major differences between AP US history & sat 2 US history? best book? prep tips?

convikted · 05-24-2009, 05:51 PM

Hey so I took the APUSH exam recently and Im planning on taking sat2 in june. Im wondering what the major differences are between the two exams, how much in depth i need to get for the SAT 2, etc. Also, which book is the best? I have amsco & rea but i feel like they are both really thick and probably too much info for the sat? I also have the rea crash course but im not sure if the MC on sat is similar to the AP or not.

also, any advice would be helpful. thanks!!

dolcevalse · 05-24-2009, 08:18 PM

well i thought the mc q section for the ap exam was much harder .. the subject test is supposed to be pure facts (which it is - i took the exam in may and got 760) while the ap exam q's require more thinking & analysis of events and whatnot.

i was stupid enough to take only 1 test before the may exam, but for about 5 days prior to the exam date, i skimmed through the 19th century and times before that in my REA AP USH book. it helped me tremendously because i score a 660 in USH using the CB subject test book (granted I skipped around 5 questions b/c I hadn't learned them) but managed a 100 point boost. but i know i could've done better.

so all in all i recommend REA, or any AP USH book.

rk33 · 05-24-2009, 09:07 PM

I had APUSH this year, the questions that got me were pre-Jamestown/non-England colonization (like spanish explorers and stuff). Also 1970+ gave me trouble

Charlie Brown · 05-24-2009, 09:11 PM

AMSCO is pretty good for the sat 2. It is extremely thorough, but there isn't too much extraneous information.

whitesox24 · 05-24-2009, 10:37 PM

Basically, AMSCO or REA will help you a lot with the SAT Subject Test and the AP Test. I used REA, because I couldn't get AMSCO at the time and I did fine on both tests. Good luck.

Smile614 · 05-24-2009, 11:50 PM

I used REA for AP...and then Kaplans for SAT but I really just skimmed Kaplans the week before the SAT. I read and studied all of REA though for the AP exam.

I thought SAT was harder in that it just contained more specifics. AP exam was more general. For the SAT, it was nice to get it over with in just an hour, without having to do essays and a DBQ! I thought the curve on the SAT was much more lenient though.

Islander4 · 05-25-2009, 08:03 AM

Anybody who has taken the AP course and read through their whole textbook is at a high advantage. A good course-review book is a nice supplement to the textbook. As for any online resources, I suggest Sparknotes. That website has eight practice tests.