<p>I scored a 670 on my SAT I Math section. (Perfect scores on Writing and Critical Reading... Obviously I'm not that well-rounded.) Cornell requires two SAT Subject Tests on its application. I'm taking Literature and was planning on taking Math Level One, but then I heard that some colleges don't take it seriously because it's too easy. I really don't know if I'd be comfortable taking Level Two. I'm in AP Calculus right now and have gotten As in all my prior math classes (i.e. trig, pre-calc), but I don't know if I have an in-depth understanding.</p>
<p>I also thought that if I took the SAT II Math Level 1 and got a better score than I did on the SAT I Math, that would show improvement (if I do worse, I'm screwed).</p>
<p>Would I really lose anything by taking the Level 1 test? What would you recommend?</p>
<p>SAT2 Math2 has a pretty tough curve that it is hard to score 800 even if you are very good in Math as one careless mistake make kill the 800. Math2 has one of the highest percentage in SAT2 getting 800 but you do need to know the Math. For most engineering and science major, Math2 is preferred. Other than that, I’ve read Stanford prefer Math2 over Math1 too disregarding major. For most other schools and non-science, non-engineering major, Math1 is fine. If Math is not your strength and if it is not required for the schools you are applying, why don’t you pick another subject that you may get a better score.</p>
<p>I am not an expert on this, but it would seem to me that taking the Math I instead of Math II would be fine if you are not majoring in a quantitative subject.</p>
<p>If you are focused on Physics, Engineering, or business, they would probably put more emphasis on students taking the Math II.</p>
<p>I definitely want to go into something liberal-arts related, preferably psychology or literature/writing. So not much math would be involved. My college doesn’t specify which subject tests I need to take, it just says it requires two. I don’t want them to think I’m running away from math subjects, but I do take AP Calculus and taking Math1 is probably better than not taking it at all, right?</p>
<p>I think they are about the same. The 95% for SAT1 Math is around 710 while for SAT2 Math 1 is around 750. But many students who are not good in Math may not take SAT2 Math at all. So for the same student, he/she may get around the same score in both.</p>
<p>Don’t be intimated by the names of the tests. Math 1 covers only Algebra and Geometry. Math 2 includes Trigonometry questions. The only other difference is that the curve for Math 2 is more generous - you can miss more questions and still score in the 700’s.</p>
<p>If OP is currently taking Calculus and earning A’s, I would defintely recommend taking Math 2</p>
<p>Math level 2 is only suitable for those who complete precalculus and trigonometry junior year or earlier, so it inherently selects for the students who are better at math (since they generally need to be better at math to be placed a year advanced of the normal math sequence).</p>
<p>But they probably score it so that students are penalized (score-wise) for choosing math level 2 instead of math level 1, hence the apparently higher curve which is likely mainly due to better-at-math students taking math level 2.</p>