<p>Hi, I plan on studying engineering in college and it is my understanding that engineering schools pretty much only care about Math Level 2 SAT Subject Tests. However, I'm not very good at Math Level 2.
So here's my question: which looks worse to engineering schools - a bad score on Math 2, or a pretty good score on Math 1?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Depends on which engineering colleges you are applying to: Some actually require the Math 2 (e.g., Caltech), others readily accept math 1 (e.g., MIT), some recommend 2 over 1 (e.g., Stanford), and many don’t require or recommend any subject tests at all (e.g., UIUC, which won’t even look at them). Obviously, if you want to apply to a college that requires the math 2, you have to take it, and if it recoomends the math 2, you are usually advised to take it.</p>
<p>Engineering colleges want the Math Level 2, usually even if it’s a lower score. How big is the difference? If you are a student that would do well on ML1, ML2 should be within your grasp with a little prep and study. There are a lot of good resources in this forum. I recommend the Barron’s and Princeton Review books for prep.</p>
<p>Also remember that while Math 1 is easier the curve is worse. According to the Sparknotes grading, missing 4 questions on the Math 1 test will get you a 730, while the same raw score on the Math 2 test will get you a 780-800.
The Math 2 also isn’t THAT hard if you study the concepts. Barrons, Princeton Review, the Collegeboard SAT2 Math book, and even PreCalculus textbooks are good tools you can use to study.</p>
<p>If the schools you are looking at do not require Math II, then it should not matter. Math I is often regarded as harder to get a high score on because each question wrong affects your score more. For example, my Math II score is 40 points higher than my Math I score, but in terms of percentile, my Math I score is much better. If you’re Math I score is a higher percentile and your school has no preference, I would definitely consider sending it…or you could send both! Good luck!</p>
<p>Math II isn’t much harder, and if you can easily handle Math I then you should have no problem with Math II. Plus the curve is more generous.</p>