<p>Hi, I'm a high school junior and I'm trying to figure out what SAT IIs I should take (or retake). So far, I've taken Bio (700) and Lit (670) SAT IIs. I'm also going to take Math II.</p>
<p>I'm hoping for three tests with 750+. I'm pretty sure I can improve Bio to 750+ and get Math II to 750+. However, I'm not a natural at Lit, and I've already studied as much as I can. If I'm lucky, I could retake for a 700. But this would be pretty low for some of the schools I might want to apply to.</p>
<p>This is the reason why I'm thinking of not pursuing the Lit SAT II anymore but finding another one. There is no way I could do history or languages. I took college Chem but I'm not very good at it. It would be really hard for me to study and it would take me a lot of time. So the only one left is physics. I've never taken a physics class in my entire life so I don't know if I would be good at it or not, but I think it would be really interesting to study.</p>
<p>My question is: Would I be able to self-study the Physics SAT II (using a prep book) in a reasonable amount of time?
I.e.:
-What kind of knowledge is it (conceptual, hard/easy to understand, math skills, memorization, etc.)
-Which prep book is best for someone like me who doesn't know anything about physics?
-Any tips in general? (Should I just settle for around a 700 in Lit. or see if I can do physics?)</p>
<p>One note: I'm very motivated and focused. I can learn things well by myself. But I don't have a lot of time, so the main thing I'm trying to do is find a subject test that wouldn't take me excessive amounts of time to get a 750+ in. I'm not really really smart, but I work hard.</p>
<p>Well, I just had this idea a few minutes ago (I had never considered it before). But I don’t really want to get a tutor. Not that I’m against it or anything, but: it’s too much money, I work better by myself, and I don’t have time to work with a tutor because I just want to direct my own study. However, my math teacher is good at physics so he could help me with any questions I had. Also, I could use the Internet as a study resource to search concepts I don’t understand.</p>
<p>Have you taken the Physics SAT II? Thanks for the reply, by the way :)</p>
<p>I can’t take Physics at CC because I don’t have the math prerequisites (although I’m not bad at math. I can learn it when I need to). And even if I did I don’t have time to take a class because I am doing a biology internship in the summe and I have too many other CC classes to take (I’m doing Bio right now). I really work best on my own (without a class) anyways. But I’m wondering if it’s possible to do this for physics because I don’t have experience with the subject.</p>
<p>It’s probably the most self-studyable of the three sciences (actually, haven’t seen bio so take that with a grain of salt). The problem lies in the fact that there’s a lot of conceptual stuff involved, so it depends on if you’re the type of student who can deal well with that.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I think it would be really, really hard to do…personally, I took a year of physics - not AP, but decently rigorous. However, it didn’t cover all the topics on the SATII, so I had to self-study, and even just self-studying those topics with a decent knowledge of physics was pretty hard. </p>
<p>I would either try Lit again (maybe prep a little?) or try to self-study chem since you have taken a pretty high level chem class before. I think reviewing chem might go better than learning physics, though I’m not saying it’s impossible to self-study physics. Difficult, though, IMO…</p>
<p>Yeah thanks for being honest, CA Dancer. I’m starting to think the same thing myself (that it would be easier to prep Chem than Physics).</p>
<p>But I already prepped a lot for Lit (read/memorized Barron’s, did all practice exercises, and took 17 practice tests total from different prep books) and it didn’t really help much. There’s nothing else I can do for Lit – so my plan is to just take the Lit a couple more times and see if by chance (and experience/wisdom of getting older) I can raise the 670 –> 700. I may study Chem over the summer as well.</p>
<p>I hope you don’t mind if I tag on. My son is also a junior. He is taking “conceptual physics” at a not very rigorous school, but he is doing better in that class than he has done in ANYTHING (he has a 3.0, but more than 100 percent in physics). I have told him to try a practice test to see if he’s in the ballpark, but will “conceptual” physics cover subject test stuff?</p>
<p>I honestly wouldn’t be able to take a physics test without taking the course on the subject, even if you had a tutor. It’s a lab science, even though it may not have as many labs as bio and chem. Without experiment I’d say many concepts are not easy to comprehend. </p>
<p>
I don’t think conceptual physics is good enough for SAT or AP physics. The tests cover a lot of calculation problems. You need to do many problems.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap: of course, his teacher is the best person to answer that question, but I doubt it. Conceptual physics is going to be very light on math, relative to…uh…un-conceptual physics.</p>
<p>And V’Nerd: do I understand you correctly? You’re talking about trying to teach yourself physics when you haven’t yet learned enough math to take a physics class? And you can’t do any number of things, including learn more math, because you’re pressed for time?</p>
<p>@Sikorsky: Yeah, my situation’s very unique. So thank you to everyone who gave me advice. I am planning to just try Lit and maybe Chem, and not Physics. I appreciate the sincere responses.</p>