<p>We have been talking with S yesterday about the AP exams that he is most likely facing at the end of this school year and the question about subject tests came up that I really did not know how to answer.
When is the best time to take specific SAT subject tests?
I got a great advice from this forum when it came to SAT II Math - son took it after
Pre-calc and had great results. But what about Bio, Chem, Physics? My gut tells me that with English, History it is best to wait till all of the planed studies in the subject are completed. But is it also true for sciences? For example, he is taking Honors Physics this year and will quite likely be upgraded to AP Physics B after the first quarter. Should he try to tackle SAT Physics after that or wait till he completes AP Physics C, which is generally offered by the school? What about other sciences?
This is purely theoretical question. I have no idea which SAT tests he will eventually choose to take. What I am trying to avoid is cramming for multiple AP and SAT tests later in his HS years.</p>
<p>You should generally take the SAT II tests in the May or June test period after you have completed the course. At our HS, Physics 1 was sufficient to receive an 800 on the Physics test and Physics 2 was not necessary (for the test). I suspect that the same would be true for any of the sciences. Your son does not need more than 3 SAT II tests for any college (and the only one I know of that requires 3 is Harvard), but a number of top tier schools require 2. One math (done in your son’s case), one science, and one humanities (check for college specific tests here) should completely cover what he might need. The AP tests should be done after completion of the course also, but in the case of AP you will probably want to wait until you have done the second level of a science or math, if there is one at your HS.</p>
<p>FWIW, my daughter’s usually high-scoring friend was disappointed with results of Chem subject test, after taking only honors chemistry. My daughter waited until after AP Chem and was happy with her results. June is better than May because you’ll have time for studying after AP exams.</p>
<p>Another note, there are some (rare, I think) programs that require 2 science subject tests for admission. I’m thinking of the Northwestern integrated sciences program. I thought I had all possible bases covered with tests, and was surprised by that one.</p>
<p>On the College Board website is an explanation of what is covered on each test. Look that over and then compare to what ds is learning in the class. Maybe honors physics at your school hits all the covered topics, maybe not. Then you need to decide whether ds wants to self-study the topics that aren’t covered or wait until he completes the higher-level course the next year. But don’t run out of time! :)</p>
<p>Kelowna:</p>
<p>Beware linking SAT Subject test in Physics with AP-Physics C. Also, check very carefully with the teacher of the Honors Physics course that s/he plans to teach the full curriculum and not just a couple of topics.
In theory, a student should be able to take the SAT Subject test after taking the Honors class in that course. In practice, it turns out, many teachers omit some sections (we found out the hard way when S1 opened a SAT Physics review book and saw that the teacher was not covering/had no plan to cover some topics that were on the SAT Subject test).
I don’t know the contents of AP-Physics B, but AP-Physics C covers only Mechanics and Magnetism and Electricity (and many students only take the AP-Physics C Mechanics exam). So, that, too, does not align with the SAT Subject test.
For Chemistry and Biology, the Honors classes align better in terms of curriculum, but students taking AP are even better prepared. In either case, it is a good idea for the student to take the exam in May or June, when the course has been completed or nearly completed and the material is still fresh in his/her mind.</p>
<p>You should buy the “Real Subject tests” book (or whatever it is called now), and see if the tests correspond well with material taught in your son’s classes. Physics, for example, often does not, and requires additional independent study in order to do well on the test.</p>
<p>It is generally best to take these tests at the end of the school year when the course was taught. If your son will be studying for the AP tests, he might as well take the SAT subject tests if his class covered the material.</p>
<p>SAT Literature test does not require any test-specific studying, but is better left for the end of junior year.</p>
<p>Physics is tricky, but Physics B curriculum lines up with SAT better than Physics C. mathson had to study some topics he hadn’t had since freshman year for the SAT after C. (But he did great!) S2 didn’t like his math score though he took Math 2 as recommended after pre-calc. He took the Lit test at the end of jr year and got an over 700 score. If your kid has a good CR SAT1 score Lit is very similar (just add questions about poetry.) S2 took Bio after AP Bio and was well prepared. APUSH is usually very good prep for that SAT both kids got stellar scores in that.</p>
