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<p>This is true for biology, chemistry, and US history. In literature and foreign language, an AP course sure wouldn’t hurt. Physics is hard to judge because the AP physics courses have been changed recently. In math, the SAT 2 material does NOT match the AP material – it is more aligned with high school course content. </p>
<p>My D took SAT2 Chemistry and Math 2 in June of Junior year with just one weekend of preparation as she was taking AP Chemistry and Pre-calc at that time. It also only took 2 hours for the 2 tests. Three of the four schools she choose for free score reports she ended up applying so there was actually no real extra cost for her (or she needed to pay more or less the same amount to request SAT1 score reports anyway although one of the 3 schools does not require SAT2). Also, We regret not sending the SAT2 scores to one school that does not require subject test scores for admission as we have not heard back any merit scholarship from it (but other schools). Merit scholarships are much more competitive than admission. You really want to have everything possible to support your application.</p>
<p>OP, read the following I found:
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) [math and science recommended;
“scores only used if they benefit applicant”]
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) [Subject Tests in Math and Science
required of all applicants to accelerated degree programs in law
and medicine if submitting SAT instead of ACT]</p>
<p>If the schools he is interested in don’t require the SAT subject tests, I would be inclined to not take them. </p>
<p>My S was interested in some schools which required SAT subject tests, so he took them in June his junior year, after the AP exams, when they aligned well with the classes he was taking. My D wasn’t interested in any schools which required the subject tests, so she didn’t take them. </p>
<p>BTW, many schools which require the SAT subject tests will allow the ACT to substitute for both SAT + SAT Subject Tests. So, it may be a better time investment to take the ACT instead of the Subject Tests, since all schools require SAT or ACT, and if the ACT happens to be better, it can be used instead of the SAT.</p>
<p>There is an SAT for literature and what used to be the Writing SAT subject test got incorporated into the regular SAT. My kids did both take SAT subject tests in courses they were also enrolled in for APs. It made the studying a lot easier! BTW in our school, honors physics covers the material for the SAT better than AP physics C. My son took a look at the questions and decided to take the SAT subject test in June, so he could review the stuff that isn’t cover in that AP course.</p>
<p>“My son took Honors Physics and had to self-study probably 40% of the material for the SAT subject test.” Mine thought she wouldn’t need that test, based on the programs whose requirements we had checked in her sophomore and junior years. But when her list was done, there was one school that wanted it. I can’t remember if we learned this late in the spring of her junior year or in the fall of her senior year, but she was feeling very much done with taking SAT type tests at that point, and she felt her physics class hadn’t covered enough of the material being tested. She’s not afraid of physics by any means but she decided just to hope that the rec letter from her physics teacher would suffice.</p>
<p>I know that for most if not all subject tests, you can get an 800 without actually getting everything right. That means you can still do really well on a test (above 700) without studying extensively. I took the physics subject test, only practicing with the questions that are free online, and was able to get a 750. I think while he’s in testing mode it wouldn’t be bad for your son to take the tests, and as @billchso said, the subject tests can help with merit scholarships, even if you’re a shoo in for admission.</p>
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<p>The math tests are the obvious examples of where the AP course material is not needed for the SAT subject tests. Math level 1 covers algebra and geometry, and math level 2 adds trigonometry; neither requires calculus (or statistics).</p>
<p>I remember doing well (mid-700s) on the physics test (then called the achievement test) after just a regular high school physics course (PSSC textbook and curriculum) and no additional test preparation. Granted, that was a while ago, but it is hard to believe that the SAT subject tests have changed to emphasize AP level, as opposed to regular high school junior level, material.</p>
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<p>It is now the writing section of the SAT reasoning test.</p>
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<p>Colleges generally have lots of ways to place out of beginner foreign language courses, given that someone can have foreign language knowledge without formal course work or standardized test results. Typically, the college’s foreign language departments will offer placement testing for students who do not have any of the other indications of knowledge beyond the beginner level.</p>
<p>How much foreign language do you need to take the SAT2s competently? Does one need AP Spanish? (In our district that doesn’t come until senior year…we first have Spanish 3, 4 and 5 before AP.). How about Latin? We don’t even have an AP Latin in our district…just honors courses. </p>
<p>UC seems to think that completion of Spanish 2 in high school with a C or higher grade should be equivalent to an SAT subject test score of 530.
