I come from a rural Midwestern school where little attention is paid to the SAT. I am top in my class and got a 34 on the ACT, but am wondering if it is beneficial to take the SAT and Subject tests, especially Math II as I plan to go into a mathematics or engineering field. I am taking a math class at a local college next year as a senior as I have exhausted all other options at my school (AP Stats, AP Calc AB and BC with all 5’s). Would my success in these classes enough to show my proficiency in math where taking the Math II test wouldn’t have much of an impact? I plan to apply to some Ivies and other prestigious schools.
Check whether your target colleges want it.
These days one or the other is fine in terms of ACT or SAT. Some students do both to demonstrate they did well on both, but typically not at all necessary. Others just get as high as they can on one of them. Subject tests are not needed like they use to be at many schools, however, they are “strongly recommended” (read as you must submit them) at some schools and they can be a differentiation to to your application. Math II is strongly recommended (required) for engineering apps to UCLA for example, and you won’t get in without them. While not required at a school like USC, I would certainly submit a math II and science subject test score to show your commitment to STEM, being they use holistic review. So what @ucbalumnus said is true, you can check to see if the schools want it, but at the more competitive schools having a good subject test score in math and sciences (physics or chem) is certainly a plus as a math or engineering major.
All your peers applying to top-tier engineering schools will have taken Math 2 and a science, most likely Physics, so even it the school says optional, recommended, or doesn’t even mention it, take it.
Thanks for the info, many of the schools say it is “recommended,” which I figured means it is required, so I was just curious exactly how important it is. It is just an annoyance as I haven’t taken Trig/Pre-Calc since 8th grade and many of the skills were not utilized in my calc classes and have been forgotten, is going to require much studying/review to perform well on it. Wish my school would have mentioned it to me earlier as I would have done much better on it 3 years ago
Same here @jheidenreich I’m gonna be a senior next year and I skipped precalc. I have to learn math 2 in a week (after APs) and take it on june 6th -__-
“Recommended” should be treated as “required” if you are not in a disadvantaged environment or one where the “recommended” items are inaccessible.
Ya lots of students have to do backwards studying for the subject test. Get some practice books or check online for a refresher of those older math skills/formulas.
Seems like my only option at this point. Wish they had a Calc subject test…