<p>Hey guys,
I've got 1 month to prepare for the chem and bio SAT II tests. It's been 3 years since I took Bio and 2 since Chem, so my memory is quite hazy. The good news is that I understood them really well the years I took them (4 on ap chem two years ago) and I am currently taking Bio AP. What books will give me a comprehensive understanding of the two subjects, and what is the general perception of the difficulty of those two tests so that i may split the month accordingly?</p>
<p>One month is a bit of a rush for those tests, or at least I’d think so. Princeton Review and Barrons are great for Bio, but I believe there are AP books that might better serve you in the long run. I don’t know about Chemistry though. </p>
<p>As for timing… Chemistry is more concepts-based, so if you understand all the concepts well, you may only need a quick review and then a couple of weeks to take practice tests. Biology is solely memorization, so based on your capacity to memorize or your time available to read the prep books, you’ll need to allocate your time for this appropriately. </p>
<p>If you’re aiming for 700+ or 750+, I’m still not certain that one month is enough time. Are you a junior or a senior?</p>
<p>haha, no worries bud, I’m a man of ambition. If I want it done, it’ll be done–at the expense of something else (sleep most likely). I’m a senior and am taking those tests to further strengthen my app last minute. I managed to cram physics and us history in two weeks and think i scored well (got 700+ on practice tests), but I took those classes junior year. </p>
<p>does anyone know approximately how much of each topic the tests test on?</p>
<p>I didn’t study for physics other than taking the AP Physics class, and it was pretty difficult. The main problem with Physics was the fact that they didn’t give you the equations. Biology doesn’t have that problem, and Chem is limited. I’m sure you’ll do fine with a month, just make sure you work steadily. Work on stuff you don’t know. All that fun jazz…</p>
<p>Thanks guys, not having to memorize pages full of formulas does help. I just found out that i got an 800 on physics and 770 on us history, so i’m in good spirits to do similarly well on bio and chem in jan. Good luck on your college applciations! PEACE.</p>