I am taking the SAT on Nov. 3. I am taking the SAT Subject Tests in Math 2, Physics and World History on Dec. 5.
I am reasonably good at math but from what I’ve seen on the Barron’s book I really need to practice in order to become way faster. I need to review just some of the topics in the Barron’s book though.
Physics: I have to start almost from scratch. I have the Barron’s book.
World history: I did well on a practice test but I still need to learn many minor facts and details which can be asked on the real test. I have the Barron’s book which is huge and very detailed.
So do you think it is possible to study for these three subject tests in 2 months considering that I also have my regular honework, college applications and essays, SAT prep until early November?
I am aiming for:
750+ in math and physics
800 in world history
World History: I studied using every book (thoroughly read Barron’s) over the course of a few months, and got an 800. It was clearly overkill, but it gets the job done if you have never taken anything SAT (first time for me lol).
Math 2: I studied for about an hour a day using Barron’s for a month, and I could never finish their tests on time. I would usually end up with 10 or 15 left, and miss a few (2-5). On the official practice tests, I could always finish, and got 800’s both times. Today I finished with a bit of time left over, only skipped one, and anticipate an 800 (no guarantees though obviously).
Learn from Barron’s, but don’t get discouraged by the difficulty.
In theory, yes, you can prepare well for all three of them in two months even with school work and applications due; however, since, as you say, you’ll need to start Physics “almost from scratch”, I think it would be terribly difficult and wouldn’t be worth it. So, unless you absolutely need to have all three of the tests taken, I’d suggest you choose two of them, and get ready for those.
As for the prep, I cannot say anything about World History or Physics, but Barron’s book is the best thing there is for Math II, even though it has a ton of information that you’ll probably never need to use on the actual exam. I would, however, recommend at least skimming all of the topics, even the ones you think you know well, just because they have some formulas and tips that may be useful on the actual exam.
Thanks for the advice!
I didn’t really mean “from scratch”. I have covered most of the topics in the Barron’s book at school, yet I don’t know most of the " details": my physics classes at school are pretty superficial and we didn’t go as in-depth as the Subject test. So, on an absolute scale I don’t start from scratch, but on a SAT Physics scale, I do.