<p>Your daughter might be more receptive to college counseling – if you and she decide that it’s necessary – later on, when she’s seriously thinking about college.</p>
<p>But there is one practical aspect of the college application process that you and your daughter should be thinking about NOW – at the end of 10th grade, namely, the SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>Surprisingly often, students can benefit from taking SAT Subject Tests in particular subjects at the end of 10th grade, but they often don’t think of it because their minds – and their parents’ minds – aren’t on the college application process yet. Also, there seems to be a myth floating around that students shouldn’t take the Subject Tests until after they have taken the SAT. This is nonsense, and it is counterproductive for some students.</p>
<p>Thinking about the SAT Subject Tests can be particularly important for students with an interest in science – such as your daughter. If she ends up being qualified to apply to top colleges, she will find that many require two SAT Subject Tests and a few require three – each in different subject areas (e.g., math, social studies, and science, not three sciences). If she decides to major in a science (or especially, in engineering), she may find that some of the colleges that she hopes to apply to not only require Subject Tests but specify which ones their applicants must take – usually, math and one of the physical sciences (chemistry or physics) for engineering and in some instances, math and any science for other science programs. </p>
<p>So the question is, would the end of this school year be the optimum time for your daughter to take any of the SAT Subject Tests?</p>
<p>If she is taking precalculus (or whatever your school system calls the math course just before calculus), the right time for her to take the Math Level 2 Subject Test is at the end of this year. That test heavily emphasizes topics taught in that last year before calculus – including some topics she is likely to forget later on. </p>
<p>In terms of science, she should consider the course she is taking now and the one she will take next year. She is pretty much limited to taking the SAT Subject Test in one of those sciences or the other – if she takes a science test at all. Which is better taught? Which has a curriculum more in line with what the SAT Subject Tests require? (The teacher or guidance department would know this.) Which is more in line with her interests and talents? If she is considering engineering, is one of them a physical science, but the other is not? If your daughter thinks that it might be a good idea to take the SAT Subject Test in the science she is studying right now, the end of this year would be the best time to take it – before she forgets a lot of the content.</p>
<p>In terms of other subjects, probably the only other test she might consider taking is the U.S. History Subject Test, and that’s only if she happens to be taking AP U.S. History this year. The SAT Subject Test in U.S. History is so similar to the multiple choice portion of the AP test that it’s basically a gift from the gods to all students who take AP U.S. History before their senior year. </p>
<p>The SAT Subject Tests in literature and foreign language benefit from as much preparation as the student can get, so they are best taken later in high school. </p>
<p>If your daughter decides that it would be worthwhile to take any SAT Subject Tests this year, she needs to sign up for the June test date by the beginning of May. (She could also sign up for the May test date right now, but that would be a late registration and would cost more.) </p>
<p>Please understand that I’m not suggesting that your daughter actually study for any SAT Subject Tests. I’m suggesting that she take them cold, based on what she has learned in school. Then, if she is disappointed with her scores, she might choose to study and take the same test(s) again, or she could choose to take different tests next year. I see no point in putting a lot of time into preparing for these tests when the student doesn’t know whether preparation is necessary. </p>
<p>My daughter took two SAT Subject Tests at the end of 10th grade with no special preparation and scored high enough so that she did not feel the need to take the tests again. That was a nice way to begin the college testing process.</p>