<p>My son (HS grad. 2012) will be taking SAT II tests in Chemistry, Physics and Math Level 2 in May.</p>
<p>There are so many books out there. I am :confused: regarding the quality of the material & would love to know what parents recommend. Thank you!</p>
<p>Any one will do when its primary purpose is to lie on the floor of your sonās room, totally ignored; at least, this has been my experience.</p>
<p>^^LOL true, Sop14.</p>
<p>Take your student to the bookstore, have him peruse the books at his leisure. Find a comfy couch and spend some time deciding. As inferred above, the best book is the one your son will actually open and read.</p>
<p>Having said that, in general you might start with Princeton Review - they seem to be a good middle ground, with Barrons being for the die-hards who want to score an 800.</p>
<p>You might also get the College Board book of previously issued tests - thatās the only place youāll find actual questions from previous tests.</p>
<p>How about taking a look at the reviews on amazon?</p>
<p>I found this thread. It might help:</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/358168-list-best-review-books.html[/url]ā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/358168-list-best-review-books.html</a></p>
<p>The blue book (College Board) has all SAT II subject tests will be a good start. Itās also the easiest one, according to my D. Princeton Review and Kaplan get good reviews from her peers. She advises to stay away from Barrons - so difficult that the low practice score will shake most kidsā confidence to the core and does not reflect reality. She scored much higher that what Barrons indicated.</p>
<p>Most families with graduating seniors will be happy to pass on the books since they only serve as doorstops at this point. Or scour the local thrift stores. They are practically untouched as SOP14 said.</p>
<p>JenPam : I had my son watch the MIT open courseware videos (google it) on Physics-I (Mechanics) and Chemistry 3.091 ( Solid State Chemistry by Don Sadoway - first 10 lectures). He aced both his Physics and Chem tests. The key for SAT-2 subject tests is to make sure that he is confident of the concepts. For Physics the curve is very generous since the range of topic is numerous. Math2 - there was a book by a Turkish chap (dont recall exact name - called Rusmen I think) - Math2 is also relatively easy to ace. Hardest of the the three is probably Chem.</p>
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Both my kids liked this best. They found numerous mistakes in nearly all the other books (Kaplan, Princeton, Barrons etc.).</p>
<p>Suggestion: </p>
<p>When you decide which review book you want, look on Amazon and see if you canāt find it āusedā. Many are virtually unused and sell for a fraction of the cost of new ones. My daughter bought one for under .50 (plus shipping still turned out under $5.00) instead of paying close to $20.00. The seller described the condition of the book as āvery goodā - but it looked almost new. Wish we had known to do this much earlier - we would have saved a ton of money.</p>
<p>You also might skip the latest edition to save a bit - there is often little difference between the latest edition and an earlier one. Look at āFormatsā and then click on āShow more formatsā - in this way, your son/daughter can pick up earlier editions for limited out-of-pocket expense - particularly good if a certain subject needs extra practice.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>@Sop14, lol! Iāve had that feeling/belief before & refuse to give in to my fears. ;)</p>
<p>@Highland, Iāve read that the CB book is problematic b/c thereās only one practice test per topic. OTOH, if Sop14 is correct, thatās not a problem.</p>
<p>@dadmm85, thanks for the information! I communicated it to my son.</p>
<p>I used Princeton Review for physics, and Barronās/Princeton Review for Math Level 2. Barronās is definitely overkill for Math II, but itās not bad otherwise. Princeton Review is not bad for both. Personally, I found that using these books to prepare and then taking the tests from the Blue Book (checked out from my local library) was a good way to prepare. I agree with those who say that the Blue Book is really the best indicator, but some of the other prep books are worth a look.</p>
<p>(Iām also a 2012er and took the exact same tests last June, scoring 800 on all.)</p>
<p>The CB book is always the best source for practice exams.</p>
<p>I used Princeton Review for Chemistry; many people use Barronās, but either that book is overkill or my chemistry class prepared me well enough. For Physics, I barely did any prep beyond what I did for the AP Physics B exam. I compared the SAT II and AP books, and found that much of the material was nearly identical, so I suggest Princeton Review for Physics as well. </p>
<p>I donāt really have any advice for Math 2, since I just took a practice test or two and determined that I didnāt need to prep at all.</p>
<p>The Princeton Physics was a big help as our HS Physics class didnāt cover all the material needed. </p>
<p>I gave my guys a choice: an hour on review or an hour gardening. They chose the hour of review. I think I pushed for for that on two separate weekends and total prep time was two hours minus snack and sighing time. They did well.</p>
<p>My son liked the Princeton āCracking theā¦ā series. He pretty much self-studied for the Chemistry SAT II the year before he took AP Chem and did well on it using the Princeton book (with help from a friendly Chem teacher at school when he got stuck). He had taken honors Chem in sophomore year but it was poorly taught and he decided not to take the SAT II, but then found he needed it for one of the schools he wanted to apply to and felt he was almost starting from scratch when he studied for the SAT II in Junior year. So, he thought the book was pretty useful. I forget what he got on it but it was over 700. </p>
<p>I donāt think he bought a SAT II prep book for Biology since he was in AP bio at the time and didnāt prep separately for the SAT II in that. Not sure if he bought a book for Math or not but if so it would have also been the Princeton one.</p>
<p>No matter which book you choose, have your son take a timed practice test at least once. The test is only 1 hour long and most kids find it surprising how little time they have left with so many questions to go. Learn to pace yourself and think fast is as crucial as knowing the materials.</p>