<p>Hello everyone !
I prepped physics from Barron's for about 2 weeks and got 720 and 730 on the practice test ..
My question is that will my score be near to that on the actual college board test ??</p>
<p>Barron’s for physics in my opinion is easier than the real test (I know that sounds ridiculous, but PR is actually tougher than Barron’s for physics).</p>
<p>What about ‘Peterson’s SAT II Success Physics’ ?</p>
<p>How do those scores compare to the actual college board test?</p>
<p>I’m also preparing with Barron’s and had nearly the same points on practice test…</p>
<p>Peterson’s is a pretty good book, and the tests are solid. I have no clue about the accuracy. Try taking an official practice test.</p>
<p>I used Barron’s to study for the Physics test. My raw scores were 60.25 (barely 800) for the diagnostic test, 59 (~790) for practice test 1, 64.25 for PT2 and 67.5 for PT3 (comfortable 800). I got 800 on the actual test.</p>
<p>Was the actual test harder than Barron’s? Yes and no. The actual test covered some areas in more detail but the calculations were easier (I finished with plenty of time remaining). So IMO if you’re familiar with a lot of more advanced concepts or you’re struggling for time, you might score higher. If SAT II Physics is more advanced than your current syllabus you’ll probably score lower.</p>
<p>Are the peterson’s practice test harder than the actual sat??</p>
<p>@lostint - Congrats on the 800. I am using Barron’s and am scoring in a similar range to yours on the practice tests. I do feel at times that there’s something missing in Barron’s but there isn’t much time, and I don’t want to start getting freaked out by going over PR. I am occasionally using PR for a couple of concepts though. Anything else you’d suggest for the 800? I think I have a complete grasp of Barron’s.</p>
<p>@DarkEclipse Are the peterson’s practice test harder than the actual sat?? </p>
<p>I already said I have no idea about the accuracy of the tests. I have yet to give the actual test myself. </p>
<p>@dialga2014 - If you’re scoring in that range and occasionally using PR as well, I think you’ll be fine. I think one problem with Barron’s tests is that they don’t try to trick you. You usually only need to read a question once to know what concepts it’s testing and whether or not you can answer the question. </p>
<p>The test on the other hand might have some questions that aren’t so obvious at first. A question might test multiple concepts or have bits thrown in to throw you off. I was 100% confident that I could answer every single question, so my system was to answer a question at all costs before moving on to the next one. There were several times when I spent what felt like waaaay too much time on a question before realizing it was actually quite simple. It would have been easy to panic, start worrying about time and start leaving the harder questions blank even though that was something I’d never done before. I just looked at my watch, told myself I was still ahead of where I needed to be time-wise and stuck to my system.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that anyone should change their system so close to the exam. Just don’t beat yourself up because you had a few more ‘tubelight’ moments than you did on Barron’s tests. Losing confidence and momentum is far worse than having a gaping hole in your physics knowledge. Just stay calm and stick to your system.</p>
<p>Thanks @lostint Let’s hope I fare well.</p>
<p>Are the Sparknotes Physics Practice Tests still available? Can someone please post some links of previously administered SAT Physics papers (or maybe threads on questions from previous papers)? And yeah, I was also wondering if Petersons’ tests are like the actual SAT. The questions seem to be worded rather poorly.</p>