SAT II's, worth retaking?

<p>I see that SAT II's in a language give you a placement or exemption in a language. I am in my fifth year of latin, but only got a 490 on the SAT II in latin. I was wondering if I should retake it in June so I can get a better score for placement. (I'm a senior)</p>

<p>I need to re-read the policy myself, but they're going to have a placement test as well, yes? Your concern I think, would be to fully master the material (and it sounds like you might have already done this or are in the process of doing so) and find some means of showing it.</p>

<p>Besides, don't worry about being underplaced in a language class, because for example if you talk like a fifth-year language student in a second-year class, the professor is bound to get you transferred to a higher-level class.</p>

<p>You should be able to find all the info you need regarding language placement here: Foreign</a> Language Placement Index — College of Arts & Sciences, U.Va.</p>

<p>For the record, if you get a certain AP score or SAT score in a language, that will qualify you for whatever level exemption, you don't have to take the UVA placement test unless you want to try to place out of even more.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input.</p>

<p>YES, you should re-take the SAT II's in June. A 490 in Latin won't get you anywhere. The general rule is that any score over a 600 is acceptable for submission.
Since you've had 5 years of Latin, I'm betting that you can do better on this test. I really don't think you have a lot to lose. You have been accepted already, right? And, yes, there is a placement test that you have the option of taking, but I think it's better to take care of this with the SAT II's. I don't know anyone who took the placement tests though, so maybe they are easier?? You take these tests in summer when you are registering, and to me it just seemed so way easier to have this taken care of this a long time before you get there. IMO. Best of luck.</p>

<p>I'll strongly agree with Powderpuff. Retake the test. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Give yourself as many shots to get out of the language requirement as possible. </p>

<p>Galoisien,
I think you were well intentioned, but that last line in your post is absolutely terrible advice.</p>

<p>Oops. Well, I've been underplaced before (while switching between school systems) -- but I suppose class switching is less convenient on the college-level.</p>

<p>But I have been reassured not to be worried about where you place as far as language classes go; it is easy for the professor to realise you should be in another level class -- as long as this occurs within the first week, I suppose. You should make active attempts to be placed correctly, but I'm just painting the worst case scenario.</p>