<p>D is trying to determine which SAT IIs to take in June. She plans to definitely take Math Level 2 SAT II. But she was informed that she should not attempt the Physics SAT II this June, but should wait until the end of her senior year when she will have completed H-AP Physics II. (She is a junior completing H-Physics I with an A average.) Is it true our kids are not prepared for the Physics SAT II at the end of their junior year? Did your son take this test and if so did he self study? Chemistry or Biology is probably more pertinent to her intended degree, but she took H-Chem I her sophomore year and will not take H-AP Chem II until she a senior. So Chem is not really fresh in her mind right now. (Without saying too much, most kids stay away from the AP Bio II class at our school.) Most likely, if she will have to self study, she might as well take the Chem SAT II rather than the Physics SAT II. I find this situation frustrating. Taking SAT IIs at the end of the senior year does not help kids applying ed/ea or even id.</p>
<p>Also, Rice requires a Writing SAT II. Does anyone know if this will change with the new SAT?</p>
<p>My son did not take SAT II physics. In between his 9-10 grade, he took Math IIc, and Chem II. At that time he wanted to be Chem. Engineer so had no interest in Physics (now it is electrical eng. so Physics would have helped him). At the end of his Jr year he took writing. With new SAT I do not know if the writing component will be required.</p>
<p>I have heard from few kids that when they go to college they have trouble in Physics. Only Rice can answer the writing question.</p>
<p>i took h/physics, and then took the physII sat2. i got a 760. :)</p>
<p>my study guide was 'barrons'...they go WAY more in depth with problems than the CB does w/ satii, but im pretty sure having exoerience with problems above the test level helped.</p>
<p>Thanks Simba and karthikkito. Looks like she'll have to self-study. I'm headed to amazon.com to order the Barron's study guide for Chem. I appreciate the tip re: study materials.</p>
<p>I thought that chem and physics were by far the most easy SAT's (flipping through the books)- although I am very biased because I'm a major science nerd, and I'm gonna major in physics. Chem seems like the least to study for.</p>
<p>Hopefully some insight if Chem is still being considered:
Chem is reputedly harder ('tho i didn't think so) than the other sciences to get an 800 on because ETS can test you on such a range. Self-studying should be no problem if your D is motivated enough though, laurensmom - I'm not particularly bright, and did well (800) Oct of senior year after studying for about 2 weeks (albeit at breakneck pace). I do IB, so only half of it had really been covered, but the thing is the Chem SAT II goes into very little depth so studying from Barrons was more than enough preparation. Rather, I found Barrons was ridiculously thorough and ended up skimming over Kaplan, which I found pretty good.</p>
<p>I'm afraid I have no exp with SAT Phys - but friends tell me it's a piece of cake...</p>
<p>S's physics teacher says S is the best physics student he has ever taught. However, S, a junior, is NOT in honors physics because it never crossed his mind to WANT to be! (at his old school he didn't like science all that much) I asked his teacher yesterday if S would be prepared to take SAT II in May. The teacher said absolutely not. The non-honors class will not have covered enough material by then. Even the honors kids don't tend to do that well on the Physics II test without some extensive prep, which is hard to do in May/June with all the other tests going on. This was a little bit of a wrench in the plan, because that means the only SAT IIs S can take in May are Lit and Math IIC. He can prep on his own for physics and take it in the fall- but I suspect he isn't going to be crazy about that idea.</p>
<p>I guess it would be harder for him to take the SAT II without an honors physics background- but studying for the physics SAT, especially if it comes naturally to you, is pretty simple. Also, if your son has an intuitive grasp of physics, he can probably create most of the equations in his head based on common sense, just knowing the relationships between certain things.</p>
<p>The easiest thing to do now would be to flip though an SAT II physics practice book and do slight reviewing, and then take a practice one. See how much studying he needs to do.</p>
<p>I'm sure S's teacher knows how ready his star student is ;) better than anyone on this board. Why do you worry about his taking it in the fall? That still leaves you 2 or 3 testing dates to meet the first apps, and if he studies diligently he may only need one.</p>
