<p>I'm a junior next year and im taking the bio ecology subject test in october.. ive already taken the test in june.. but i got a pretty low score: 660.. i actually thought i would do good because i studied both the barrons and the princeton review study book. but i guess i didnt study hard enough.. im aiming for a 750+.. are the barrons and princeton the best review books? or should i be studying with the kaplan? any suggestions? or should i be studying the test in a specific way? any tips in studying please? thank you</p>
<p>Cliffs AP is the key to this exam. This test is really really weird and sometimes isn't even biology - it's more like looking at pictures drawn by a first grader and analyzing them. Anyways, I used Cliffs AP to study for AP Bio (5) and for SAT II (800), so I guess it's pretty good. I'd say that a bunch of people could back up Cliffs. In short, it's absolutely amazing.</p>
<p>was cliffnotes really the best to study? also.. im not sure if i should take eco or molecular.. cuz i think eco is a bit easier but i heard molecular has a better curve. also.. do u think im ready for ap bio if i studied the sat ii</p>
<p>I took the bio sat II m so maybe I'm out of place saying that I felt barrons has everything you need to score over a 750. I didn't read the ecology section in great detail becuase I knew I would take molecular and I ended up with a 790. I also heard that PR had some of the exact same question on their practice tests as the actual sat II so I wouldnt be a bad idea to take those tests right before you take the actual one. But I'm sure cliffnotes is also capable of helping you get over a 750 as well
Good luck!</p>
<p>did any of u guys use a specific study plan? or was just.. take practice test and review? did u guys study for a long time? shood drewsky92 be studying hardcore?</p>
<p>I didn't really have a plan. I just read the Barrons book straight through a couple of times and took the lttle mini quizzes at the end of each chapter, because those actually help. Then after taking any practice tests, regardless of the review book, I would check over the questions I got wrong, which also helped because many of the questions on those practice tests are recycled or just reworded on the actual test.</p>
<p>i used PR and sparknotes...800 :)</p>
<p>how long did you guys study for this??</p>
<p>i studied a month.. but it was around finals week and **** so it was hard for me to find time to study.. :-/ and nvm i got 690**</p>
<p>i just read the barrons book also. the questions are always gonna be harder than the actual test. So just read through ONE review book. No point in buying 5 and reading the same material over and over again. Pick one, that you will actually spend time reading, and will REFRESH your memory. If you are learning half of the stuff from the book, you arent ready to take it. So go to the book store, take a few books out, just read through them, and see which one suits you.
and study time....hm it depends, if your screwing around, i would say 3 hours a day, but if you start in sept, an hour a day is fine.
you dont have to study hardcore, because thats stupid. How much information do you think they can shove into 80 questions?</p>
<p>I have to disagree with han. You shouldn't just read one review book - because at that point you're completely relying upon the information of one company/author. </p>
<p>My personal plan was way overkill, so do not do this, well maybe not all of it.
I did USABO and made semi, and that involved me reading Campbells (note that I haven't taken AP bio yet). So my plan began two weeks prior to the June test, where I began to reread Campbells >.< Then maybe 5 days prior, I took a practice test, and began to read the review material. I read Barrons/PR/Sparknotes, and took 2 Barrons tests, and 2 PR tests. Then the night before, I took the real CB test. </p>
<p>Its definitely best to diversify your study material and not "put all your eggs in one basket." Luckily I did, because if I had JUST looked at Barrons, the June Bio M test wouldve been harder than it needed to be. In case you haven't heard - that test copied at least 3 questions verbatim from the PR practice tests, and copied 2-3 labs (with different data, but same setups). I got an 800.</p>
<p>So moral of the story - dont read 1250 pages of campbells for the bio sat 2 lol.</p>
<p>yes. i agree with echelon. </p>
<p>don't read just one book. I have to say, princeton review is way better than barrons for biology. you get a lot more information. </p>
<p>i say..read the chapters that correspond with each other together. for example, I read the molecular part of barrons, and compared it to the molecular part in PR, and went through each section like that, until i ditched barrons half way through, but i still got an 800.</p>
<p>i think the best way to study is, do as many practice test as you can. ..but don't judge your scores on it. of all my practice tests, my highest was a 760-cb test, and my lowest was a 690-kaplan and 2nd PR test. while all other tests are 730s.</p>
<p>I used PR and I tought it was great. I was so happy when I saw some of the same exact practice questions on the actual test. I only started studying like 2 weeks before. I probably would have done better if I started before but whatever. I took E.</p>
<p>so did u guys study like two hours every day for a month?</p>
<p>...........sup</p>
<p>arcadehj2000 is a faggat</p>
<p>Did you all have AP bio? or can you take after Honors bio?</p>
<p>drewsky92:
660 is not low! I took it in May. I self-studied b/c my high school is not really efficient & my teacher knew absolutely NOTHING. I also self-studied for AP Biology & got a 5.
The test itself is not very hard, you just need practice w/the trick questions. I got 800 but I know that I didn't get everything right. There were quite a few trick questions, & I figured them out right after the test (I took E, by the way). Ecology is definitely trickier, some say it's easier (like me), but there are more tricks & ways to get around them.
Sorry this is so long!
I used AP prep books, but you really don't need to. There are some questions that you can figure out w/pure logic - but if you want to make the test go more smoothly, I'd recommend Cliffs. (Barron's is also good, but there is a lot of superfluous info.)
I hope this helps - good luck!:)</p>
<p>wen are u guys going to start studying for the upcoming test</p>
<p>I used PR then Barron.
read over PR twice, this will get all the essential information you need.
afterwards, expand your knowledge with Barrons.</p>
<p>I have compiled a study guide that combines both PR and Barrons.
I'll upload after i get home ~is in class~</p>
<p>this helped me get a 770</p>