<p>S1 took Math Level II after Functions freshman year – nailed it. He took SAT-II World junior year shortly after the AP World History exam and said the course and subject test aligned closely. Took the Physics SAT-II October of senior year with one year of honors physics freshman year, quantum and thermo junior year and a month of Mathematical Physics (AP Physics C with MV as pre-requisite). He looked at the AP Physics C review book and that was it. I bought him two SAT-II Physics books expecting he’d need to do some significant review and he never opened them. Nailed it. (I had also read the warnings that the SAT-II Physics drew more heavily from Physics B.)</p>
<p>S2 took USH and Math Level II as a soph and took SAT-II Lit cold at the end of junior year after the first year of IB English HL, figuring that he had very strong CR scores. Did very well on all three. Did not know until the dfirst week of June that the pre-IB Bio class at his school was very closely aligned to the SAT-II and that most kids did very, very well. S decided not to take it the following fall, as it would have meant a lot of review and he was not intending to major in a science anyway.</p>
<p>Agree that getting the SAT-IIs out of the way early is a good thing, as long as the corresponding course work is completed.</p>
<p>BTW – Georgetown requires two SAT-IIs and wants a written explanation if you don’t take a third. We interpreted that as a requirement, not an option.</p>
<p>Cornell requires three SAT IIs.</p>
<p>I believe Carnegie Mellon, both CIT and SCS, require three subject tests. CIT is rather specific about the science subjects it wants to see. (My memory is fading, but checking the web sites can answer the question for sure.)</p>
<p>Son found the Bio test to be a complete breeze when taken just at the end of AP Bio. Same with US History/AP US. He took the Literature test at the end of AP Lang, rather than wait a year until he had taken AP Lit, and did remarkably well. </p>
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<p>As it worked out, there was no need to study for the SAT II tests at all, in the cases noted above, because studying for the AP tests already covered all of the bases and son took the exams immediately at the end of the spring semester.</p>
<p>That may not be true for physics or chem, though.</p>
<p>No, Cornell doesn’t.</p>
<p><a href=“http://admissions.cornell.edu/forms/FreshmanRequirementsChart.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.cornell.edu/forms/FreshmanRequirementsChart.pdf</a></p>
<p>But read the chart carefully; requirements differ from school to school within Cornell. Most of the schools other than Arts and Sciences require a math Subject Test.</p>
<p>Just a correction to post #9 above – Cornell requires 0, 1, or 2 subject tests, depending on which division you’re applying to:
<a href=“http://admissions.cornell.edu/forms/FreshmanRequirementsChart.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.cornell.edu/forms/FreshmanRequirementsChart.pdf</a></p>
<p>Oops, cross-posted with Marian.</p>
<p>I think it makes great sense to take Math 2 and US History subject tests at the end of junior year (our kids always took the May tests, since they were already prepping for APUSH) and leave the June test dates for SAT 1 and ACT testing. </p>
<p>When to take a science test is an interesting question. You should take it after you’ve taken the class, obviously, but because your school class may not have covered all of the info that will be covered by the test, you really need to take the time to go over a review book to backfill any information that your class haven’t already covered.</p>
<p>Our kids did that backfilling in the summer before senior year and took the SAT subject test in the early fall of senior year.</p>
<p>^That would never work with my kids - they forget everything over the summer. mathson did the review for physics SAT in May and took SAT2s in June after the AP and took the SAT1 in May instead of June.</p>
<p>Actually Carnegie Mellon only requires 2 subjects tests and the artsy schools don’t require any. They mostly want to see math and a science (even business school wants science!) and some schools specify physics or chemistry. It’s sufficiently complicated you should check if you are considering it: [Admission</a> > Academic Requirements](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>If you have a D/S who may be considering engineering, check the SAT-II requirements. I am helping someone who wants to major in bioengineering – and the SAT-II Bio she took as a freshman doesn’t count at most of these schools. She’s studying Physics this summer.</p>
<p>^Good point mentioned above. CHECK the requirements for the schools you might want to apply to. Requirement can get very picky–for example, a school may not accept the Math 1 subject test.</p>
<p>Son did SAT 2 Physics end of Junior year along with AP Physics B. Did well in both.</p>
<p>Math 2 can be done after Pre-Calc or Alg2/Trig.</p>
<p>here’s a link to the Northwestern Integrated Science Program, with its stringent requirements-- Math 2, Chem and Physics.
[Integrated</a> Science Program Admissions Qualifications](<a href=“http://www.isp.northwestern.edu/admissions/qualifications.html]Integrated”>Qualifications: Integrated Science Program - Northwestern University)</p>
<p>OTOH, MIT will accept either Math Level I or Math Level II.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is another school that requires Math Level II – and you must get through a year of Calc before matriculation, either at your HS or at a college the summer before you matriculate. No exceptions. They were very clear about this at the road show two years ago, and it remains on their website now. Their freshman math begins with Multivariable Calc.</p>