<p>Hi! I just took a practice test from REAL SAT IIs book for US History and only got a 730. I took the actual test last year but did not do well, so I wanted to retake it. So far, I've read the SparkNotes review summary, are there any other good prep books? Like did anyone get really high scores using another prep book? Also, after reading through SparkNotes, I thought I got all the facts pretty much, but when taking the test, I still had many ambiguities.. the test had many really general questions, or questions that are so specific or eccentric that I've never read about them. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on how to tackle those.. Thanks!</p>
<p>check out the Amsco review book. It's technically for the AP exam, but it provides a great comprehensive overview of American history that's useful for the SATII as well. I used it for both and got 5/800. Good luck!</p>
<p>did better than me..... I got a 5/760 LOL Amsco is great though!</p>
<p>I used Cracking the AP U.S. History Exam by Princeton Review and it worked wonders. It has a nifty little section that covers all of the important events in American History and tells you about them. It is all divided into different periods so it is really handy. This is all i used to study and I got a five on the a.p. history and a 800 on the sat II.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, for the advice!</p>
<p>I still have a question though..
Some of the questions either require you to know pretty much everything about an event or to know generalizations about a whole era.. How should I deal with those? For example, there was a great awakening question that required you to know what it did, who it affected, what were the ideas, why it started...like really specific stuff. I really need help on getting the hang of those sat ii questions.. </p>
<p>Please, please let me know.
Thanks!</p>
<p>If you take enough of these practice tests you will realize that their will always be certain question asked in the same way. For example when studying for the AP history test I took about twenty or so practice exams. Every single one had a question on Brown Vs. Board, the Silent Spring, the Great Awakening, the Halfway Covenent, The articles of confederation, the Proclomation of 1763, and the Saco Vanzeti case (i know i butchered the spelling on the last one). You are going to have to know what these are. THere are no shortcuts for specific questions like this. On the other hand if you get something on say FDR's depression era policies you can usually use process of elimination. Don't be afraid to leave something blank. I think that I left something like eight blank on the SAT II u.s. history and i still got an 800. You will always get something obscure that you won't remember. The second to last question on AP history asked about a writer from the nineteenth century. I only got it because they had just talked about it on CSI the night beforehand. Things like the Gilded Age that did not matter they don't really ask about them on the multipe choice. Just study the huge events and know them and you should be fine. Also study up on the Civil rights and Women's rights because ETS loves those. Good Luck.</p>
<p>What is the best book to use for one who currently knows nothing about US history? Well i'm an international student and i'm hoping to get above 750, willing to self-study.</p>
<p>bluesapphire,
why don't u try World History, I'm an international student too and right now i'm self-studying for it with Kaplan. It is hard but u know...practice makes perfect :) </p>
<p>PS: u may find it easier than the US history test who knows :)</p>
<p>Martin,
hey, thanks, that might be a better thing to do. How do you find the kaplan book? Will it take long to finish the whole book? In other words, is there a lot to study?</p>
<p>well, if u have studied history in ur high-school i don't think it will be so difficult. U just have to review the stuff and memorize some concepts which u haven't covered in ur high-school history course. I bought "Kaplan SAT II: World Hisotry" about a month ago and I am studying for about 3-4 hours per day; up to this moment I have learnt 27 chapters out of 30 :)</p>
<p>to sum up approximately 1 month will be enough to cover the whole book. it depends on your pace.</p>
<p>PS: But there is something important u have to know. World History test is administered only 2 times per year - december (december 3rd) and June. So, u can use this test only for regular admission, since ur results won't be out for EA/ED.</p>
<p>Hey Martin, thanks a lot! You're a great help!</p>