<p>I am a senior in high school, and I just signed up to take the physics subject test. I am currently enrolled in AP physics, but I didn't take regular physics because of class conflicts. The class is pretty easy so far, but I still have a whole year ahead of me to learn about waves, light, sound, electricity, etc... </p>
<p>I know that the test is heavily curved, and you can miss a fair amount of questions and still get a good score, but I'm worried that, having not taken physics before, I will do poorly on this test, which is required for my schools I wish to apply to: Standford MIT UC Berkeley UC Santa Barbara and Cornell. </p>
<p>Does anyone know any great resources for learning the basics, and is this test pretty straight forward, or am I going to fail? And If I do get a low score, will these schools be less inclined to accept me, even with a high SAT score and good credentials? I'm pretty much doing this test just because it's required for these schools to take a science test, and it will be my major...</p>
<p>Well, it’s VERY different from the AP exam. I taught myself AP physics (homeschooled) and got a 3. I only got a 640 on the SAT II. I DID have a rough week with much going on, and I wasn’t feeling great, but i doubt I would’ve gotten much higher than a 700 or so. It was quite hard. </p>
<p>My best advice to you is to use the Princeton Review book for it. If i had had more time, i would’ve gone through it more. Their books have always done me well, I have almost every title they make. </p>
<p>DS took regular physics (no other version offered) in standard public school in small town in middle of nowhere. He took a test in Princeton Review physics book, found out the areas that had not been covered in his class, looked over the sections in the PR book, and got a 800. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in physics and have some aptitude for it, I don’t think it should be too hard if you put a bit of work into it.</p>
<p>DD took AP Physics without having taken a regular physics class previously and it prepared her perfectly well for the SAT II. In fact, this class led her decide to major in physics (she is at Harvard). So, if are a Stanford/MIT/Berkeley/Cornell quality candidate, your class is being well taught and you are doing well in it, then you probably should not worry too much about the SAT II.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great information. I’m taking it November 4th so that I can meet UC Berkeley deadlines. My main concern was just that I wouldn’t get through all the subjects in class before the test since it’s only about a month away, but I’ll definitely look into the Princton book and study from there.</p>