<p>Hey everyone, I have a couple of questions on these tests:
1. Which is more detail-oriented? Which of the two is easier?
2. Which test has the better curve?
3. Most important question: If I was going to self study one of these tests, which of the two is easier to self study?
4. What book is the best to self study with?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li>ush..b/c it covers a shorter time prd i guess and i think its different for everyone.i personally prefer ush
2.</li>
<li>i say ush! just because: ]]</li>
<li>i used kaplan and my textbook..</li>
</ol>
<p>US History.
i would use asmco</p>
<ol>
<li>They are both detail oriented, unlike their AP classes.</li>
<li>US typically is -11 to -13 for 800. World is typically -15 to -18. However, this doesn't mean that it's easier. </li>
<li>Do you mean self-study, in which you've never taken the class before?</li>
<li>I know Barrons for world. Not sure about US.</li>
</ol>
<p>self study as in I've never taken an AP class (I've taken regular 1900-present US history because my school made me)</p>
<p>Well, idk then sorry. </p>
<p>However, i do know that for both tests you need some ability with thinking and analysis. Yes, both tests MAINLY test for details, but both have questions that involve historical thinking / application of knowlege that self-studying might not prepare you for. i.e one question was from which region were immigrants arriving to the Americas the most in the 18th cent? For this one, you'd have to THINK, and assess the global situation. Most ppl know slavery was going on then, but the hard part is that you'd need to REALIZE that slavery was going on this time, and the answer is Africa.</p>
<p>To give my following suggestions some credibility, I got 800 on both US History and World History.</p>
<p>World History is much more broad, less specific, and covers a much larger timeline. It's more about understanding the general trends of empires and civillizations and the flow of history as a whole, since you are told to remember the history of Earth from about 10,000 BC to 2000, excluding the US.</p>
<p>US History SAT II is a lot more detailed. It's based less on understanding trends, though understanding currents in US History can help a lot, but more on remembering acts and arbritary and sometimes irrelevant details (I forgot the specific questions but I know there were a few irrelevant questions that focused on things such as FDR's personal habits or such). It's a lot more arbritary and detail oriented, so it's more fact memorizing, though both are very strongly fact-memorizing based, but US History more so. </p>
<p>Both have about the same curve. 800 for WH is 97th percentile while 800 for USH is 99th percentile. However, more people take US than World. The Blue Book curves are about the same. Thus it can be said that they are about the same difficulty overall.</p>
<p>For WH use Barron's WH review book. Excellent and comprehensive. I just read it after not taking global history for 2 years and did good. USH I didn't use a book, but rather just took it after an APUSH class.</p>
<p>Hope that helped.</p>
<p>It is honestly a matter of preference. I enjoyed US history, so it wasn't too bad studying it. I never got into World History and actually began studying for the test for a couple of months and I just couldn't stand it and I ended up not taking it. </p>
<p>I (only) got a 790 on US History (which is bad on CC, but good otherwise) because I actually enjoyed the subject. If you don't like it, studying is gonna be painful and you will do poorly most likely. I didn't like bio at all and it hurt to study it, and I got below a 700. </p>
<p>My advice: take which ever one you like better and which ever one coincides with your school work as well (ie don't take World History if you are taking a US Hist class or vice versa)</p>
<p>I self studied World and it wasn't bad at all. I knew absolutely nothing about Muslims, all the Mexican/South American civilizations, and Africa and I still got a 770. Kaplan is great for World. </p>
<p>US was easier for me, but that's because I took APUS.</p>
<p>I took World History SAT II by all self-study, but I really like that stuff... Even if the Africa/Americas stuff is confusing. </p>
<p>But whatever you do, don't use the Princeton Review. They have crappy crappy review section ><</p>
<p>Barron's and PR's SAT II World books are horrible. Use an AP one instead. I have posted in more detail about this b4, but basically ambiguous questions plus lots of errors=bad. Search my profile for previous posts if you want to find that more detailed post.</p>
<p>How's Barron's bad? One of the best WH books I've seen. It was my only resource, and I got a strong 800.</p>
<p>I got an 800 too but as an avid history buff I noticed a lot of the questions were misleading, had more than one possible answers, sometimes just wrong, and sometimes not based on the actual content. While this is understandable because they don't spend so much time and money on one question compared to the Collegeboard probably that <em>has</em> to eliminate questions like those, it was disconcerting to me especially since I only found a few errors like that in their AP World book. I like Barron's as a company, just not that particular one.</p>
<p>I used CB's blue book (the US/World History Subject combined practice book) and I scored around 80-90 points higher on the actual World History exam than the score suggested. Use this book for practice tests and maybe give yourself an extra curve?!?! Plus, I even thought I did worse on the actual World History SAT than I did on the practice, but w/e. I guess the curve was much more generous than those of past years. US History is a more popular exam though. And if you think taking AP World History is going to cover it all, think again. SAT is much more broad and detailed than AP. Also, there's more material covered on the SAT, which is a big mistake I didn't realize until the night before the exam (bad idea). I still got a decent score though, I don't know if I'm going to submit it though after seeing all the grades posted on this website, haha</p>
<p>Barrons AP World + 2 Official Practice Tests = Win</p>
<p>That book covers EVERYTHING you need to know for both SAT II and AP. Read it multiple times and you're good.</p>
<p>Ditto to Barrons AP World - I got a 5 and a 790 last year. At least, I'm ninety-nine percent sure I used barrons.</p>
<p>For USH this year, I had a bad AP review book and Princeton Review for the SATII. I got an 800. (I don't call for AP scores, so I don't know what I got yet.)</p>