SAT II World History: December 2007

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I'm taking the SAT II world history in December, and I just took a Barron's Practice test and got balled with what translated to a 680. Any tips on how to prepare for the SAT II World History? I have the Collegeboard Blue Book tests too but haven't looked at them yet. The Barron's test seemed to freaking detailed, like one question about the social nature of bronze in 500 B.C. in China....holy crap. Is the real SAT II World History this hard? </p>

<p>I'm aiming for a 800, since I'm pretty good in history (5's in the AP history's ive taken along with generally straight A averages too) so could any people who have owned this monster or are going to face it as well, tell me how to prepare for it in the next few weeks?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I'm pretty good in History too, I got scared by some specific questions, so I decided the only reasonable thing to do (WH is such a broad subject) is read a complete WH book. That's a lot of work, but, damn, an 800 should be impressive, plus i hear the curve is friendly. Anyway, that's my plan, I just hope I can complete my reading. I also bought the Kaplan booklet and will take the practice tests after I finish my extensive reading. </p>

<p>I guess a smart approach is concentrating on those cultures you don't know much about. I've got Europe and America covered in any time period. However, African and Asian cultures are distant and different than my own. I'll try focusing more on India, China, and African Kingdoms since I fairly know Europe's Middle Ages or the Renaissance, for example.</p>

<p>Good luck !</p>

<p>Holy....crap. i commend you guys for taking World History. That was such a brutal class, and such a brutal AP test. The questions were liek compare rome in so and so date to the ming dynasty in china.</p>

<p>^ yep, exactly those kind of questions...even those are usually on the easier side (it really gets hard when they ask about the development of literature and trade between indigenous people in indonesia >_<)</p>

<p>well u guys probably had good teachers. My teachers? Went in the most random order, and all we did in class was go through like 30 slides of notes every day lol. Hated it. But honestly, i have no idea how u should prepare. Too many eras, too many regions.</p>

<p>How about the beautiful question about an image collegeboard gives you in the subject tests official guide, the .pdf available at CB's website that has typical questions of every SAT II test.</p>

<p>They show you an image (I think it was a print) made by some civilization. The possible answers range from Central Asia to Africa. The only way to find the answer, I guess, is to stare into it and think, "do these people look Chinese or African?" Anyway, that's a tough question, too tough in my opinion. That's why I'm counting on the curve. How merciful is it ?</p>

<p>P.S My WH teacher sucked. He is one of the worst teachers I ever encountered.</p>

<p>According to the CB Book you can get 15 wrong and still get an 800, showing how apparently almost no one completely aces all of this lol</p>

<p>Just read Barron's. The test isn't too hard and you've already said you've gotten a 5 on an AP history class + you're a good student. </p>

<p>The images questions are usually gimmees also lol..</p>

<p>D/D (10th grader) is thinking of taking the SATII WH later this year after she completes her second year of World History in school. She will also take the AP-WH exam this year (no AP WH offered in school but her honors classes have been very tough and kids tend to do well on the AP-WH in her school). </p>

<p>My questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What books (other than Barron's) did you guys read for WH? Any textbooks to recommend?</p></li>
<li><p>She will be doing AP-USH next year. She could also take SATII USH at that time. Is the SATII USH an easier exam to get an 800 on?</p></li>
<li><p>Do the two exams- AP-WH and SATII WH- differ in their emphasis (eg more recent vs ancient history, or european vs eastern history, etc).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck to all taking the test next month, and please write back to say how it went!</p>

<p>hey danielcarp, which book are you reading?</p>

<p>ive been using the barrons ap world history flashcards to remember important details.
jumping around instead of going through the information chronologically simulates the format of the actual test.
so far, they seem to be pretty helpful.</p>