<p>• Princeton Review SAT II Bio
• Princeton Review AP Bio
• IB Biology Study Guide
• Biology by Campbell
• CliffNotes AP Bio
• Kaplan MCAT Topical Tests
• Kaplan MCAT Bio </p>
<p>✔ Finished Crash Course in biology by taking notes on the Princeton Review SAT II book</p>
<p>Need to do</p>
<p>• Finish reading CliffNotes
• Get hands on both the Barron’s AP and SAT II Bio book
• Take all practice tests I can come across
• Raise Cain on October 6, 2012. Checkmate, College Board.</p>
<p>In addition to the materials above, I will also be using:</p>
<p>• MCAT Audio Osmosis - a set of CDs covering biology topics. I will be listening to these at night before sleeping as to maximize information retention. Hopefully my brain will be hypotonic to the environment. </p>
<p>It’s a subject test. Take a couple weeks to study for it. That’s all you need for an 800. (unless there are extenuating circumstances) </p>
<p>I studied 2 weeks for USH, 1 week for Math Level 2, and 1 week for Chemistry. 800s on all of them. </p>
<p>MCAT material? Really, now…? </p>
<p>You should be starting your college essays right now, or at least thinking about them. The UChicago supplement prompts are out (albeit early, for anyone who was subscribed to their mailing list). UPenn as well. The Common App prompts haven’t changed from last year to this year. And etc. Two of my backup schools also have their prompts released. (UGA and Georgia Tech) </p>
<p>Think of the subject tests are more of a thing to check off on your application rather than something that will add to it. </p>
<p>I had a friend who had a 2340, and 3 subject test 800s. He wrote mediocre essays and was denied to every school in the top 20 except Vanderbilt. You can’t ride on your standardized test record to get into a good school.</p>
<p>✔ Tattoo the entire process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in excruciating detail onto my left hemisphere</p>
<p>✔ Understand the Hardy-Weinberg equation</p>
<p>✔ Memorize the order of evolution (Monera, Protista, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia). For Animalia it’s echinoderms then chordates, and for chordates, it’s FARBM (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).</p>
<p>✔ Study plants in depth (what’s a dicot, what’s a monocot, etc.)</p>
<p>One more thing: I’ve been finding the IB Biology Study Guide very useful. The sheer number of well-organized tables and diagrams make this book so helpful; it’s nowhere near the wall of text that other review books are. Sure, it’s for IB, but much of the stuff inside applies directly to the SAT II, and if you memorized this book for the AP, you’d ace the AP through and through. This might just be the best SAT II and AP Biology study guide, hands-down. I’ll let you guys know after I take both exams.</p>
<p>The IB Biology Study Guide is written by Andrew Allott (just fyi). It’s a very concise book too … it’s about one-third the thickness of the Princeton Review SAT II Bio book!</p>
<p>Is this guy for real? Focus on your essays and a meaningful summer experience; this is wayyyy overkill. And coming from me, that’s saying something! Not a hater, just genuinely concerned that you could be doing much more constructive things with your time.</p>
<p>Dicot and Monocot? MCAT Biology? You’'re forgetting that this test is written practically for FRESHMEN who have taken honors Bio. Although AP Bio will help WITH CONCEPTS, the detailed info WILL NOT help. There will be nothing about DICOTS and MONOCOTS and the stages of reproductive development on the test. Study a Barron’s or PR book for 3 weeks max and you’ll be fine.
Chill… lol. This was funny.</p>
<p>So far I have started reading the revised AP Biology outline. I am annotating it as I read and I will be filling in the outline with relevant information. Hopefully this outline, created by the College Board, will clue me in as to what the SAT II Biology exam tests. #dedication #whiteknight</p>
<p>Lol. Monocots and dicots have been on past SAT II’s, just saying.</p>
<p>IceQube, it looks like no one here can convince you. In that case, go ahead and study all of those books if it so pleases you. It’s your life. But most of us have experience and are offering you good advice right now. We’re not hating. Haters discourage CC’ers. We’re trying to help with your studying and direct it so it’ll best benefit you. Since it seems like you like planning stuff out enormously, I’ll give you my plan from a couple months ago.</p>
<p>February 2012-May 2012: study 4 hours a week in a tutoring class + use Barron’s SAT II
May 5th, 2012: scored a 760 on bio M
May 14th, 2012: took the AP bio test and did nothing afterwards
May 24th, 2012: got scores from May test. Decided to retake.
May 28th, 2012: started studying, but didn’t do it seriously. Felt that I’d do much worse this time.
June 2nd, 2012: got an 800 on bio E</p>
<p>AP bio books are far too detailed for the SAT subject test. Just get Barron’s and a good tutor, stay dedicated, and you will exceed on the actual test. You’re gonna forget all of the excess info you memorized right after taking the test because it’s not even used. What’s the point of learning all of that just to lose it all after? I feel that you should be dedicated to your tests, but not to the point that it has a negative impact on your life. I think almost all CC’ers would agree that this level of studying is unhealthy. It won’t help you with your app. SAT and SAT II scores are only a small part of your app. Do you know what top colleges look for? I attended all of their on-campus tours and lectures. They look for passion in hobbies and true interests, not mindless studying. Find a passion and stick to it. This is what colleges admire because even after all the work and studying for tests they force on us, we’re still able to enjoy life and our passions. If you have a passion, write about it in your college essay, and it will show. Your college essay is a far greater component of your app than your tests will ever be. </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck on your journey, but remember to not lose yourself on it.</p>
<p>@Aquawater98 what test prep company did you use to prepare for your SAT II Bio test (That’s if you did use a company. If you didn’t then never mind.)
Gracias :)</p>
<p>Just a piece of advice: There’s only so much you can prepare for. On the actual test, there are going to be questions and whatnot that you’re not familiar with. Like on this last june one there was one about a diagram of the eye (not in many prep books), one about graphs representing ants eating a decaying tree (which required some weird interpretation) and one about how to keep an experiment with pregnant rats statistically sound.</p>
<p>Wow. That’s a lot of prep for the test. I did almost zero prep, unless you count taking an AP biology class. Besides that, all I did was the practice test in the blue book. I pulled a 770. Best of luck to you! I wish you the best :)</p>
<p>EDIT: I also must agree with astroblue. There will be things you’ve never heard of before being asked, so just remember to be prepared to wing it and do a bit of educated guessing.</p>