<p>I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were about taking the SAT IIs as it is not required for many top colleges like H, Y, S, Columbia, Georgetown, etc.</p>
<p>The reason why I am asking is that I want to have as solid an application as possible yet I am also weighing that against the fact that right now I am also studying for the SAT Is which I never took. I am posting my stats below so you can get a better idea if you think I should take the Sat IIs. Also I am having trouble deciding which SATs to take since I have not taken basic courses in those areas in since high school I feel like I would have to do a lot of refreshing. That is where I guess I get to my question, is it worth it to put that time and effort into those SAT IIs when I could be doing other things?</p>
<p>I am a community college student.
GPA: 4.0
SATs: Have not taken, studying to take them in fall 06 (have been studying REAL hard bc I know what difference they make)
E/C:
COLLEGE
-First student at this community college to have start an independent research project. Found faculty mentor interested in the same things that I am.Project is in the biological sciences. Includes field research in south carolina. Finding a new antimicrobial. Will be publishing papers.
-Internship at biomedical field. Will be publishing papers.
-Will be publishing 2 papers in scientific journal.
-Nomination for the Board of trustees (BOT)(highest position at college, incl. nomination to gov., intensive selection process, its down to 2-me and -someone else, i find out later this month)
-Recipient of African-American student award, French departmental award.
-Phi Theta kappa (might be president, depending whether or not im on BOT)
-Volunteer at Art Gallery (incl. finding local artists, making portfolios)
-2 honors programs
-Deans list for 4 semesters
-Vice President of International Film Club
-Volunteer Tutor
-2 honors courses
-Will study abroad over winter break to ecuador to volunteer at local hospitals there and i will be making a photo journal as well (that is one of my hobbies)
-As part of the honors program will be studying abroad next semester at Cambridge University in UK
-Excellent references </p>
<p>HIGH SCHOOL class of 05
-AP Scholar (Scored a five on most of the APs I took)
-began classes at the community college in my senior year, won french award in my senior year
-independent research project in Switzerland, Germany and France on Roma that UNHCR was involved in, I organized my own mentorship at the UN geneva and also organized a network of international scholars for my research project
-3.0 gpa or even 2.9 possibly (long story)
-msc. volunteer work</p>
<p>I know for sure that harvard recommends taking 3 SAT @ subject tests but does not require them.</p>
<p>All transfer applicants are required to submit the results of the SAT I: Reasoning Test reported directly from the College Board (our institutional code is #3434). Scores listed on the official high school transcript will be acceptable as official test results as well. As an alternative, students may submit results of the ACT (code #1840). Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit the results of three College Board SAT II: Subject Tests. Recently taken SAT and Subject Tests are acceptable</p>
<p>you seem intelligent. why are you asking cyberjerks for advice... but i will give you my two cents: it will be HELLA hard to transfer to harvard, yale, etc. for community college</p>
<p>The risk of taking the SAT IIs (if you don't <em>have to</em> take them) is this: when you report your SAT I scores to colleges, you will not have the choice to leave off your SAT II scores. ALL SAT scores, of either type, will show up on the report. So... how do you tend to perform on standardized tests? Taking the ACT (which some schools consider as "covering" for SAT IIs) is not as risky, because you can choose to send or not to send.</p>
<p>Thanks!!! That really helps. Perhaps I will take the ACT. I have not had any experience with the standardized tests besides APs which I got mostly 5s on. I am nervous because I am trying to make a strong of an application as possible. I feel like I would have to take some sort of subject test I guess to make up for the fact or at least try to make up for a fraction of the fact that I am now attending a community college.</p>
<p>That was quite a new perspective though, I never knew that people took the ACT and SAT I thought it was either /or.</p>
<p>vcoleman - I hope my post wasn't misleading. Many people do take only one or the other; but many people try both and see which one is their better score. Then they submit that. I believe that some students submit both. Perhaps they took and submitted SAT, then later take ACT and receive a better score, so submit that. Most schools consider whichever is higher. But as you can see from the below (from Stanford), the ACT is often considered to cover the bases of both SAT I and II.
[quote]
Every transfer applicant must submit scores from either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT. For either test, we will look at the best scores submitted. ... We strongly recommend that students taking the new SAT also take two SAT Subject Tests. We recommend Math Level 2 as one of these tests; the other test can be in any subject of your choosing. For those students submitting scores only from the old SAT, we strongly recommend three SAT Subject Tests, one of which should be Math Level 2, or the former Math IIC.