<p>After buying the barron's book and taking the diagnostic test, I am worried. Very worried. I could only even answer enough questions to get me a 535 score. I plan to take the test in june. I already have a Latin (750) and World History (780) SAT subject test under my belt, with plans to take this jun: Latin (to get to 800), US history, and Math II. I am not a math person, I am a languages/social studies/writing person. I have finally managed to get my SAT I math score from low 600's to low 700's after taking a class which was financially burdensome. That said, I have never had a problem getting a solid A (96) in any honors math class I have taken. I am currently in precalc/trig honors (and we are set to learn limits soon). I guess I shouldn't freak out that much considering that I haven;'t even studied the text of the barrons yet and havent been taught some of the material, but the diagnostic test scared me *****less.. especially all the 3D coordinate plane and shapes stuff.... Will I be fine with just a language and two history SAT II's, especially if those will be my majors, or should I tough it out and possibly struggle to even get to low 700's (barely) in Math II. Does this show I'm more well-rounded? (I plan on applying to mostly ivies and top LACs if that matters..)</p>
<p>I don’t understand why you think you have to do math level 2. all your other scores are really strong, so go with math level 1. Study hard and get a solid score. You’re not going to do engineering.</p>
<p>You don’t need the Math II test at all. I’d suggest taking the Literature test instead; makes more sense given your interests.</p>
<p>But will colleges care about me having a Math SAT at all? My philosophy at the moment is since I already bough teh book, I’m studying for Math level II, but I’m not sure how much I can expect scores to improve. I’ll save the math test as my last one out of the three since it will be my least “important” one.</p>
<p>I am in AP Lang right now, so is it really wise for me to do Lit? It usually has lower scores and I get bored easily during passage-based exams… Can someone describe the lit test to me?</p>
<p>check with your college counselor and look carefully at the requirements for the universities you are interested in. MANY suggest or require SAT 2’s in a math and another subject. We just finished the process and I believe I saw this several times. I never noticed that any of them asked specifically for level 2 - it was pretty much either 1 or 2. My Son applied to very competitive schools and I felt this was pretty consistent.</p>
<p>My biggest reaches Harvard, princeton, yale, amherst, stanford, don’t require math. P-ton requires it for science, and stanford only mentions that it prefers math II over I</p>
<p>I don’t see how a mediocre score in math will add anything to your application if you’re not interested in math at all.</p>
<p>Latin, World History, and US History sound like a good combo to me. A little angled, yes, but if you’re an angled candidate, then there’s nothing you can do about that.</p>
<p>The Lit test is much like the CR section of the SAT, only less focused on identifying factual information & literal meanings and therefore harder for most people. I enjoyed it a lot because of the format, which exposes the test-taker to many different literary genres and writing styles in quick succession (and also because the test I took featured an excerpt from Moby-Dick, which I love), but if you get bored easily, then maybe it’s not for you. To do well on it, you need either excellent powers of concentration or a love for reading great enough to override your test anxiety.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t bother with either of the Math tests if I were you.</p>
<p>Based on what you told us, you shouldn’t take it unless it is required.</p>
<p>Try a different prep book since Barron’s is notoriously overkill for most SAT subject tests. The College Board Blue Book is more accurate in assessing the eventual score. FWIW, my daughter was very depressed by the Barrons diagnostic test also (can’t even remember if she cracked 600). She used the blue book and Princeton Review instead and felt the practice tests are more realistic. She scored 750 in her SAT Math II.</p>
<p>Thank you guys for your response! Is it bad to be an angled candidate? I’m glad I held off on registration. I’m going to try to sell my barron’s book to a friend seeing as it is largely untouched. Any more info about the lit test? I got a 770 in SAT I CR but in AP lang, the passage-based MC has been very tough for me. How should I prepare for the lit test? I’m sure there’s some way that will simultaneously help me prepare for the lit SAT and the AP lang mc.</p>
<p>I’m with ccreader–Barron’s is very difficult. A 535 could easily translate to a 600. With a little more practice you could probably add more points.</p>
<p>^^A 600 isn’t going to help the OP’s case either.</p>