<p>I know that Bio E focuses on Ecology, hence the E and that Bio M concentrates on Molecular. I've also heard that Bio E is easier than its counterpart the M, but do the colleges look favorably on either one over the other? Plus, can anyone tell me which one is easier to prepare for without the AP/Honors/Regular class? Otherwise known as not having the class.</p>
<p>M is much easier than E, but it also depends on your forte. Since M is easier, the same score in E will earn you a higher standing, and obviously a higher percentile.</p>
<p>Um.... without AP/Honors/Regular class, both are equally hard to prepare for.</p>
<p>Before taking any SAT II, you should at least complete the high school level class, because the SAT IIs are knowledge based, not logic based.</p>
<p>Colleges only look favorably upon one or the other depending on what you want to do. If you want to be a marine biologist, environmentalist, zoologist, etc. go for the bio E. If you want to be a biomedical researcher, physician, NCI (National Cancer Institute) scientist, etc. go for Bio M.</p>
<p>The point is, if your major looks at biology as an entire system on the planet, go for ecology. If your major is going to be mostly in a lab, go for molecular.</p>
<p>Thanks for the elucidation between Bio M and E. The situation is that I have taken Bio, but it was during the summer after my freshmen year and now I'm a rising junior. I still remember a couple of things, but certainly not enough to successfully take (which of course in CC standards) the SAT II Bio exam. Would it be necessary for me to read an entire Biology textbook?</p>
<p>no. Since you've already taken a course during the summer and remember a few things, instead of wasting time perusing through an entire textbook, skip to the questions to the end of each chapter (a lot of textbooks should have these) and do a few of them. Then you'll know if you need to reread that chapter or not.</p>
<p>I'm reading through Campbell's Biology as a review over the summer and doing some practice tests, then taking Bio M. in October.</p>
<p>first of all, no college is going to look at whether you took bio E or M and judge you based on that. i took bio M as a freshman, and i am probably going to apply as an environmental science major, but nobody is going to disapprove of the lack of direct correlation. at least not to a significant extent.</p>
<p>second of all, you really can't generalize about whether bio E or M is easier. my freshman year course was molecular-based, so my teacher told everyone to take the M test. the year before me, the M test was a LOT harder than E, and nobody got an 800, everybody did poorly, etc. for my year, M just happened to be a LOT easier than E, and everyone did really well.</p>
<p>when you begin the procedures after receiving your test booklet at the testing center, the form asks you whether you're going to take E or M. however, nobody checks whether you've decided yet. for my test, i just left it blank in the beginning. then, after i finished the 60 core questions, i browsed through the E and M questions and decided that M was easier, so i went back to the beginning and colored in the circle for M and copied the code in the boxes or whatever i had to do.</p>
<p>the point of all that: decide when you get your test. don't go in with a closed mind.</p>
<p>a close friend of mine was determined to take the E test because she did a lot better on E practice tests. when she began the E section at the actual test, she found it relatively difficult, so she did the M section instead.</p>
<p>therefore, don't focus your preparation on just E or M. they both account for a significant portion of the 60 core questions anyway.</p>
<p>it definiteyl is not necessary to read an entire textbook (especially not campbells!) just for the SAT II. the test prep companies (kaplan, barron's, and pr - in that order... that doesn't include rea, since it sucks) do a great job at reviewing all the material. the only problem with barron's - just in case you don't care to read the preface - is that it can also be used to prepare for other standardized tests in biology, including the new york regents exam thing. so it's uber comprehensive, including a whole chapter on infectious diseases and a whole page on the structure of the mouth. stuff like that is useless. so if you're going to use barron's, make sure you have a copy of Taking the SAT II: Subject Tests. it has an outline of all the topics covered on the test. if something in the barron's book isn't in the outline, it isn't in the test. also, another efficient way to identify excess information is to look at kaplan or pr. if a topic in barron's isn't in the other two books, it isn't on the test. unless if it's something minor like the structure of an eye being covered in text in kaplan, and supplemented with a diagram in barron's. in that case, KNOW the diagram of the eye, since the same topic is covered in kaplan. two years ago, they had to know the structure of the ear and label its parts. that's why nobody in my school got a perfect score in my school.</p>
