She is finishing up Soph yr, and I was under the impression that you only really needed them for the Ivies and similar schools. Did I make a mistake? Ivies are not on our radar. It’s still early to tell, but I was thinking she would be applying to schools ranked from 20- 50 or so. Must she now take a couple next yr when she’s a junior
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Very few schools require SAT II exams. Neither one of my kids took them as they were not aiming for the hyper-selective colleges. Both got into their top choice.
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Keep in mind that it is not “your” mistake (if it is a mistake at all) that “you” who didn’t sign her up. Your D attends HS, hears what others are doing, has access to her guidance counselor etc. and she needs to be an active and responsible participant in her college process including standardized test scheduling. Of course you should be there to guide and support her but it is not all on you.
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Look at the requirements/ recommendations of schools you and she are considering with your D and work together to formulate a standardized testing plan.
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If she does need SAT II there is still plenty of time and plenty of choices of exams to take. At our HS some kids started taking SATII’s freshman year (took SAT II in bio after taking bio as a freshman) and others started taking them junior year.
It’s a great idea to take some subject tests as while few schools require them, many recommend them, and they can certainly bolster an application. But don’t worry, she has time to take them junior year and even into senior year. I know some freshmen who have taken the bio test after 9th grade bio, and after 10th grade, many kids take World history or chem after just completing that coursework, but it’s also okay to wait. She can take the math any time, and after junior year would be a good time to take US history or Lit.
She doesn’t need to take any SAT IIs unless and until she finds out that they are specifically required by one or more of the colleges/universities that she decides to apply to. Don’t worry about this. Your daughter has time.
Some places specifically require SAT II exams. Some will accept ACT scores instead of SAT plus SAT II. Some don’t require any exams at all (see the list at http://www.fairtest.org/).
All of this stuff can wait.
Thank you all! Is it true that it’s mainly the Ivies that require them? Let’s say hypothetically she wants to go to a school
like Bucknell, Lafayette or Univ of Richmond, and they don’t require them. Will most of the kids applying be submitting them, and will that put her at a disadvantage for not doing so? The friends she knows who are taking them on Saturday are aiming for the top schools.
I don’t know if anyone submits scores that aren’t required. My kid sure wouldn’t have!
The usual argument for taking SAT II exams starting in 9th or 10th grade, is that the score is likely to be higher if the student has just completed a related class in HS.
I don’t know how kids do it. My D recently took her first AP test, and she’s now in the middle of finals and then she will have to take four Regent’s exams all in a matter of weeks. Next yr will be even more intense.
Just checked Lafayette, subject tests are recommended… you can always check the college website.https://admissions.lafayette.edu/what-we-look-for/
If it were me, I would check her course selection for next year, sometimes it may be beneficial to take the test in the Summer.
Recommended=Required. As an example, Math Level 2, the most common SATII, is typically taken after PreCalc. My D18 took it in June 2016 as a sophomore. In CA, the UC’s “recommend” them, so pretty much every one submits them.
Yep, junior year is busy. But preferably, you want all that SAT, SATII and/or ACT testing to be done junior year, so students can focus on apps and essays senior year. Or if a retake is needed.
Thank you. How did I miss that about Lafayette? I just checked another school that may be of interest, SMU and this was their answer re. subject test: “Although a large percentage of applicants submit SAT II scores, they are not required.” Now I see that it’s probably important.
@annamom When you mention taking the tests in the summer, do you mean after junior yr or this summer?
@sushiritto Math is my D’s weakest subject. Can she take subject tests next yr in Lit and US History and be done with it? It’s a shame I didn’t think to have her take the tests for Bio and Chem, which she did well in.I’m guessing they like to see tests representing different areas. Next yr is physics, which should be incredibly hard. I seriously wish we could just focus on some nice middle of the road schools and skip all this insanity.
For schools that either require or recommend them, then I’d take them. If you choose schools, where they’re neither required or recommended, then your daughter doesn’t need to take them. But your daughter can change her mind on schools too over the course of the next 1-2 years too.
US History and Literature are fine, assuming she won’t be a STEM student. Some college STEM programs require at least the Math Level 2 and/or Physics, Chemistry or Biology. But do realize, the SATII’s typically have material behind the scope of the HS Level course. If you and your daughter decide to take them, then I’d recommend preparing for them towards the end of the HS course, say like, May/June 2018, but depends on when she takes the SAT and/or ACT. Decisions on schools and scheduling are crucial, but you do have time as she is just finishing her Sophomore year
@sushiritto Thank you so much! She definitely won’t be a STEM major in college. She’ll be taking AP US History and AP Lang and Comp next year so hopefully that will be good preparation for the tests. Again, thanks so much to you and everyone else here:))
@citymama9 I meant taking it in August…A friend of mine also forgot to registering her S for Chem during end of sophomore year, she just asked him to study and take it in October junior year. But this year the kid can take it in August. I assume it is easier than taking it in the Fall when your kid may be taking different courses.
My kids didn’t necessarily do better when they took the tests right after they took the classes anyway. Bio didn’t go so well for either of them. The ones that they did well on, they studied for them and took them in junior year, and I think both took one more shot at one they wanted to improve in fall of senior year. If she likes reading and literature, I’d suggest that she look at the Lit subject test. My kids were both big readers; they did a little bit of prep for that test from a prep book. One got a 760, and the other got an 800. I hear on here that people think it is hard, but for students who like to read, I think it isn’t so tough. It isn’t about specific literature you’ve read, more about knowing the forms of literature (which a prep book can help with), and having a big vocabulary and a good ability to interpret ambiguous or complex passages.
Note that historically not every test has been offered on every test date. For example, one of my kids took World History – but at that time it was only offered on some of the testing dates. Just check to make sure when the tests your kid might want to take is offered.
In our high school, almost no one takes SAT2 until they are juniors. Our kids go to HYPSM and the like. My D took two SAT 2 in June of her junior year. Your D is fine. Plus, she has August this year.
Since subject tests are taken by a self-selecting group of students, be aware that the curve can be brutal. While subject tests are supposed to represent high school level mastery, a large percentage of kids take the subject tests in May/Jun after completing an AP course. (My ds did that. AP chem and subject test at the same time. I know he would not have received the score he did after his non-AP chem course.)
Look at the pdf for how scores compare to percentile ranks.
https://research.collegeboard.org/programs/sat/data/sat-data-tables
The AP courses will be adequate prep for those 2 next June. You’re fine!
Tempkid1 was admitted to and will be attending Lafayette and did not submit SAT subject tests.
You guys are the best! Thanks so much. I don’t know what I would do without CC!