[Solly]

okay... i heard that the Sparknotes version was really useful, but then, stupid barnes & nobles don't have it. T^T now... i don't know which book to use. they have barrons and princeton review... but i don't know. T^T;;; can someone help me out here?? T^T;; oh yeah, i'm going to take MATH and ENGLISH SAT II, math IC

-S0LLY ^3^

[clairdeluned]

Amazon.com dear

[sphynkter]

^ yea haha. you can get the books online easily. but if you're not allowed to buy books online then perhaps you can check another barnes and nobles. or perhaps go to a different bookstore (borders)

[sphynkter]

oops. double post

[MONICA]

for math ic and iic i used princeton review. i really only bought it so i could do the practice tests

[epuolatnac]

Amazon is cheaper and there's free shipping.

[tonhyuk0735]

Please help!!! T T I can't find any SAT II Chinese book........

[Lebanese_Blonde]

someone needs to pin what I'm about to say, I've said it a million times, lol but i don't mind !

Some of these companies only make SAT reviews but some make reviews for SAT II, AP, CLEP etc.

Barrons - Good if you like OVEREXPLANATIONS. Seriously, they will explain so much that you may be more confused than when you started. This doesn't go for ALL their books but they do go pretty deep. A few of their questions may be more difficult than actual exam questions but they are overall accurate. Highly recommended

Princeton Review - A good book overall. It's a little bit overrated here in Korea but it does help but you might be disappointed that it doesn't go in depth in some areas. The practice problems are average when it comes to difficulty. A few questions on the actual exam may be a bit more difficult than in this practice guide. Recommended

Kaplan - Oh, Kaplan. I don't know about this book. I've found typos and some of the information misleading in different books. The questions are also overall easier than exam questions. It's a good review for a beginner who has a LONG TIME to study, like lets say, an entire summer. So basically I'd use this as an intro study guide.

Petersons - I've heard it's pretty good but I've never used one. It's similar in quality to Princeton Review if that helps

Arco - I actually liked this book. Some of the review questions were too simple (maybe you could use this along with Barrons?) but it reviewed things that other books didn't.

McGraw Hill - I've heard these books are just about as good as Princeton Review.

Cliff Notes - Pretty good, some prefer these over spark notes.

ILL ADD MORE LATER!

[saera]

Depending on which subject, some companies are better than others.

But overall everyone I know recommends Barrons, and I do too.

I use Barrons for supplementing my AP classes, and for the SAT I.

Kaplan sucks, don't waste your money on them like I did.

Princeton review is better than Kaplan, but I don't bother with them anymore. Their AP books aren't great, their SAT I books are mediocre, so I'm assuming their SAT II books aren't good.

I suggest that you go to the library and skim through the books (the library has everything, and if they don't, ask for interlibrary loan). You want one with a good index, a good glossary, good table of contents. Check out the author's background. See if she/he has a Ph.D in the subject or if they're a professor at a distinguished school.

And that's weird, b/c Sparknotes is a part of barnes and nobles...

[KIM_SAYS:]

I really like the Princeton Review. I thought their explanations were pretty good. I've never tried Barron's, but Kaplan prep books are lame. I was looking through mine today and the mistakes they made aren't that big of a deal...but they're kinda hilarious. Like for one math problem they were talking about bacon and coffee. And when they were explaining the answer they changed it to bacon and warm water. What the crap. But other than the typos and mistakes they make...they're ok.

[aznsushix]

I've used Barron's before, and personally, I wouldn't recommend it unless you have lots of extra time. They go way deeper into the subject than what's usually required and their practice tests are much harder than the actual test (at least for SATII MathIIC.. the one I took). Basically, it just lowers your confidence a lot. I went through the entire Barron's Book for MathIIC and a lot of the stuff they explained and on their practice tests never even showed up on the real SAT II. It probably doesn't apply for different subjects, but for MathIIC at least, I thought that the PR and Sparknote's practice tests were really accurate.

Of course, Barron's is good because it overprepares you and if you do well on Barron's tests and understand all the stuff they have in the books, you're basically guaranteed a good score... but only if you have enough time to go through the book. Personally, I didn't like it.. it lowered my confidence and gave me a lot of unnecessary stress.

[Solly]

thanks for the suggestion you guys!! :DDDDD i want to start preparing for my SAT II studies over spring break. hopefully, i will do well on SAT II. T^T;;; i got my SAT I score back today online and omfg... it's hideous and definitely going to take it again. i'm like about to literally bang my head against the wall constantly. *sigh* what an ugly score... -0-;;;

-S0LLY ^3^