<p>ending note: don't be afraid to use brute logic sometimes. for example, on my just over a year ago, the first three questions were based on a diagram of a grasshopper. everybody panicked because they hadn't studied that in their books. but the questions included "to which part of the body are the legs attached?" in that case, we could just look at the diagram and see they were attached to body part B or whatever. and "from which part of the body does this organism excrete its waste?" obviously it's the butt. people panicked further when they got a triplet in the first five or six questions on the test. of course, it was sketchy, but we really just had to trust ourselves.</p>
<p>LAST THING i promise. the SAT II is a LOT easier if you take ap bio. especially since you cram for the ap test a month before the june exam. then the last month can be dedicated to just reviewing what you did in early may. actually that goes for any ap that also has an SAT II (us history, physics, chem, world history, english lit, languages, bio). well, at least that's what i'm hoping for next spring (us and chem)!</p>
<p>feel free to ask me about any other questions about the bio SAT II. i'm still in love with it.</p>
<p>SAT II Bio is probably harder than AP Bio . . .</p>
<p>M is easier?</p>
<p>Is that the general consensus?</p>
<p>I made a 760 on E.</p>
<p>if you got a 760 on E, don't worry about taking it again, it's a good score</p>
<p>What exactly is on the SAT II Bio? Should I read through chapters pertaining to modern genetics and bioengineering, etc? Do I need to know about cellular communication via G-Proteins, Phosphorylation cascades, tyrosine-kinase receptors, etc? Also, about how much "history of evolution" is required for this exam?</p>
<p>campbell's is too much. don't use it for the SAT II.</p>
<p>in the Taking the SAT II: Subject Tests booklet, there's an outline of all the topics covered on the test.</p>
<p>Is there a link to it online?</p>
<p>Wow I look at the booklet and on one of the practice Biology question's answer is wrong? In question 12, where it asks to pick which graph corresponds to the graph of the flea's heartrates. It is clearly exponential, but the answer key states it is the linear graph which best fits the data??</p>
<p>Can you describe the graph in more detail? Perhaps they tried to fool the testtaker by having the x-axis in logarithmic scale but the y axis in linear scale, so that an exponential graph would actually be linear when both scales are adjusted to the same ratio?</p>
<p>Oh wow, it is linear, well almost anyway, with a small variation of y value each x increment. So yeah, I misread it. Sorry.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice guys! </p>
<p>Would it be wise to use the free online Sparknotes guide in conjunction with the Kaplan, PR, and Barron's guides?</p>
<p>I still think reading Campbell is the best. After all, we don't take tests for the sake of taking tests, rather we do it to gain knowledge, right?</p>
<p>Yeah, reading through Campbell's also prepares you well for the AP exam, especially if you have already taken a Bio class. I am reading through campbell's once for SAT II, reviewing with PR/Online Sparknotes. I plan to later take the AP exam in May.</p>
<p>btw, does Bio AP require you to memorize like all of the enzymes, etc?</p>
<p>sparknotes is alright. in terms of comprehensiveness, from least to greatest, i'd say sparknotes --> princeton review --> barron's --> kaplan. barron's LOOKS comprehensive, but half of it is extraneous information (who cares when earth day is?!).</p>
<p>okay in terms of practice tests...
SPARKNOTES - pretty good. i wouldn't buy the 5 more book, though. just go to your local bookstore five times.
PRINCETON REVIEW - crazy hard! i kept getting like 700's on their practice tests, but i got an 800 on the actual one. a bunch of my friends said the same thing, and scored in the upper 700's. although one person got high 700's on their pr practice tests but a 670 on the actual one. hm...
BARRON'S - ehh ignore questions that test you on extraneous information. although it probably isn't worth the effort. i'd say just answer questions that seem relevant to the outline in the Taking booklet, but don't waste your time converting your score so you can find out your scaled score or whatever. the questions that are relevant are good, though.
KAPLAN - crazy hard! one of the first three questions in one of the tests asks you about something which isn't even in the book! i actually emailed kaplan about this and never received a response. anyway, don't fret if you get 650's on these test :P.
REA - uhh their questions are the worst i've ever seen. don't bother.</p>