SAT Subject Test U.S. History Prep Book

IceQube
Sat, 09 Jun 2012 14:59:05 +0000

I don’t like the latest Barron’s SAT Subject Test in USH book for two main reasons:

1) The practice tests are unrealistic in scope and difficulty. Gaddafi is way too recent to show up on a history exam. Maybe a current events exam, sure.
2) The “review” section is too lengthy and unfocused. Granted, by thoroughly delineating every event in American history, you are bound to cover some of the stuff on the SAT II USH exam, but you are also bound to cover a lot of irrelevant information. CC, DH, and Essential all cut to the chase in terms of what you need to know and even tell you what you don’t need to know.

I can also personally testify to the effectiveness of The Essential Content.

After taking the SAT II USH exam this June, I came home and skimmed through The Essential Content again. There were only 10 questions on the exam that The Essential Content did not directly answer. And that’s being pretty harsh as well … you could likely figure out most of the 10 through POE, common sense, background knowledge, etc. The merits of The Essential Content are that it is a short read, cuts to the chase, and gives you answers to nearly 90% of the questions.

The choice is ultimately yours. Would you rather read a full-size 624 page review book or a short and stout 462 page review book, even if both provided you with exactly the same amount of relevant information? I’d choose The Essential Content.