<p>My kids had no idea in May of junior year where they were applying so they took them. Since they were taking math, APUSH and an AP science at the time they didn’t actually require any extra studying.</p>
<p>There’s only a couple dozen colleges that require the SAT IIs. OP I suggest you look at the list. if there not a snowballs chance your D would apply to any of these schools skip the SAT IIs. Lizzie T this is not about “test adverse” kids. If your have a kiddo who isn’t considering the colleges that require them there is nothing to lose by not taking them. The colleges that recommend them will accept the ACT plus writing in lieu of the SAT IIs. With the exception of a couple places in California, most of the colleges that require them are in SAT land in the NE so your kiddo’s targeted region may also come into play.</p>
<p>None of my boys took or are taking them (the older two are in college already - youngest will be a senior in high school next year). At our school few take them. Many go on to colleges and several get merit aid - just not Top 20 schools.</p>
<p>I think they really are more for the elite minded.</p>
<p>I have no regrets with mine not taking them. Neither do they.</p>
<p>LisaK: Skipping math won’t be held against her unless she is applying for a STEM major. Is she taking any AP’s - if so, taking the Subject Matter SAT is not that be a deal because she will be studying for the AP anyway. (P.S> - I have no personal experience, but I have heard the Spanish Subject Matter test can be a difficult curve for non-native speakers.) Best of luck.</p>
<p>Does anyone on here have kids that have taken the latin subject test? My S is signed up for the mathII and Bio, but I am thinking maybe he should take the latin instead of the math in June, and take the math in Oct. because I don’t think taking 3 tests on one day is a good idea for him. He is finishing AP Latin this year and will be in AP Calc next year…any thoughts?? The latin subject test is only offered in June and December.</p>
<p>Nope, definitely NOT s STEM major…humanities all the way! She is taking APs in English and Spanish so it shouldn’t be much more to do the SAT IIs. And she could easily add USH since she’s taking it now. I’m generally of the mindset “better safe than sorry” but I see the test burnout happening. It might be overkill but I think she’ll probably take them to be safe…just in case she finds out about another school that she likes. Just waiting for an email from her college counselor to see what he thinks.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good ideas and talking points…much appreciated :)</p>
<p>DS applied to some competitive schools. We had to keep an eye on which mix was needed (some STEM schools required a Math and any science - so he did Math2 and Physics). In our case the tricky thing was to ensure that he none of his potential school needed three subject tests - a few do.</p>
<p>5boys: If a school wants SAT II, it is likely they want Math II. I cannot think of a school that requested Latin.</p>
<p>Usually if a school wants SAT II, they want a sampling of the core subjects, including chemistry and physics. That gives them the most direct comparison to the school’s historical averages.</p>
<p>OperaDad…okay, so you are saying forget the latin? He is taking Bio and MathII, he just won’t take the math until the Oct date. I thought a Science, Math and latin would be well rounded? My DS12 took the Lit and got a 660 on it with a 790 on CR SAT I test. That is a HARD subject test. Chem was not his best subject of the sciences… that would be physics, but at his HS they take honors physics as a Freshman and he will take AP Physics next year as a Senior… so no physics subject test.</p>
<p>If he’s finishing AP Latin he’ll probably do very well on the SAT. It could be a hedge against a bad AP grade if he wants to get out of the language requirement when he goes to college. Most colleges will excuse a student with a grade of 600 or so or better. My kids both had no issues doing three subject tests - they just took ones they were already prepared for via APs or the appropriate level of math. (Well younger son bombed Math II, but that’s because he’s too slow at solving math problems, he should have known better - he replaced his math grade with literature.)</p>
<p>Most schools don’t care what SAT subject tests you take - engineering schools often expect Math II and physics or chem. There’s an argument to be made for taking language tests the last year you take them in high school. (Possibly at the end of senior year, for placement, getting out of the language requirement, not for applying to colleges.)</p>
