<p>How do so many of you guys get perfect or near perfect scores on the SAT II? I thought the SAT IIs were very hard, much more than AP.</p>
<p>I took SAT II and AP tests for the first time in June and May repspectively, and I personally thought the AP test was MUCH easier than a given SAT II in the same subject. This was contrary to everything I was told by GC, websites, etc which said that AP tests were "the hardest tests you can take in high school" and that after taking an AP test you should immediatly take the SAT II in the same subject and you will probably find it quite easy. This sure didn't happen to me. For example, I got a 5 on the AP U.S History exam.When I was done taking the multiple choice section of the exam, I had been able to answer all but 2 questions with 100% certainty off the top of my head. The other 2 I was able to logically deduce by ruling out answer choices I was sure were wrong.</p>
<p>That was in May. So when June rolled around and it was time to take the SATII U.S History, I thought it would be a cakewalk. While I was able to zip through most of the test, there were about 8-9 questions I was not completely sure of, and I found it very hard to deduce because the answer choices were usually very close to each other. I ended up getting a 720 on the SAT II U.S history. Now, while a 720 is certainly not bad, I'm still dissappointed. History is one of my best subjects and I was really expecting atleast a 740, if not closer to an 800. </p>
<p>One thing to consider is that I did not take the AP History class - just Honors. I did extra self study along added onto the homework assignments, to prepare me for the tests. I guess it was OK for AP, but not enough for SAT II.</p>
<p>Here's my question: to you super high, consistent 780+ SAT II achievers: What's your formula for success? Is it taking the AP class? Does that give you the vital edge? (I had wanted to take AP, but could not due to scheduling conflicts.) Is it study groups? Flash cards? Practice tests (which I found hard to find... atleast official ones)? Prep books? I notice many people on this board use commercial prep books to study for the SAT II. I did not do this - I figured those books wouldn't have anything in them my class text book didn't. I may have been wrong...</p>
<p>Please share your secrets with us SAT II masters - thanks for reading and responding. </p>
<p>The SAT II for U.S. History is very difficult because the questions are often extremely specific and random. You have to memorize every single fact from history to get an 800, rather than learn all the trends and some basic facts for a 5 on the AP. I took the AP class, and had a very good teacher. I payed attention in class and took detailed notes, which I reviewed during the 2 days before the June SATII. For the AP test I used REA for review and practice tests along with my class notes, but for the SATII a month later I used my notes almost exclusively. I did read sparknotes for the more recent stuff we didn't cover in class (1980s-2000), and I used kaplan's book for the practice tests. For some reason I have a really good memory for historical facts. I found this very useful for the SAT II. One random thing about the SATII is the way it has many questions involving pictures and political cartoons. It doesn't really test you in the same way the AP does. I think most of the questions are a bit more strait-forward, but they are a lot more detail-oriented.</p>
<p>But don't worry. A 720 is still a great score for U.S. History. it is one of the harder SATIIs to score high on.</p>
<p>As for other SATIIs, I would strongly suggest using prep books. The only other SATII I have taken is MathIIc. Make sure you have taken and done well in pre-calc before you take it. I tried using Kaplan's book, but it was so rife with typos and errors that I had to give up using it. Then I picked up Princeton Review's book for both Math1 and math2. This was pretty good, and it was easy to understand. I have also heard that Barron's is good, if a bit more difficult than the real SATII. Sparknotes also has some pretty good guides for SATIIs. Make sure that you do some practice tests before doing the real thing. You don't want to go in there cold-turkey. The more you practice, the better you will get, and the higher you will score on the real test day. You should use al the practice tests in the prep book, and then take the test in the official College Board book for real SATIIs.</p>
<p>Question: which is it easier to score higher on, mathIc or math IIc? I know that IIc is harder math, but I took pre-calculus junior year and I'm going into AP calculus. on my standardized tests, I actually tend to do better on the trig and advanced algebra questions over stuff like geometry (which is odd 'cause I think geometry is easy but whatever)</p>
<p>My school says that if you're in precal or calc, you should take IIc.</p>
<p>I got a 770 on the history, and I agree that you do have to know some random facts. It's really a "how much material did you teacher cover" type of test. What's annoying is that a 760 on the Math IIc is only 87th percentile.</p>
<p>Practice tests are unbelieveable helpful. I asked my history teacher for a couple, as well as my college counseling office.</p>
<p>How much of the SAT II: USH would you categorize as pure facts, logical thinking, and other? It's sounds to me like there is little thinking on the test and most of it is memorization.</p>
<p>The SAT II USH is NOT a bunch of random facts, you have to know general trends and conditions of the time, it's really not that specific. A lot of times you can just guess the correct answer even if you have never heard of the guy or something just by recalling everything you know from a specific time period or geographic location. </p>
<p>You use a LOT of logic during the test, at least I did... I didn't memorize or use flash cards or anything to study, I just went through each time period and got a general sense of the issues and conflicts and the important historical people of the period. There is a ton of thinking, you are actively weighing and comparing each answer. A lot of times there is more than one "correct" answer, you have to use reason and your intuition to select the one that is most correct. </p>
<p>The test itself is much easier than the practice tests in Barron's or Kaplans. If you are getting about 2/3rds of the questions right in Barron, you're fine. I was getting about half the questions wrong on the practice tests in Barron but I still got an 800 on the actual test.</p>
<p>I'm pretty comfortable with history, and I was thinking about either taking the U.S. History or the World History test. Which one is "easier" to prep for? I've never taken a course in World History before, but I don't know if studying from a prep book would make up for that...</p>
<p>^ I have pretty much the same question, but I took AP World history sophomore year (v. rigorous class, awesome teacher, 5) and AP U.S. junior year (ridiculously easy class, crappy teacher, 5). I feel more comfortable with World History, should I take that SAT II even though I took the class all the way back in soph. year?</p>
<p>i thought SAT II US was easy. I never took AP US and i didnt prep for the SAT II at all, i took it cold turkey, and i got a 640. not great but descent considering i didnt prep at all, but im def. taking it again in november</p>
<p>To ur question I'll say it depends on the subject.
For example, for USH it's a bunch of random facts so APUSH helps a lot esp. if u read ur boring textbook with bunch of crap in it.
However for math 2c just get a PR book and do some practice exams.
Physics and science I think if u took a regular class(not even honors) with some help from the prep book u can score high as u want.</p>
<p>I personally thought that SAT IIs were much much easier than AP, but it may appear the other way because the curves on AP are so generous... 60% for a 5... :)</p>
<p>Take Math IIC, not only does it "look" better, the curve is nicer. </p>
<p>I took U.S. History way back in Sophomore year, so would it be possible for me to score high by preparing with a Review book and memorize my butt off this summer?</p>
<p>Haha, thanks for the quick reply, harry3734! Looks like I'm going to clean some U.S. History cobweb in my head! Does everyone agree that Barron's prep book is the best for U.S. History??</p>
<p>I actually found the opposite to be true. Last fall I took the SAT II US History. At that time I was in the middle of my AP US History Class, however my teacher was not very skilled and I rarely paid attention. About a week before the test I began to study and prepare. When the results came in I found out I'd gotten an 800. </p>
<p>This past spring I took the AP US History test. I used basically the same prep technique that I'd used for the SAT and I ended up with a 4. I think it was largely luck that altered my score. That and the fact that I'm better at multiple choice than essays. So who knows...</p>
<p>When I studied for the SAT II I believe I had one of the Barrons books. Also, what I did was I just took out my textbook and just read all the parts that I thought would be stressed. For the AP test I also used the textbook, albiet not as much as for the SAT.</p>