<p>Hi-
Just wondered if I could ask about timing for the SAT II (after reading the thread about the importance of the SAT II for certain schools...)?</p>
<p>My son has taken math up through pre-calc & is taking probability & stats this year. I thought it would be good for him to take the math SAT II at the end of this (junior) year but now not sure if he should take it sooner? (I saw in another post that deadlines for applications are 'looming'..getting nervous!).</p>
<p>He's taking a second year of US History this year, so again, I was thinking to wait until the end of this year for that test?</p>
<p>The collegeboard website was not completely illuminating on the subject & I never took subj matter SAT tests in HS so this is a new area....</p>
<p>You don't say what grade your son is in. I'm assuming it's 11th grade.</p>
<p>The SAT Math II Subject Test covers math through precalculus, but not statistics. So your son has completed the necessary prerequisite courses now. He could take the test anytime this year, but he may want to review the material first. It would be a good idea for him to buy a review book for that test and see whether there are any topics covered that he is not familiar with.</p>
<p>As for U.S. History, your son may want to ask how students at his school do on that test. Some high school U.S. History curricula are not necessarily a good match for the test (though the AP U.S. History curriculum is). If other students at his school have done well on the SAT U.S. History Subject Test after the two-year history course, taking the SAT Subject Test at the end of this school year (May or June) would be a good idea.</p>
<p>When your son starts to put together a list of colleges to apply to, it will be important for him to see what their SAT Subject Test requirements are. Two tests in different subjects (math and history) will meet the requirements for most schools and programs, but there are a few colleges that want a third test, and there are a few programs (usually engineering) that specifically want a science test (usually Chemistry or Physics). So your son may need to do some research to figure out whether he needs more than the two tests he's currently thinking about taking.</p>
<p>The best time to take the SATII in a subject is right after completing the class in that subject--provided that the class covered all the materials on the SATII curriculum. This does not always happen. In particular, the SAT II Physics curriculum diverges from the AP-Physics C, and many Honors Physics classes do not cover all the topics on the SATII. So look up the curriculum for each of the SATIIs your son is interested in taking and get some SATII review books.
For Math, it is fine to take the SATII this fall. It does not have to be right away as your son probably won't forget his precalc and algebra and geometry.
If he is a junior, he should try to take all the SATII he needs this year, and see how well he does. If he is taking courses on those subjects, he could schedule the SATIIs for May or June. If he is taking APs in those subjects, he won't need to review. AP tests are administered on weekdays, SATs and SATIIs on Saturdays. It might make for a lot of testing, but he would be done. If he needs to re-take a test or two, he can do so in the fall of his senior year.</p>
<p>My son took the SAT subject tests June of junior year because he knew he was going to have to do some Physics review (AP Physics C doesn't cover all the material.) He also took Math2 (which he forgot to take the year he did Pre-calc) and US History (he was taking the AP). Marite is right the AP US history course is excellent prep for the SAT. Some of his classmates took the tests in May right after the APs and also had good results. Since he's in NY and had Regents tests in June - he was still reviewing US History in his AP class.</p>
<p>End of Junior year (May) is a good time to take the math and US history SAT2 tests. This combo will do for most colleges which require 2 SAT tests in two different areas. The material is covered during the junior year, so fresh in a student's mind.</p>
<p>If you need to take a third test, I'd take it in the fall of senior year, after you've spent some time in the summer reviewing/learning the material that will be covered on the test that wasn't covered in class.</p>
<p>My D took the Writing (back when it was not part of the SAT 1), US history and Math 2 tests in May of her junior year. She said that taking 3 tests on one day was too much for her. She needed a science SAT 2 test for some of the colleges she wanted to apply to, so in the summer she reviewed/studied out of a prep book for the SAT 2 in Biology (molecular) and took the Biology and the Writing SAT 2 tests in the fall of her senior year.</p>
<p>This timing worked for her. </p>
<p>I am just not a fan of taking SAT 2s before junior year unless your student is really advanced.</p>
<p>Jolynne's S has already covered precalc, so he could take the SATII-Math2C any time. I suggest taking it in the fall so as to leave May or June for taking the other 2 SATIIs. I agree it's not a good idea to take 3 SATIIs in one day.</p>
<p>My son took three in one day and was glad to be done with them in one fell swoop. His scores couldn't have been improved. :) However since the OP's child has already taken pre-calc I'd say taking the Math2 sooner rather than later would be the way to go. Double check if there is any probability on the exam first though.</p>
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<p>Jolynne's S has already covered precalc, so he could take the SATII-Math2C any time. I suggest taking it in the fall so as to leave May or June for taking the other 2 SATIIs. I agree it's not a good idea to take 3 SATIIs in one day.<<</p>
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<p>This would mean that he would have one less testing day in the fall of senior year, which is not a bad thing at all. Senior year fall--with the added work of college applications--is a real bear!</p>
<p>One test that is not aligned with curricula is the Literature test. All readings are part of the test, although vocabulary and concepts are assumed. This is useful if your kid goes to a school that doesn't attempt to teach to the SAT2 (as most don't).</p>
<p>One advantage to taking only one SAT Subject Test on a given test date is that if the student does poorly on the test or becomes ill during it or has some other problem, the student can cancel the test easily.</p>
<p>But if a student is taking more than one Subject Test on that test date, the only option available is to cancel ALL the scores, not just one. So the student who thinks he did well on Biology, say, but badly on Literature, has to choose between keeping both scores or voiding both scores.</p>
<p>
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For Math, it is fine to take the SATII this fall. It does not have to be right away as your son probably won't forget his precalc and algebra and geometry.