<p>5boys–my son took the Lit subject test yesterday and said the actual test was far more difficult than the practice tests he had tried. I had purchased the CB book that includes one sample test for each subject and the Princeton Review Lit book and he scored in the upper 700s on those practice exams. He said there were a few questions he just couldn’t answer and one passage that confounded him yesterday. Am gearing up for him to take the test again on June 1st but am not sure how he can study since the practice tests didn’t really prepare him for the actual test. Oh well…</p>
<p>I recommend taking Math and Chem as the first two tests, and preparing for those. I also recommend taking Latin as the 3rd test (without further prep if child does not have enough time to prep).</p>
<p>If any tests suffers, it will be Latin (didn’t prep enough, too tired, etc.). If the kid does well, great, you have another SAT II behind you. If not, then having taken it once will give him practice for taking it later. Also, I think the kid has the option to cancel scoring on the test. If, after taking it, he thinks he did poorly, then cancel the test right away. Or, if he is tired after the first two, then just leave before the 3rd testing period.</p>
<p>I think colleges give huge brownie points for taking Latin and (mistakenly) think it’s extra hard. So you can probably safely take it and not be hurt even if the score is lower than the other two. I think only Georgetown even requires three subject tests any more - though if you read the fine print at Harvard it’s pretty clear they’d still like to see more.</p>
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<p>This assumes that the school’s curriculum is a close match for the test’s expectations, which is not always the case. It’s a good idea to find out from the school (or other parents and students) whether there’s a good match between particular courses and the content of the SAT Subject Test in that subject.</p>
<p>I posted on the UDel board this morning and I’ll summarize here: my daughter’s applying to UDel for Fall 2014. We visited school and no mention of SAT II’s during info session or in printed material (not that we noticed). </p>
<p>I was poking around UDel website yesterday and saw a statement that said 2 SAT II’s “recommended but not required.” Our test-taking time is running out, so I guess she’ll try and take 2 in the fall, to bolster her app. Took first ACT in April, taking first SAT in June…the SAT II’s were not on my radar. :(</p>
<p>The best thing to do would be to check with each school regarding their test requirements. Many selective schools will take the ACT with writing in place of the SAT, but they also will require two subject tests be taken along with the SAT if the SAT is the test is being submitted. As each school has its own individual policy, I recommend that you contact each individual school to find out what their policy is, and also ask if the ACT needs to be submitted with or without the writing portion. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>cheermom, I’d consider taking SAT subject tests in June before your daughter forgets the material. I think it’s much harder to do subject tests in the fall. (You can probably switch, at least S2 did when he got the lousy math subject test grade and decided to redo subject tests.) He took the SAT for a second time in the fall, didn’t bother with the ACT.</p>
<p>I should add that while most schools that accept the ACT with writing do not require subject tests, there are some schools such as Harvard, Georgetown, and Princeton (possibly even some more) that still require subject tests despite submitting the ACT with writing.</p>
<p>mathmom…I hear ya! Except we just paid $895 for an awesome SAT review class to prep for the June test. It’s gotten rave reviews from many friends and more importantly, Cheergirl feels its effective and its boosting her confidence. So we’re pretty locked into the June SAT. </p>
<p>I’ll possibly encourage her to take the Spanish SAT II in the fall if its offered, and she’s continuing with Spanish 5. And then we’ll see what else is offered. OR, we’ll skip them altogether! Just not sure at this point lol! Our #1 hope is for UMD admission and they don’t require OR recommend SAT II’s so we may just take our chances without them for UDel. When did life get so complicated…</p>
<p>The list linked in post #5 is misleading. Many of the schools listed there as “requiring” SAT Subject Tests “require” them only in conjunction with the SAT Reasoning Test; if the student submits the ACT with writing, even schools like Yale, Brown, Penn, Columbia, Barnard, Amherst, Pomona, and Swarthmore do not require SAT Subject Tests. Bryn Mawr is now “test flexible.” I don’t have time to go through the whole list, but the number of schools actually requiring SAT Subject Tests of all applicants is really tiny, though it does include such heavyweights as Harvard, Princeton, and Dartmouth.</p>