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html#language”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html#language</a></p>
<p>Obviously, the more Spanish you know, the better you are likely to do on that test.</p>
<p>Of course, the quality of instruction may vary from one high school to another.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I think he will pursue it and suggest the US History one too. We have an the Math SAT2 book lying around somewhere from his sister. (He didn’t take APUSH, but loves history/politics and plans to take AP Gov/Pol next year). </p>
<p>He stopped foreign languages at Spanish 3 last year - it was not his thing. Think of Spanish with a Jersey accent. </p>
<p>Only a few schools require SAT Subject Tests, but many schools will consider them if they bolster the applicant’s credentials, and some “test-flexible” schools will accept them in lieu of the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT. IMO, there’s little downside to taking them; it just gives you more options, and if you do well it allows you to present a stronger application. Both of my daughters took several Subject Tests and scored phenomenally well in areas like Literature and World History where relatively few students score really well. High scores on the Math 2 Subject Test, in contrast, seem to be quite common, and in foreign languages the results skew high because of the large numbers of native speakers who take the tests in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish, apparently thinking they’re pulling something over on the admissions officers. </p>
<p>Some schools like Harvard would not count the SAT2 world language score as part of the requirement if it is native to the student.</p>
<p>My son got really bad advice from his guidence councilor regarding subject tests. I would say 99% of the students in his high school are not applying to schools that require SAT subject tests but he is. He took AP Us History in 10th grade and was going to take the subject test and his gc told him it was a waste of time and money. He did very well on the AP exam and likely would have scored well on subject test. He realized as a junior that he needed at least 2 subject tests for a lot of the schools he wanted to apply to. He has since taken both math and the chemistry. The best time to take is May or June of the year you are taking the AP class. My advice is take them! Again I believe he would have scored high and if he didn’t he simply wouldn’t have shared with schools. </p>
<p>Take the Subject tests immediately after the corresponding class…or take them whenever you feel prepared for them. As others have mentioned, it gives you more options when it comes to college applications. After all, some highly selective schools require (or strongly recommend) them.</p>
<p>I’ve had several students who, despite 2 year gaps after taking the corresponding class, end up with perfect scores on various Subject tests. Strong students figure out a way to ace these content-based tests. The cream rises to the top.</p>
<p>Yes, if you remember the content of the course for more than a day after the final exam, then taking the SAT subject test months or even a year after completing the course should not be a problem.</p>
<p>After all, you may need to remember the content of the course in a subsequent course in high school or college; it is not like you get a free pass to forget algebra, geometry, and trigonometry once you enroll in calculus.</p>
<p>Definitely take some subject tests.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, you can still score well even if you didn’t take the class recently. My D had only had World History as a freshman (9th grade honors level, not AP). She self-studied during the fall of her senior year for the SATII and scored 720. She used the Collegeboard blue book practice tests, the Kaplan’s study guide, and supplemented with readings in a college history textbook (“Traditions & Encounters”, Bentley and Ziegler) and online history sources.</p>
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<p>This is not a reason not to take the test. </p>
<p>The goal, as I see it, is to get test scores that make an admissions officer say “OK, this student’s test scores are not a problem. Let’s look at the rest of the application.” You can do that as easily with Math 2 as with any other subject.</p>
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<p>Yes, if you have time to review the material thoroughly. But many high school students don’t have the time (or the motivation).</p>
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<p>This is likely why it is very hard for a non-native speaker who has only taken courses in the subject and had no other background in it to score high on these tests.</p>
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<p>If the tests are required or recommended by a particular college, then the student should take them. But if they are not required or recommended, they may not add value. In fact, the admissions committee may not even consider them. At a college information session I attended with my son, at a university that does not require or recommend SAT Subject Tests, someone asked whether it would be a good idea to take the tests anyway. The admissions officer said, “Take anything you want, but we’re not going to look at your scores.”</p>
<p>Think beyond admission. It may be considered during merit scholarship application as it is much more competitive than admission. </p>
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<p><a href=“Page Not Found : Stanford University”>Page Not Found : Stanford University;
<p>I think the language is tricky.
Stanford does not require but I think applicants send more SAT subjects to Stanford than to many other colleges.</p>