How important is it to have a Math SAT II?

Applying to College
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<p>I took the SAT Subject Tests today. I planned on taking US History, Lit. and Math I, but after taking some Math I practice tests the night before (from the SparkNotes book), and scoring 640 and 670, I decided to take the Spanish instead (I am a native speaker).</p>

<p>I got a 770 CR/780 M/780 W on the SAT I, probably an 800 on Spanish, probably not far from that on US History and probably 700+ in Lit. I didn't want the Math tests to break the trend.</p>

<p>However, I'm thinking I might need to prepare for it, or for the Math II, and take it in November. I've been reading that it's probably wisest to have a humanities, math and science as your three. I have no shot at taking a science, and I'm thinking that if I only send in the three I took it'll look weak.</p>

<p>So my question has two parts:</p>

<p>How important is it for me to have a Math subject tests taking into account that I won't have a science?</p>

<p>Which one should I take? I have a weak base in pretty much all HS math, but I am naturally good at math and a quick learner (this year I'm taking Calc AB and have been doing very well, despite the weak base). I'm thinking I can get the Math I into the mid-700s range in a month, but would it be more worth my time to bust my ass for the Math II? I got an A in precalc. last year - I'm thinking it won't look good if I got that but still elected for the Math I.</p>

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<p>Where are you applying?</p>

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<p>Link to chance thread from a few weeks ago: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1208293-chances-columbia-upenn-cornell-georgetown-tufts-bc.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1208293-chances-columbia-upenn-cornell-georgetown-tufts-bc.html&lt;/a&gt; . Since then I’ve decided to cut out UPenn and GWU and do UMich and JHU instead. Something of an unusual situation, which is why I link to the thread instead of just stating the schools.</p>

<p>If anyone wants to give me their opinion or comment something relevant to that thread, that would be very appreciated :).</p>

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<p>What do the schools you are applying to require or recommend?</p>

<p>If you have completed precalculus with an A grade, why not take Math Level 2 instead of Math Level 1, if you take an SAT Subject Test in math?</p>

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<p>Are you applying for engineering or science? If so, you need a math and a science subject test. If not, you don’t need either.</p>

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<p>It seems to me schools don’t specify which they want, unless one intends to be an engineering major, which I don’t (I’m going into Political Science). However, I’m thinking taking a Math fits into the whole well-rounded student idea.</p>

<p>It was a very easy class (teacher) in which I didn’t need to know much of the material to get the A. Unfortunately, I didn’t go past what I needed to do to get the A.</p>

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<p>For political science, you probably eventually want to take calculus (which you are now, as a prerequisite for probability / statistics) and probability / statistics, which can be a useful tool for analyzing poll and election numbers, as well as understanding various things in the world (statistics seem to confuse or mislead a lot of people, and many people get confused or misled interpreting the meaning of the value or amount of something versus its rate of change).</p>

<p>It may also be a good idea in general to take a logic course (either from the philosophy department, or a math course emphasizing proofs).</p>

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<p>Taking logic courses? College is going to be so much more interesting than high school.</p>

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<p>Do you need more than two SAT subject tests? I seem to remember that very few schools ask for that, but Georgetown may be one of them.</p>

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<p>Yeah, Georgetown asks for three, but I do have three in US History, Literature and Spanish.</p>

<p>My worry is that the lack of a Math subject tests will hurt me. Trying to figure out if it’s worth taking one in November.</p>

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<p>Math II is a semi important test, but I wouldn’t say it was a big make or break factor</p>

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<p>Math II is required/expected for some more technical majors, but not for all incoming college students. That said, assuming you’ve had pre-calc, Math II is much easier to score high on than Math I. The curve is much less difficult.</p>

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<p>Got it. I think I’m going to see where I am now in Math II/how much work I’d need to be where I’d be happy with my score, and then decide if I’ll take it or not.</p>

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<p>I wanted to give this a bump to see if there was a new perspective =).</p>