<p>Not to sound like a perfectionist, but ever since grade school I have always scored in the 99th percentile on tests. I just took the SAT II's in June and am ashamed of how poorly I did on the Physics test. I scored in the 23rd percentile. I received high A's in my honors physics class, and I swear this was not grade inflation. I had a great grasp of the content and am taking AP Physics this year. I took the SAT II's in the middle of finals, so I was pretty stressed out.</p>
<p>So...do you recommend that I study my a$$ off this summer and fall and take the physics test again? I plan on studying engineering, so I'm sure that this score will hurt me. I'm also going to take the Spanish, Math II and BioM tests this fall.</p>
<p>I've seriously never felt this dumb in my whole life.</p>
<p>EDIT: This is probably a dumb question, but is there anyway to "erase" this bad score? I will be sending my SAT score reports to some of the colleges I plan on applying to, and those that require SAT II's.</p>
<p>Nope, you can't cancel any SAT score once you've taken it hun :( </p>
<p>My best bet would be to study a ton this summer and retake it in the fall. If you show a drastic improvement, also balanced out by a presumably good ap phys/honors phys grade, you should be fine, and colleges will use this instead of your other score :)</p>
<p>Thanks. I am confident that I will receive an A in AP Physics. I'm also going to have my phsyics teacher write most of my recommendations, so hopefully my aptitude in her class will shine through in that.</p>
<p>Any recommendations for studying? Which books should I use?</p>
<p>er, I personally didn't take the physics SAT II (I took honors physics with the worst teacher in the universe; we did absolutely nothing but watch movies in class all day - I think the only thing I learned was the art of copying notes from other classmates to a perfection) but you can't go wrong with Barrons, as they usually overprep you a bit (but this almost always guarantees a 700+ if you study it well!) and I've heard PR is good too. </p>
<p>And also, a word of advice - IGNORE the SAT II percentiles. You'll have to remember that usually only the competitive schools use SAT IIs as a determining factor in the admissions process, so you have very intelligent applicants all over the world taking these exams (unlike the SAT I, which is required by most schools). It's no fault of yours that the percentiles look slightly skewed -- my best friend got an 790 in the SAT II Chinese but only landed something like a 72%tile or something, lol. So if you're looking to apply to a top college, anything in the 700s range will look fine, as long as your other stats match~!</p>
<p>Best of luck! :)</p>
<p>Exactly right ^ And yes, take our word on this: get Barron's. It's challenging but it's worth it.</p>