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<p>I think it is best to take Math IIC in the Spring right after pre-calc, as those trig formulas evaporate in the summer heat. </p>
<p>Since he didn't, the timing is up to him, but he will need to review and should do practice tests. Don't be discouraged by the Kaplan practice tests--they are notoriously harder than the actual Math IIC test.</p>
<p>That is great, great information, thanks to everyone who responded!!</p>
<p>I can see now the dates to take the tests aren't set in stone, and it depends a bit on the courseload of the student/type of coursework covered, etc.</p>
<p>My son is a rising junior. He's good at prepping for tests & it's great to hear that Kaplan has a good precal one out there--since he didn't put the same effort into his precal classwork (last year) as he could have. But, he's the kind who can pull it out (usually) w/a good bit of concentrated study before a test (will need to do that, in precalc, certainly).</p>
<p>He's planning on doing an SAT in the late fall & is preparing for the PSAT in Oct. So maybe spring Junior year would be best (for both history & math) since that will give him a few months to review for the tests w/practice books.</p>
<p>This all really sets my mind a little more at ease..kept thinking there was a huge black hole in my knowledge of SAT II prep/deadlines and we were going to miss something, somewhere (since I never did them).</p>
<p>If the test fees are not a problem for your family, and if your son isn't missing anything important (like a sport or job) by taking a test on Saturday morning, a good case can be made for taking the SAT Math II Test as soon as possible, with no special preparation, just to see what kind of score he gets. Then, if he is dissatisfied with his score, he can prepare for the test and take it a second time. This really is a test that you can study for successfully, and colleges will use the higher score.</p>
<p>My daughter took the SAT Math II Subject Test for "practice" on the day she took the U.S. History Subject Test. It turned out that her "practice" run got her a 790. This was a nice surprise, and she never took the test again.</p>
<p>My son came out of a fairly weak high school system where only a score of students bothered with SATIIs. No teacher seemed to care about them or ever refer to them.<br>
Those of you who have children with 790s first sitting have talented students as sons and daughters. I will speak for the student who is capable of this score outcome but only with preparation and self study to get the pacing etc, especially if your HS is a bit dicey.<br>
Our son greatly improved his college admissions outcomes by prepping at home for these tests, which I felt was a bit nutty of him at the time. He was able to study for them with the Princeton Review books (invaluable to do a practice test..they are only one hour tests.) He was able to ace the Math Level 2 exam (it really does have a generous curve for error, but you should review content) and to realize that the US history exam is actually pretty hard...friends as bright or brighter than he that did not prep got disappointing SATIIs. I hear about this a lot in my area where test preparation is frowned upon..A students are shocked when they get unimpressive SATII scores, but they usually didn't bother to read a prep book in some delusion that the high school course on their transcript covered everything. These tests are much easier to prepare for on your own than AP exams. Pick two or three of them and take them when you are in the mood and ready. In my opinion, only the most integrated top students can succeed at three at one sitting. I recommend one at a time, two at most. Juniors and seniors are notoriously busy and out on Friday nights. Being refreshed and ready for a Sat am test should resemble being up and ready for a good foot race. Prepare and get to bed the night before.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if it is possible to take the SAT I and an SAT II test on the same morning? Also, are scores of all SAT II tests mailed to colleges at the same time like the SAT I's, or can some scores be withheld? Are they sent along with SAT I scores, or separately? I'm having trouble deciphering the CB website. (Also new to this process. :))</p>
<p>Absolutely not. The SAT has morphed into a 4-5 hours exam.
Each SATII takes one hour. </p>
<p>The scores of ALL SAT exams taken since 8th grade will show up on a single record. Scores can be withheld if the CB is contacted within a a few days of the exam being taken (check the CB website for the length of the grace period). I believe there is a cancellation fee.</p>
<p>Tell me more about the Literature SAT II. The student just reads and answers questions? My son has been getting very high scores in CR on his SAT practice tests, so would the Literature SAT II be a good one for him to take?</p>
<p>your SATIIs go out with all SAT reports. One strategy depending on your motives would be to take extra SATIIs late in senior year after you have finished your college applications. Senior year late tests aren't considered obviously but can be used to skip a semester of foreign language or two for instance...each college totally different. APs of 3 get credit someplaces where 4 or 5 is minimum others. APs give limited credit hours some schools but you can skip introductory courses.
So...take SATIIs and APs before mid senior year with gaining admission in mind and after that for class placement.
And I would not consider taking SATIIs on same day as SATI ..don't think it is possible but I don't know..anyway, bad idea. I don't even like two SATIIs same day unless you are rested and prepared. You don't have to do many for college admission, so do your best and prep.</p>
<p>I would agree with Marian that he should sit the Math test this fall if possible as it is still pretty fresh in his mind. In the spring he will be very busy studying for AP USH, making it more difficult to review math which he won't have had for a year by that time.</p>
<p>crossposted with Faline. I'm not sure about the strategy of taking SAT II's after college applications, for two reasons. First, though each school is different, we didn't find that APs or SAT II's did much in the way of gaining credits and even for placement they were of minimal help. My D had to take Chem, math and language placement tests at her college even though she had 5s on APs or credit from actual college (not CC) courses. Second, sometimes after the all the work filling out applications, kids don't have much energy or interest left for taking more tests. Just a thought, everyone's case is different.</p>