<p>The thing about the SAT II imath/sciences is that given a decent study guide and some decent amount of studying, there's really very little excuse not to do well. The tests tend to ask the same questions - notice how on the SAT 1, the math always asked a probability/permutation, a whole bunch of basic algebra, some ratio....if your S is as bright as he appears to be, he should be just fine...</p>
<p>MoWC - Sounds similar to our situation. D is in above-level (H) physics and her teacher doesn't think that course is enough prep for the SAT II either. But waiting until the end of senior year after completion of AP-Physics 2 as the teacher suggested is out of the question. D is interested in biology or chemistry undergrad work with med school intentions, so she will probably not take the Physics SAT II after all. She will self study Chem or Bio or both instead. And she may opt to take two SAT IIs (Writing/Math Level 2) in June and take Chem/Bio SAT IIs in the early fall. We just incorrectly thought Physics would be a no-brainer since she is currently in the class and doing so well. </p>
<p>Does Physics relate to your son's intended major? That was the deciding factor for us.</p>
<p>personally i think that the sat2 physics is low level enough (comparatively) that knowing the material for it would be good background for any college physics course (im assiming premeds are required at least one course in physics). :)</p>
<p>If you review thoroughly, and if you have been doing well in a relatively comprehensive Honors Physics class, there is no reason why you should not be able to get a 720 or above.</p>
<p>true karthikkito, but I'm not sure success in freshman Physics would be the main reason Physics SAT II scores are considered by an adcom. Rice asks that candidates submit three SAT IIs and specifies that one must be in writing and recommends two others in subject areas related to the proposed course of study. I assume these test scores are considered mainly for admissions purposes and most likely admissions to specific degree programs. I'm sure the SAT IIs are just a portion of what is considered in determining a candidate's suitability to a program; but this is why D will most likely take a Chem or Bio SAT II rather than Physics.</p>
<p>what i meant was that in studying for the sat2, the student would have a more in depth knowlege of physics, so freshman phys would come easier. i see what you mean about the department-specific admissions and how a more relevant sat2 would be more useful, however...probably a more important factor as well:).</p>
<p>physics SAT II is a pretty simple test and it has a nice curve. With only a few hours (roughly 10) of prep I got an 800, and had not had AP physics, that was going to start the next month. I liked the kaplan book, It seemed to give pretty accurate questions to the real one. Everyone else says kaplan was easy, so maybe I just got an easy test from ETS, who knows. I used princeton review a tad also.. but it seemed way to hard for a subject test, so I dropped it.</p>
<p>umm..</p>
<p>Someone up there said that the test is mostly equations... I dont think that is the case. I think it is more understanding the theory behind everything physical. I didnt study equations, although I know most of them. I just knew how to apply the theory to the questions asked.</p>
<p>How to study: Lots and lots of practice questions/tests... get used to the typed of questions they ask, kaplan is good for that, 3 or 4 practice tests right there. On the actual test I felt like I had done but 5 or 10 of the questions before.</p>
<p>Laurensmom, don't forget that there is no SATII writing anymore. That leaves you with Lit, which is supposed to be hard.
My concern with S taking the SAT II Physics in the fall is that he will be applying ED somewhere (as an athlete) and the whole testing thing will need to be completed. He can probably self-study in the early fall if he needs to.
No, he really doesn't have to have the science tests for an intended business major, but without the writing there, if you have to pick three SAT IIs, you are a little limited. (especially since he won't take a foreign language test- he had Latin III but doesn't remember much.....)</p>
<p>Thanks MoWC...I was wondering about the SAT II writing requirement. I've checked the Rice website and I haven't found any mention of their new admissions policy with respect to SAT IIs. I assumed Writing would no longer be required but....will they require Lit SAT II in lieu of Writing or will they allow candidates to select three SAT IIs of their choice? The choices do get a bit slim after you have removed Writing from consideration and have taken Lit and Math Level 2.</p>
<p>D will also apply EA or ED somewhere and I think we will have her take a couple SAT IIs in June and opt to self study over the summer for the third which she will take ASAP after school starts. Hopefully, we will meet application deadlines.</p>