<p>how do you get an 800?
i started reading Priceton's Review 2007-2008 and
im also goind to start with Barron's 2007-2008 soon.</p>
<p>If i know everything from PR and Barron's,
will i score 800? =D</p>
<p>I got an 800 on the SAT ii bio. I think that, yes, if you do know EVERYTHING from Barron’s and PR, you will get an 800 unless you are very unlucky. Occasionally there will be 1-2 questions on the test that were not covered in either book (this happened to me in my testing, and I happened not to know the answer.) However, the curve to get an 800 is usually about -3 = 800. So if you really don’t make any careless mistakes, you can still get an 800 even if you come across those 1 or 2 rogue questions. However, you should do a lot of practice from prep books if you haven’t taken a good bio course yet in school. You can see that there is not much wiggle space like there is for sat ii physics, so it comes down to a bit of luck too.</p>
<p>I studied mostly from Barron’s (although I’ve used PR bio somewhat). The info in there is truly really, really condensed. You can’t read that book like you read a fiction novel. You can’t even read it like you read a history textbook. There is some information for you to memorize in basically every sentence, because the writers have crammed an entire course into a hundred pages or so. Study the book very closely, and do the practice questions at the end of each section, make sure you understand why if you get them wrong. Also, don’t skip over the diagrams. You will probably need to do something diagram-related on the test, so make sure you remember what things <em>look</em> like and how to identify them.</p>
<p>i’ll be taking bio either in mid 2008 or mid 2009 (go lots of time, will be applying to class of 2014). </p>
<p>but i’ll be starting my prep. which would be a better choice e/m?
i’m quite proficient already in cellular biology and molecular genetics, which is read at a high level here, but i haven’t touched a single prep book. where should i start? barrons, pr, kaplan?</p>
<p>i also study for hs course from cambell/reece biology 7th ed.</p>
<p>@goingforcolumbia: I so think that you should take Bio M although I am taking E because everyone on CC seems to take M anyways…</p>
<p>You should start with PR: it’s simple but concise. Barrons should naturally follow, and Kaplan sucks so yeah I can’t recommend that.</p>
<p>I’ll probably do M but I’ve got something like 1.5 years (assuming I do it in Jun 2009 instead of Jun 2008, which I’ll probably do to coincide with my AP Bio test). So maybe I’ll get a PR from the local library (slightly outdated copy though, is tt fine?). </p>
<p>@Vandan: I’m just curious, are you taking e BECAUSE everyone on CC is doing M or are you taking e AND everyone else on cc is doing M. it seems rather funny that you decide your test based on everyone else’s choice. you should do what you’re proficient at.</p>
<p>@goingforcolumbia: I’m taking E because everyone else takes M. But it doesn’t matter because both are fun :)</p>
<p>And I normally don’t decide what test I’m taking on whether it is popular or not; it all depends on whether I like the subject.</p>
<p>I personally think M is better since you’ve studied more on that. (And also I just like it better because I got an 800 on M. But aside from personal experience, my friends who took M scored higher than those who took E.) I studied mostly from my textbook and my AP book, so I don’t really know about SAT II prep books, but I think you should start with Princeton Review. And slightly outdated should be fine unless there’s a huge change in the test.</p>
<p>@Squirrel_Monkey: may i ask what is your default textbook and Ap book for bio?</p>
<p>ballin!!!</p>
<p>hi…just wanted 2 noe if anyone can give examples of the ques wich have cum on SAT2 bio n were not in any of the preparation buks?? sum1 hu has experience of such ques…i wud b glad 2 get sum help. i wanna be kinda prepared 4 it…
thnks!!!</p>
<p>in my experience, i have not seen any type of question that has not been covered by either the practice books or released SATII bio tests. (except maybe having to know that birds dont have teeth) </p>
<p>& for E vs M test, its basically preference. and you get to look at both tests before you decide anyway. for M, youd have to be more comfortable with ID molecules, bonds, etc and for E its stuff like conditioning & biomes.
i took M b/c my ap bio class turned into a biochem class since our teacher was a chem person & we didnt have time for eco since its so late in the book.</p>
<p>practice makes perfect.</p>
<p>is cliffs not enough or not right for SATII?</p>
<p>and if not, then would i have to just study from cliffs and another SAT book?</p>
<p>^ (10 chars)</p>
<p>OK, so I have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does it matter to colleges if you take the E or M? Is one considered harder? If I want to major in, for example, molecular biology, would it look bad if I took Biology E?</p></li>
<li><p>Does anyone have any good websites? I have the Barron’s Bio book, but I’d appreciate if anyone know of any good, free practice tests or reference sites.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ll have more questions later, I’m sure!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Nobody cares, just get a high score. One tip is to not pick between E/M right now; go into the test with an open mind and look at both sections. You will undoubtedly find one section easier than the other, so look at both and then decide which one to take (even though they ask you to bubble it in at the beginning; just change it if you change your mind). One year the E test was really easy and everyone who took M was really mad at themselves afterwards. I believe M has an easier curve. Anyway, when I took the test I went through all the M and E questions and knew a lot in each section but ultimately felt more confident with M, so I went with that. I applied to colleges wanting to do environmental/ecological stuff even though I took M; nobody cared. But that was also because my biology honors course focused much more on molecular biology, so I had a stronger background in that anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Barron’s is terrible. You think it’s really in-depth but in fact I found the explanations shallow and many sections entirely irrelevant to the test (who cares about Earth Day?). All they have is a small font and wordy sentences with little substance. I actually did the majority of my studying with Kaplan so I’d highly recommend that (and I got an 800), but I’d also recommend diversifying your sources to ensure you don’t miss any topics because NO single book covers every topic completely!! (see my post on another thread)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks so much, theoneo! You’ve been very helpful lately.</p>
<p>how much studying time would an avg AP bio student need? like is starting now late/early/ok?</p>
<p>I’m in a freshman, so I’m only in Bio Honors, and I only started studying recently, so I think you’ll be OK, provided you’re doing good in your class too.</p>
<p>I was wondering if Collegeboard releases SAT II Biology tests. Can anyone confirm or deny this? If it does, then how can I get them? Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi Hawkphoenix,</p>
<p>Yes, CollegeBoard released two full SAT Subject Tests in books w/all the others. (The Official Study Guide for All the SAT Subject Tests, the most recent, & Real SAT Subject Tests). The most recent is sold in bookstores like Barnes and Noble & find the older version in my local library.</p>