How hard is it to self-study biology?

Archive SAT Subject Test Preparation
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<p>How hard is it to study biology? Which is easier to self-study, Biology E or M? I took biology freshman year and am taking environmental science this year. Which are the best books? Has anyone self-studied and got a 750+?</p>

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<p>I got a 750, improved from 650 through self study. I used Kaplan’s, which gives your more detail than you’ll ever want, but which is good IMO. I did Ecology because my bio class focused on that, but I had to learn all the human physiology on my own… which is like 7 different systems, 4 of which I didn’t need at all. And I had to learn some other topics on my own as well that weren’t covered. </p>

<p>Just make sure you know the heart and respiratory system, genetics (crosses and sex-linked inheritance always appear), cellular respiration, photosynthesis, cell division, reproduction, blood cells, cell organelles, and obviously ecology if you choose E (can’t remember specifics). Each test is different, but those topics are bound to show up.</p>

<p>I was surprised because I did a practice test out of the Princeton Review (which is good for a summary and overview of what you’ll most likely encounter, but not for self-study of material you’ve never seen before), and some of the questions on my practice test were on the actual test… I marked my test for the score, but too bad I didn’t look over the explanations to see which answer was right… damn. </p>

<p>But yeah, I’d recommend PR to get a sense of what you’ll find on the test (Kaplan’s is too detailed… I learned a ton more than I’d ever need for the SAT II), but use Kaplans to learn completely new material. And go through at least 2 practice tests, one before you study to identify your weak areas, and one after to gauge your process.</p>

<p>And if it helps, I studied in two days, nothing more. I had two days off before the exam (luckily!) and just crammed for those two days. So if I could get a hundred point increase, you can definitely get at least 750 if you put yourself to it!</p>

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<p>I self-studied with the princeton review and got a 780, testing in Bio-E</p>