Hi guys! I’ve had major trouble on these SAT subject tests. I actually find them really diffult and not like what we learn at school. I took the SAT subject test for physics, chemistry, and biology all in May, but I got extremely bad scores haha.
May Science Subject tests:
Physics: 580
Chemistry: 720
Biology M: 660
I did do the Princeton Review for all of these… My AP teachers in these classes weren’t good. So it was all self-prep. I want to achieve my goal of ~800 in these. Any advice on books and websites? I want to start studying in the summer, to be more prepared for these tests in October.
Specific advice for each subject test would be really helpful!
My suggestion: lower expectations as it is extremely hard to get a perfect 800 on three already challenging test. I suggest picking ONE science and trying to raise it above 750. Then try other subject test in other subjects such as Math/history/literature to try to make your self seem “well rounded”.
@jman457 It’s actually extremely easy to get an 800, at least in Physics. All I had to do was memorize a bunch of formulas, reach some chapters out of the Barron’s book, and do a bunch of practice problems. Walking into the test, I was confident that I got an 800. If you’ve done your work, there’s no doubt you’ll get an 800.
I would agree with @jman457’s advice. Most people only submit 2 subject tests, some people submit 3. I would focus on one science like they said to do and possible a humanities test or a math level 2.
For biology, I got an 800 mainly using the PR book: I did all of the exercises at the ends of chapters and the practice tests. Bio can be a lot of memorization, but a lot of the test is also based on interpretation of graphs and studies, so it’s not too horrible. I know you’ve already done PR, so maybe get Barrons or something too
@jman457: I have friends who got B’s and even a C in those science classes, but still achieved an 800 on the respective subject test…so an 800 isn’t impossible. And never tell anyone to lower their expectations, because If you shoot for the moon, the worst that can happen is that you’ll land among the stars. Thankfully, studying for subject tests is fairly standard and rote regardless of what subject you plan to take. Get the Barrons book, read through it, take detailed notes, and practice from the tests given in the book. You can also find one free practice test of any subject test from the “Official SAT study guide for Subject Tests”. If you do all this and put the necessary amount of time required (I suggest you start studying now if you plan to take it in October), I guarantee you will get an 800. And tbh, if you happen to get 780 or 790 instead, no college is going to reject you for that so don’t sweat it and study with interest :). I personally learned so much more through studying for subject tests, and that helped me score higher since I vested some amount of interest in the subjects.
Thank you for the kind words 
@JuicyMango