<p>The easy way to find out about any SAT 2 exam is to go to a big-box book store and look at the books of practice tests. </p>
<p>Yes, the Literature test is reading and interpreting literary selections.</p>
<p>You can't take SAT2s on the same day as SAT1s.</p>
<p>Interesting comment by Faline about taking SAT2s in the spring/summer of senior year...hadn't thought of it.</p>
<p>Getting a 600 on an SAT2 language test would have gotten my D out of taking a year of language during her freshman year in college. Taking it in the later part of her senior year would have given her more language under her belt.</p>
<p>Gilbert:</p>
<p>I should have been more precise. Adcoms will consider only SAT from 9th grade onward. If a student did spectacularly well on the SAT in 7th or 8th grade and has no intention of ever retaking the SAT, the student can petition the CB to preserve that score. I personally know a student who scored a 1550 in 7th grade and thus did not wish to take the SAT again.</p>
<p>Also some colleges will offer a SATII sitting to use for their language placement after you get there....or in orientation. Language courses are harder in college, and often five days a week. So if you don't want to spend three plus semesters in language, take an SATII or the placement test your college gives in freshman orientation. My son is in a private school that is expensive. He did not opt for the SATII in Spanish where he probably could have done OK and skipped one or two semesters because he had no passion for it and no talent for it.
We are spending thousands on his three semesters of language but he is now abroad and studying a language he is crazy about that he could not get in high school so we are pleased with this investment. For other kids, it is not a good use of their time if they have no intention of speaking or fluency.<br>
So, think strategically. For instance, my son swears he wishes he had tried harder in Calculus so he could have missed a very tough year of it or half of a year of it. Grading was curved in his college and much more merciful in high school and the entire class was highly talented in college. We had no AP level instruction but if he had tried he might have made a 4 and spared himself some worrisome semesters.</p>
<p>Great info, thanks again. I'll order some test prep books for my son once we get through the PSAT. </p>
<p>Re: the literature test--from what I could tell from the samples on the CB website, it appeared pretty fact-intensive (you had to know authors, works, genres, etc.---not just 'read & interpret, etc.'). Although someone w/direct experience might have a different take.</p>
<p>The PSAT can be worth a lot of money for a good score. Consider prepping for the PSAT, too.</p>
<p>They may have changed the Literature test since my D took it. Again, a look at a sample test in one of the prep books would tell you.</p>
<p>My has been studying for the SAT this summer & took the PSAT last time (10th grade). He basically prepped by doing SAT work w/out the essays. He did pretty good--just hoping he won't get over-confident & can replicate it when it counts (only one shot, unlike SAT).</p>
<p>We've been so busy w/SAT -- which I why I started to worry we were overlooking something w/the SAT II. Want to get through the Oct PSAT test, then start on the next. Thanks again.</p>
<p>I'm horning in to ask whether my son should take the math and physics SAT II exams at the end of this year (as a freshman). He is taking pre-calc and AP physics B. Is it better to take the exams right after completing the material, even if he is very young?</p>
<p>NYmom:</p>
<p>With SATIIs, you have a lot of flexibility, as colleges require at most 3, some 2, and most colleges none at all. So if one or two SATII scores are not as high as one would wish, there is the option of taking other SATIIs, provided there is time. In the case of your son, there is plenty of time to take more if the 9th grade scores are not to his liking.</p>
<p>That said, the best thing to do is to look at the curriculum of each of the SATIIs he is interested in and compare it with the curriculum of the courses he will be taking this year. I strongly suspect that after taking Precalc, your son should do fine on the SATII Math 2C. But I don't know what the AP-Physics B covers. So this would be something to investigate. </p>
<p>My S took the SAT-II chemistry test in 9th grade because he was taking AP-Chemistry. He found the SAT-II test easier than the AP exam.</p>
<p>Thanks, marite. I did not realize that SATIIs were not necessarily required. I would not have even thought of having my S take them so early, except that I remember his math teacher saying last year that the kids should take the SATII math after that course (this would have been 8th grade for my S, 9th grade for the other kids). I forgot about it, and don't know whether the other kids took it. </p>
<p>I just looked at the MIT website to get an idea of requirements. They require one math and one science SATII. They also recommend that the exam be taken right after completing the course. </p>
<p>I'll mention it to my S as a possibility, and let him decide whether he wants to get them out of the way early. Of course, we don't know now where he will be applying in 3 years, and it may turn out to have been a waste of time.</p>
<p>The College Board must be raking in money. Is it possible to buy stock?</p>