JMR Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Ok, so could someone advise me on which subject tests to choose (2)? I am of course doing the IB and I do not have any extra languages, but I have studied french and spanish before so I was choosing to do one of those.. how hard are the language tests overall? Whats the difference if you do not do the listening, does it affect when applying to unis in the US?I am also pretty good at IB history, but then I would have to do either American or World history, from these the latter definately. I have never studied American history. How extensive and hard is world history for me, who is studying 20th century history only?I am not very strong at math and I am also SL.. how hard is the math subject test? What is the difference between math 1 and math2? Why do some american unis not accept math 1 from subject tests? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berns099 Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Mmm... I just did Maths Level 2, French and Literature.Literature is ridiculously easy compared to A1.I've been studying French outside of school for 6 years and still found the French SAT tricky.Maths was very hard because they expect you to learn things that IBers get on their formula booklets.DO NOT DO HISTORY. It is knowing specific historical data, not about historical analysis like the IB course. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 It'd be helpful if I knew what other subjects you're taking. =)Math 1 and 2... I don't know why they take both. That's a really good question. 2 is a little more difficult, but for scoring, you can miss X questions on 2 and get a better grade than if you missed X questions on 1, even though they have the same number of questions. What I suggest is that you do practice tests for both of them. Really amazing site: http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/sat2/I guess what Berns said is right.. but we're just used to not having the formulas, and it's not complicated formulas. Just like different ways to get the area of a triangle and things like that. I agree with Berns.. don't do history.. it's a lot of factual recall. But once again, reference that site I linked to [sparknotes]. I think that literature would be hard, but that's a personal thing. For chemistry and physics.. well what they test you on overlaps with what you learn in SL/HL, but there are topics that you're not exposed to in IB. I don't suggest you do physics--you don't get formulas, if I'm not mistaken. For the language courses, I've heard that you shouldn't do them unless you're fluent or near fluent. And definitely don't do oral if you're not fluent.What I suggest: look at the courses you're taking. Look at the unis you want to attend and what they require of you [some ask for one math and one science]. And look at what you want to major in/get a degree in when you attend uni. Pick subjects along those lines. Good luck. I can talk to you in greater depth about Physics, Chemistry, and Math2. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMR Posted October 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Thanks.Damn, my spanish isnt that fluent but could you improve it by buying a workbook for the specific subject and then practising, like Barron's?Subjects that I have include economics, history, both HL and math and biology SL. No foreign languages like French. I would prefer history over biology as I am stronger at it but the sparknotes SAT prep doesnt have world history, I would never do US history since I have never studied it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 About Spanish, I guess you could. I don't know if the test is objective or subjective. For me, subjective is easier because anything can be BS'd and you just have to understand the prompt, but with objective, you'd have to have some idea of the passage [if there is one] or I don't know if they just straight up test you on grammar. Biology will be hard. It'll be a ton of memorization, but I don't think it's very much, if any, application/analysis. I think you're pretty much regurgitating information. It's way past the SL level, but it's doable if you really study, and if you're going to take a biology course in uni, then it'll probably be worth it. Yeah, I definitely think studying/taking the US history one would be futile. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
minkey211 Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 I've heard that it's really beneficial to do the Physics subject test Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biochem Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Biology - can be easy, if you covered ecology and went into it as a further topic. Though they put other stuff as well, like nutrition which you will need to review. This will be the easiest if ecology is your strong point.Chemistry - you must understand kind of the AP style type of questions and on. They will be a little different from IB, and expectations of course are more varied than the assessment statements. I find that its doable, but definitely takes time outside of school. English - fairly okay if you have been good in English all throughout with orals + lit papers. Its a subject you can study little for, but will do good if you are good at English anyways. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee =3 Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 personally, I found the literature ridiculous. And HARD, believe it or not, but simply because it was utterly subjective.. nothing like IB literature.. and although Maths II is harder, as some people have mentioned, it's easier to get better scoresas for Spanish.. well, I sat for it simply because I wanted to see how I'd do.. I finished in 15 minutes and was stuck in the room with one other girl who was also in the same situation, 'cause we'd left it for the end and all the other people had left.. but then again, I did live most of my life in Argentina, so.. ^^;; And regarding text books, I always prefer Princeton Review, but maybe that's just me. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMR Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks.Bit off-topic as this relates to SAT1, but it is easy to pull 700+ for each section if I havent even seen the official Collegeboard book and only study Kaplan and workbooks of cr. reading & math and the SAT 2400 all by Barron's? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 It doesn't really matter what books you're studying. The books say the same thing basically, but they do have different test taking strategies that they prefer. One book will tell you pretty much all of them and then will tell you why it thinks that you should go with one strategy. I've never looked at the College Board book, but I think you're not at a disadvantage if you don't. I don't consider myself disadvantaged. BUT I'm not saying it'll be easy for you to get 700+ on each section. I'm just saying that looking at multiple books won't really help all across the board. Taking practice test in test environments should give you a good idea of how you'll probably do. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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