<p>Hey guys, I was wondering what would be the best way to guarantee(lol) myself an 800 on the October SAT Math II exam. In terms of books or online material(ex: Sparknotes). I would consider myself pretty strong in math(780 SAT I Math which I'm still angry about) and I just finished AP Calc AB last year.</p>
<p>bump10char</p>
<p>I heard barrons is good for math 2. Sparknotes looks good too.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that in general Sparknotes is good for scoring in the 700s and Barrons is good for getting an 800.</p>
<p>thanks guys</p>
<p>Get a good calculator and learn to use it. I’d suggest the Casio FX-9860G - saved my life.</p>
<p>Took me from a potential low 700 to an 800.</p>
<p>I used Barron’s and got an 800. The tests in Barron’s are super hard; I was scoring in the low 700’s on them, so ignore the scores. Also, schoolisfun has a useful SAT II guide in the SAT preparation subforum in the sticky.</p>
<p>is the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition a decent calculator?</p>
<p>I have the Barron’s and PR books. Haven’t opened them yet though</p>
<p>Yes, the TI-84 silver plus is the calculator that I have and I love it. It is more than enough for the SAT II especially once you get to know it. It is also great for stats if you know how to use your calculator.</p>
<p>Like cheerios said, the TI-84 plus silver is the best, especially if you have had it for a long time, and you know how to use it very well.</p>
<p>Personally, I used the College Board SAT math subject test book, which has 2 real tests. I was easily scoring 800s when I started practicing, and so I’m not sure about good books for review, but I have also heard that Barron’s is very challenging, and can be good if you want an 800.</p>
<p>EDIT: Realized I read something incorrectly at first (:</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I also used the Collegeboard SAT math book. I recommend doing all the Barron’s tests and then the CB before the test to get a good idea of what you would actually score.</p>
<p>I think I have to disagree with the above posters.</p>
<p>Since you have such a long time until the next exam, I’d recommend purchasing a calculator with a CAS. You seem to be highly proficient in math judging by your scores (and the fact you took ap calc as a junior/soph?) so the best investment of your time would be to learn how to use a CAS calculator.</p>
<p>However, first take a practice exam and see if you even need any additional help. I found that sparknotes/barons tests were harder than the actual test, but a 700 on a barons test almost guarantees an 800 on the real thing.</p>
<p>I took AB as a junior, and I’m taking BC next year(AP Physics C as well).</p>
<p>I’m comfortable with my TI-84 as I’ve had it since 8th grade(almost 4 yrs) but I will take a look at some calculators with CAS. I plan on using sparknotes so yeah haha. I’ll probably order CB’s book soon as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys.</p>
<p>No problem! Always glad to help fellow CC’ers.</p>
<p>As others have said, use Barron’s–it is really good and really helped me out a lot.</p>
<p>i used pr and barrons for my 800 but i didn’t enjoy barrons. barrons has a reputation of teaching excess information. But if you want to score an 800, i recommend skimming pr’s review sections that aren’t covered in barrons, studying barrons, and taking practice exams from sparknotes, pr, and possibly barrons (but their tests are harder than the read test and don’t model the real exam that much)</p>
<p>Barron’s is unrealistically difficult, but I think it’s worth it. After using Barron’s, you feel a lot calmer while taking the actual test and you can work faster because you’re used to trying to cram all of the difficult Barron’s’ problems in an hour, so it’s a lot easier to solve the actual, much easier problems on the actual test.</p>
<p>Good.</p>
<p>I have Barron’s book and PR’s book currently.</p>
<p>Should I get CB’s official Math I/II book as well for practice immediately before the exam?</p>
<p>Only if you feel you really need it, but go w/ Barron’s and PR first.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks!</p>