<p>I'm a junior student from Beijing. I'm taking Math 2 and Physics subject tests in June.
I don't want to waste time memorizing Chemistry terms since I have a strong tendency to major in humanities. And I can't spare that much time on History or Literature tests because my high school is very competitive and I must ensure a high GPA/rank.</p>
<p>Everyone's telling me that I MUST take 3 to get into top schools. I've viewed the official cites of some colleges I'm interested in, such as Columbia and Brown, but don't find any information on that. Can anyone help me?</p>
<p>yea i have the same question... im taking sat1 on may and sat math and bio on june... and since im really bad at sat1s im prolly going to use the october and november ones to retake the sat1.. and november and december will be hard to take anything since ill be busy with apps.</p>
<p>can someone specify which colleges only take two of the scores and which schools look at all three?</p>
<p>You only need the number that the college requires. You will need three to apply to Harvard, Princeton or Georgetown, but all others that require IIs require only two. Johns Hopkins and Northwestern, neither of which require IIs, recommend three. Other than those two is sufficient. Go here for a list of colleges that require, recommend or consider IIs: Compass:</a> Admissions Requirements</p>
<p>Also, having a math and science is fine for admission to any of those that require IIs. It is a misconception that you somehow must have a humanities or social science.</p>
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Should research your dream college list better than that... you guys are lazy.
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<p>seconded. though since you're from Beijing, I salute you and wish you luck. my advice: some colleges require 2, some require 3, but if you take 3 you'll have all your bases covered...</p>
<p>I do think it helpful to balance my SATII with some humanities. But here's my problem:
I don't have a solid basis of U.S. History and World History is too trivial and very different from what I learn at school. I've seriously considered Literature. I appreciate literature, but the questions do require certain techniques that by no means can I learn. My French is way below the test standard. Worst of all, I don't have any tutors! I can't even get a literature prep book here simply because no one takes that test.</p>
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<p>Also, having a math and science is fine for admission to any of those that require IIs. It is a misconception that you somehow must have a humanities or social science<<</p>
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<p>In fact for some schools just the opposite is true. Tech schools such as MIT or Caltech <em>require</em> that you take a math and a science test for their two Subject tests. Humanities tests are fine if you want to throw them in for for extras, but the math and science test have to be there.</p>
<p>If you truly want to major in humanities, the college will want to see demonstration of prior interest. Lack of humanities Subject test can be made up by well-demonstrated or documented evidence of your strength and interest in humanities in other parts of your application. </p>
<p>But if all your subject tests, ECs and classes are science/math, but you say that you want to study humanities, they won't know what to do with you. </p>
<p>College applications are like an essay - you make a statement "this is who I am; this is what I want to major in; this is why I want to go to your school" and then you use the other parts of the application to support your thesis. The whole thing needs to knit together, like a well constructed essay.</p>
<p>"I don't have a solid basis of U.S. History and World History is too trivial and very different from what I learn at school. I've seriously considered Literature. I appreciate literature, but the questions do require certain techniques that by no means can I learn. My French is way below the test standard. Worst of all, I don't have any tutors! I can't even get a literature prep book here simply because no one takes that test."</p>
<p>I'm having the same problem! I'm going to try and do either US or World History but I'll be learning either from scratch because I don't know anything about either. I'd love to do French but my French isn't great either and I think it would be easier to do well in history. I'm having to order all my prep books online because I can't find them in any shops here. Gah. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>well of course some colleges require 3.. but my question is different
Although colleges say that they require 2.. they either leave only 2 blank spots or several blank spots to write the sat2s down on their apps..
for example columbia and brown require 2 sat2 scores.. BUT columbia forces u to write only 2.. whereas brown makes you write ALL of your sats2 scores when applying.. so then if you have more than 2 sat scores.. itll look better than those who only wrote 2</p>
<p>BESIDES COLUMBIA WHAT OTHER COLLEGES ONLY MAKE YOU WRITE 2 OF YOUR BEST SCORES?</p>
<p>^ do the research on the apps of the colleges you're interested in. ConnieK -- dont over analyze the SATII thing -- most colleges want two. If you are applying to those that want more, then you need another one. If you are planning on applying RD -- the test in early Jan. will get you the extra score. Colleges look at SATII scores as an extra little thing,(ie if your grades are on the low end of their students, but your scores are high, its not as good as if your grades are high but scores are lower.) They also want the highest scores only, so that they can include them in the stats. You'll do better if you concentrate on your GPA and SATI</p>
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BESIDES COLUMBIA WHAT OTHER COLLEGES ONLY MAKE YOU WRITE 2 OF YOUR BEST SCORES?
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<p>Don't over-think this issue. Prior to score choice, ALL test scores go with the file so adcoms can see them all, regardless of what you self-report on teh app.</p>
<p>I think Math level2 and physics should be okay for most schools, including the elite colleges (i.e. Yale). However, if I were you, I would spend time working to increase the CR score because as a prospective humanities major, you must have good reading and interpretative skills. If you already scored pretty high on CR, disregard this but a solid CR score will really make you stand out in the crowd, at least amongest the other international applicants.</p>
<p>I think my reply might be a bit late… but I’ve registered for a SAT Lit test and there’s a McGraw Hill prep book for it in Beijing, however I’m finding it hard to find a tutor as well…
by the way, are you Chinese? And which school are you in?</p>
<p>I might be a little late as well but I saw this thread from the bump above. Don’t be afraid to take the lit subject test. It is basically SAT 1 critical reading except that it has a poetry component as well. If you have a solid English background then the stories should be no problem at all. If you take 2 hours and go over some poetry comprehension review then you should be good for the poetry section. </p>
<p>Some perspective. I got an 800 on CR but only 670 on lit but went into the lit test with absolutely no prep. I’m fairly confident that minimal prep could have put me into the low-mid 700s easily.</p>
<p>…Is this the Connie that I roomed with during the THIMUN Hague trip? hahaha
Anyway, have you considered taking Chinese? I’m going to guess that you have a dual-passport, so taking the Chinese test wouldn’t seem that bad. Most people in our school do that anyway, which is why they’re able to fill up three subject tests. And, seeing where you are right now, you wouldn’t even need to study for the test (just wing it!) Get a Subject Test Booklet from the counseling office. Sign up for the one this upcoming November and get it over with
But, mind me say, your choice of subjects seems slightly lop-sided here. You said that the US History and World History tests stray away from what we typically learn in school, but truth be told, I don’t think it’s that bad. I went through this mind-boggling decision as well, but someone told me that there’re so many aspects needed to be covered in World History, the questions are rather general/straight-forward; whereas US History covers a content of merely 200 years, so the questions are more specific and detail-based. Our Asian Studies class already covers one third of the World History content.<br>
And from what I know, literature is more about practicing than learning --very much like the CR section from SATI, albeit slightly harder. Ask the seniors about the prep booklets. I’ve seen prep booklets being sold at the Flea Market last time. Some large bookstores at Wangfujing sell them as well.
Math IIC, Physics, Chinese, (Literature?). Bam bam bam (bam). But remember to focus on your SAT Reasoning Test first, for that’s what you (or most people, at least) would most likely be trampled by.
You still have a year left, so don’t worry too much about it. And remember you needn’t send all your scores in!
Hope this helps :)</p>
