Customer Reviews

Cracking the SAT II: Biology E/M, 2001-2002 Edition (Princeton Review: Cracking the SAT Biology E/M Subject Test)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most other SAT II Bio books such as the Kaplans and Peterson are to in-depth and try to cram too much knowledge into your head. This book goes over exactly what you need to know, and presents the information in a very practical way.

The great thing is that the two practice tests are almost identical to the real SAT's. If you MUST get one book, this is the one. If you would like two, then I recommend this and the Kaplan.

BTW I got an 800 with this and the Kaplan combined

P.S. The Peterson's is completely off track and gives so much extraneous information that it's practically better to buy a textbook than use that. The Kaplan is lengthy and deep but provide you with some of the small tid-bits of knowledge that MIGHT be on the test.

I took the test recently and I only chose this book to study from. The only reason I chose this book because based on the ratings given by the raters at Amazon.com. I came to be disappointed by the results, because most of the responses were not fairly accurate from what I see.
The book first of all does touch most of the basics and topics of the ideas but it does not help you eliminate most of the answers. I was able to complete half the test fairly okay but the other half I could not comprehend because the topics were explained very briefly. The vocabulary covered such as speciation was covered in the book, but it still lacked vocabulary that I did not know.
Another dissappointing thing about the topic was that it did not cover the anatomy of the ear which was covered on the test. Also, the pictures in the book were confusing. The pictures were totally different from the real SAT II that could throw people off. Finally, the test questions were not fairly accurate because it was too simple in comparison to the real test. The book is only great study tool if you combine with another book to study from.

Well I've taken the test and I did fairly well, a 740, decent, but not great. However I managed to go through about 3/4 of this book and finished the rest later just for the heck of it. So here's essentially the basis of this book. First the sections give you generally accurate information and provide you with practice sets and questions after each section. However, though most sections cover 80-100 percent of the needed SAT II information there are some key lacking points. Firs the ear and eyes are not covered. And let me tell you this: THERE IS ALMOST ALWAYS A QUESTION ON THEM! Yes two tests in a row there have been questions on the eyes and ears, hm... Also genetics is a bit brief, while evolution is simply great. Also let me note that the SAT II had fewer molecular questions in general in the regular exam part, then analysis and organism biology. So using this with the Kaplan book, and studying will likely get you at least a 750-800 depending on study time.

I used last year's version of this review book to take the SAT II Biology E exam, I was only a sophmore then. I had already taken one half of my first Biology course, but by using this review book, I scored a 770. All it took was a quick read-through, the practice exam questions were very good, and very similer to the actual test, in fact there were some that almost exactly the same, I amthrilled with the results I got from this book which basically repalced a Bilogy teacher, and very sucessfully, I might add.

I'm not discouraged by this book or anything...it is a pretty good book in terms of explaining the material so you are not completely confused and the questions are good. However, I found mistakes in the book that could really depress you (like giving the wrong answer on the practice tests) and some other things. I just sort of lost trust in the book so I would recommend the kaplan to those taking this test.

This is a great book even for those taking the Advance Placement Course. I myself am taking AP Biology and this is a great, consise review book. Although it does not go into great detail, which these books are not able to anyway, it has a good source of review questions for both the SAT II and AP.

This book provides an excellent overall review. However it is very simplistic and does not cover some things in depth. I prefer the more in depth Kaplan book, but some people find the layout of the Princeton to be easier to read. Currently this is the 2nd best SAT II book available after the Kaplan.

It's simple and to the point. It's great if you are not so well versed in biology, or there's a concept that you don't understand. I used this only to do the latter. If there was something I didn't understand from my textbook I went and looked it up. If your looking for a last minute review this book is also for you. If not then go get the barrons. People say the barrons book is not that great because it contains too much information. Would you rather buy a book that had too little? Then you just end up wasting your money and buying another book. Get the barrons. All lot of it isn't seen too often, but I was surprised when some topics I thought wouldn't be on the tes were.

In the product description, it said 'new'. Ahhh....Not so much. :P

A large watermark starts on the first few pages and had spread to the back cover, apparently; I know it's not the fault of the post office because the box it arrived in was perfectly dry, though obviously aged.

Not sure what happened, but it obviously never dried completely out and is a little gross. I might end up asking for a return on this product.

Not satisfied...

I bought this book about two months before the SAT II exam, and although I didn't study consistently, I reviewed all of the material in the book, the depth depending on how much I was comfortable with. I took the practice tests and scored 620 and 630, and on the actual day of the test I got a 580, I found it to be ALOT harder than the practice tests they had given, and half of the material was not covered in the book. This book is basically a generalization of the stuff you need to know, so I wouldn't reccomend to anyone trying to learn alot. Personally, I would reccomend Barron's...