How much overlap is there between SAT II's and IB?

[Pink97]

I plan on taking Maths Level 2, Biology, Chemistry SAT II. I've just bought all the review books for each of them and well I really want to get rid of one of them this November session to lighten my workload. Biology looks like the only one in which it'd be feasible for me to self study and score 700+. However, I have yet to learn >50% of the content though so is it worth self studying or am I making things harder for myself? Should I wait till I do a bit of HL Biology next year or is there little overlap between the two?

Edited June 3, 2014 by pink97

[flinquinnster]

I don't know very much about Bio/Chem SAT II. However, if you're thinking of doing Maths Lvl 2, you shouldn't have that much to learn that isn't covered in the IB course. It's just small things like elliptic/other types of curves, and perhaps a few regression techniques. If you're feeling really unsure, get one of those study guides and you can work through and see what you don't know. The questions themselves are quite easy and especially so with a GDC - but doing some practice in timed exam conditions is useful to get used to the rapid-fire multiple-choice question style of testing - that makes it different in format to IB.

[Pink97]

I don't know very much about Bio/Chem SAT II. However, if you're thinking of doing Maths Lvl 2, you shouldn't have that much to learn that isn't covered in the IB course. It's just small things like elliptic/other types of curves, and perhaps a few regression techniques. If you're feeling really unsure, get one of those study guides and you can work through and see what you don't know. The questions themselves are quite easy and especially so with a GDC - but doing some practice in timed exam conditions is useful to get used to the rapid-fire multiple-choice question style of testing - that makes it different in format to IB.

Would you recommend I self study Maths level 2 this summer since the IGCSE additional maths I've done this year (sorta of equivalent to pre calculus) actually covers a lot of what's in my study guide but I'm hesitant to do that because I haven't paid much attention in class this year

Edited June 4, 2014 by pink97

[flinquinnster]

I don't know very much about Bio/Chem SAT II. However, if you're thinking of doing Maths Lvl 2, you shouldn't have that much to learn that isn't covered in the IB course. It's just small things like elliptic/other types of curves, and perhaps a few regression techniques. If you're feeling really unsure, get one of those study guides and you can work through and see what you don't know. The questions themselves are quite easy and especially so with a GDC - but doing some practice in timed exam conditions is useful to get used to the rapid-fire multiple-choice question style of testing - that makes it different in format to IB.

Would you recommend I self study Maths level 2 this summer since the IGCSE additional maths I've done this year (sorta of equivalent to pre calculus) actually covers a lot of what's in my study guide but I'm hesitant to do that because I haven't paid much attention in class this year

I have no idea what is in IGCSE additional maths, so I apologise if I say/imply something about it which is wrong. I would think that studying for Maths Lvl 2 in the summer would be a good idea. Even if you think that add maths has covered a lot of what is in the study guide for the SAT II, it's still worth revising the questions/examples/explanations given - that way you can determine if you've missed anything important. It shouldn't take too long in the summer - probably 2-3 days intense study, or you could spread it out across a few weeks.

[Pink97]

I don't know very much about Bio/Chem SAT II. However, if you're thinking of doing Maths Lvl 2, you shouldn't have that much to learn that isn't covered in the IB course. It's just small things like elliptic/other types of curves, and perhaps a few regression techniques. If you're feeling really unsure, get one of those study guides and you can work through and see what you don't know. The questions themselves are quite easy and especially so with a GDC - but doing some practice in timed exam conditions is useful to get used to the rapid-fire multiple-choice question style of testing - that makes it different in format to IB.

Would you recommend I self study Maths level 2 this summer since the IGCSE additional maths I've done this year (sorta of equivalent to pre calculus) actually covers a lot of what's in my study guide but I'm hesitant to do that because I haven't paid much attention in class this year

I have no idea what is in IGCSE additional maths, so I apologise if I say/imply something about it which is wrong. I would think that studying for Maths Lvl 2 in the summer would be a good idea. Even if you think that add maths has covered a lot of what is in the study guide for the SAT II, it's still worth revising the questions/examples/explanations given - that way you can determine if you've missed anything important. It shouldn't take too long in the summer - probably 2-3 days intense study, or you could spread it out across a few weeks.

2-3 days? More like 1-2 months

[by.andrew]

I took Math 2, Chem and Physics last year, November. I signed up really late so I only prepared for physics. Had about 1 week to prepare, so here are my 2 cents.

Chem

I finished the first half of Chem HL Core+AHL when I took this. I only had time to do 1 practice test (I just took this because the additional subject fee was only +$12), but it wasn't too hard. Hopefully, you should be at least done the first four units. There are some beginning questions that ask you about lab equipment, basic chemical rxns and colors of solutions (manganate and copper; complex metals), which you should have covered in HL. There is a lot of redox questions (I had no clue on these because my teacher didn't cover them yet), so self-study this for sure. If you have the time, focus on skimming through energetics, kinetics and equilibria and skip orgo. You should be able to solve most of the orgo questions anyway if you took Bio. Otherwise, there are some questions regarding environmental chemistry that were wacky. Make sure also know the format because the T/F/CE questions were weird for me. Curve initially looks harsh, but the test isn't as hard as you think it is. Usually 80/90 nets you a 800.

Math 2

Math SL was an anticipated subject for me (Done by IB1). Solved some Barrons practice tests. It's an easy test if you're good at math. IMO the curve is also pretty generous (~5 wrong for 800), so you can get a good score by using some intuition and guessing.

[Forester]

I took Math and Chem HL and took SAT2 Math2 and Chem without extra study at the middle of IB2. There is a lot of overlap. However, for biology there is a lot of extra memorization needed.

[Pink97]

I took Math and Chem HL and took SAT2 Math2 and Chem without extra study at the middle of IB2. There is a lot of overlap. However, for biology there is a lot of extra memorization needed.

So there is no point in waiting till I start the IB course to take the exam? Memorising from the review book during the summer should be sufficient?

[Megamind]

I just gave my Math II, Physics and Chemistry SAT subject tests this May and June. A bit of background, I have Math, Physics and Chemistry all at the HL level. Here's each of the subjects individually:-

Math II:-

Math II isnt that tough an exam, its just the timing which you have to master. The course content would be filled up by the end of One year of IB Math HL, with the exception of some material like Regressions etc. I would say that self-study for this from a GOOD REVIEW BOOK ( I had Kaplan, which was very good, got a 790 ) would make excellent test prep, you dont really need to do Math II after one year of IB. I studied Math II for only 2-3 days and took 3 practice tests, and I m pretty sure the curve was generous because I left like 5-6 questions. So, you can definitely give it a shot in the October/November SAT Subject test dates, plentyyyyy of time till then.

Chemistry :-

Haah, this subject can be a bit of a pain at times. I would definitely say that you should finish one year of IB Chemistry HL and then give this test. The topics are largely based on the content covered in first year IB chemistry, with less weight on topics typically covered later ( such as equilibrium, kinetics, rates of reactions etc ) . Even a good review book makes it difficult for anyone to grasp a fresh topic but maybe that's just me because I only studied chemistry for like 3 days. I would still advise you to take this next May/ June. The experience and practice of getting used to IB Paper 1 Chemistry questions will help you A LOT in this test. Chemistry is heavy on application and that will really come down hard on you if you dont have IB Chem experience.

Biology :-

I dont have this subject, but a friend of mine took this test last November, when our school hadn't complete much Biology. His study guide was more than enough for him to get a 790 on the Bio test, and that was only with like 2 weeks of preparation and practice tests, so I'd say it's pretty safe to go ahead with giving Biology

So, go ahead with Math II and Bio, but I'd say hold on to Chemistry till Next May