<p>Which one should I take for the SAT 2.............World History OR US History? What is the difference between them? Which is easier to learn and get a high score of ?</p>
<p>World history is world history, and well, US history is US history. I would say both are equally hard. I personally would prefer US history because I'm more interested in learning about the history of the country that I lived and grew up in. But that's me.</p>
<p>Which one you take doesn't matter too much, all colleges will see it as a history test</p>
<p>to clarify my previous state, colleges won't really differentiate a 750 world history SAT II or a 750 on the US Hist. SAT II</p>
<p>I'm also trying to decide between the two right now. (Looking to transfer, taking tests for first time.) I'm a Medieval Studies/Comparative Lit major, so part of me thinks I should take World History because it pertains to one of my majors, but I've already taken Western Civ I at the college level and gotten an A-. U.S. History might help show talent in multiple areas. Can't decide. :/</p>
<p>I've taken both, and I would definitely say that World History is harder. I studied extremely hard, everyday, for maybe an hour or so each day for a month, took like 20 practice tests, reread my entire world history textbook, etc. and I got a 790, which I am quite happy with. But considering how much effort I put into studying, I was a little surprised I didn't get an 800(not that I'm not happy with a 790, believe me!) Plus, World History at my HS is a two year, in depth course. </p>
<p>The questions were really random and specific, I had to memorize random facts like that the Mongols had the finest postal service system of their age...</p>
<p>But for the U.S. History test, I studied at most an hour or two the night before, I basically relied on everything I learned in APUSH, and I got an 800! </p>
<p>So according to my experience, WH is definitely the harder test. You have to put a lot more studying in in order to get an 800.</p>
<p>Wraider excellent post (my decision is made up for U.S.). Also note that they only offer the World History test either once or a twice a year on rarified test dates if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>If it's that much harder, wouldn't a 650 on WH be a little more impressive than a 750 on U.S. History? I tend to think I'll end up taking both, even though I don't really want to.</p>
<p>Also, the World History test is only offered in December and June. U.S. History is offered on each testing date.</p>
<p>wraider:</p>
<p>perhaps your 2-yr WH in-depth course wasn't as strong as you originally thought.... My S, who only took AP Euro, scored a 790 on WH without any review at all (the lack of review scared the crap outta me, but it worked for HIM).</p>
<p>^^^
That could be true as well. </p>
<p>According to the College Board score report, though, the World History test has the lowest mean score of all the subject tests(578). </p>
<p>United States History has a mean score of 603.</p>
<p>BTW- would colleges want both history tests? History is my best subject and if you look at my transcript you'll see it's definitely loaded with social sciences courses. I usually have two(and sometimes three) social studies majors in my schedule My GC told me to take tests in subjects where I'm strong in, so I took both(but I do have other test scores in other subjects). Is that okay?</p>
<p>colleges like to see tests in different disciplines. But, very high scores (750+) never hurt. :)</p>
<p>btw: I would suggest that comparing mean test scores for WH and US is misleading, since many kids take the US Hist test after taking APUSH. Also, at least in our state, few schools that I know of even offer AP World</p>
<p>^^^ I live in Northern California, and no schools in our district offer AP World History. Weird... APUSH is just a lot more popular for some reason!</p>
<p>Well, it really depends on your individual strengths and - I hate to say it - which date you took the test. It really could make the difference of 20-30 points. If I'd taken Bio exactly one year earlier, I wouldn't have gotten an 800, since they had to know individual structures in the eye, which nobody studied!</p>
<p>One of my friends barely studied for World History and got an 800. Another friend and I went through all the questions in the bulletin (which, at least for Bio, really are indicative of how you do on the actual exam) one night and answered almost all of them very easily.</p>
<p>wraider - your world history courses may have been comprehensive, but they may not have catered exactly to what the Collegeboard puts in the SAT II curriculum.</p>
<p>US history is pretty standard since its progression is clear, major events and eras are well known, and it's a shorter time period, so classes do a better job of preparing students for it. However, I bet the Collegeboard tries to work around this by asking for extra details and such. Still, a comprehensive class would do.</p>
<p>World history, on the other hand, covers thousands of years in various areas of the world and can be approached in many different ways. That's why my friend who scored an 800 said all it took was understanding basic causality and attitude. The British and the French were involved in the French and Indian War, so the French helped the Americans at Yorktown, so Britain was bitter towards France. However, I could imagine the difficult (level 5) questions asking for details.</p>
<p>I'd suggest looking at Taking the SAT Subject Tests bulletin, trying the sample questions, and determining which test is right for you.</p>
<p>sac:</p>
<p>US Hist is a HS grad requirement in Calif, so it makes sense that AP is preferred by districts.</p>
<p>Yep. </p>
<p>In our high school, all students are required to take United States History in order to graduate. </p>
<p>Usually the history courses a student will take in our school are:
Freshman year- World History(up to about French Revolution)
Sophomore year- Modern World History
Junior Year- United States History(also option of taking Russian + East Asian history)
Senior Year- either Psychology, Sociology, Econ Theory, Poli Sci or none.</p>
<p>How about the curve? Which is better?</p>
<p>Bluebayou, yeah I forgot about the standards. It makes sense. Still, in my district World History is a graduation requirement as well, and yet we still don't offer the AP course.</p>
<p>I can't speak for the SAT II USH test, as I have not taken it, but I found the SAT II WH to be extremely easy. I did not review at all for it, as I had just finished AP World at my school. There was something like 10 kids in my class that took the test. Six of us got 800's (with little or no review) (including me), 1 got a 710, one got a 730, 1 got a 780, and another a 760.</p>
<p>Is it necessary to take both? Would it look good or look obsessive?</p>