimating the amount of time an AO looks at an application. No AO is going to overanalyze Subject Test scores.
^ Agree, thanks everyone for the help.
The test went well (don’t know how I scored yet though)
I just took 4 practice tests and that seemed to do it.
Is the online material on Collegeboard/Khan sufficient for practice? Other sources?
@ChattaChia If you are a good test taker and good at math, those sources should be enough. I would buy a Princeton review book, just in case though. It’s worth it for 15 bucks.
@AimingTop50 Ok, thanks, I will let my son know.
Do you mind sharing your score?And what school you go to for class of 2022?