Question: has anyone taken both Math I and Math II in the same sitting? Is doing so too tiring or overwhelming? Anyone know how likely it is to do well on Math I when all studying has been for Math II?
Background: 17 year old child has applied to MIT, HYP, a couple of LACs and is already admitted to a safety school. 35 composite ACT and SAT 760 math/760 reading. 4.0 GPA, great essays, ECs (with leadership) and excellent recommendations. The top schools currently remain a “reach” but within realm of hope. My question involves which SAT Subject Tests to take for January sitting. Currently has 780 Literature, 730 math II, 730 foreign language and a science subject score below 700. Must take (and score well on) science subject test to keep MIT in play. Would also like a second score above 730 to increase academic index (AI) for Ivy’s, which I just learned factors in only the two top SAT subject scores. Currently planning to retake literature, math II and chosen science subject test. Would it make more sense to drop the plan to retake literature (because the upside is at most 20 points) and instead take Math I and Math II along with the science? Child is currently in BC Calc AP so has finished trig/pre-calc. Or is it too tiring/exhausting to take two math subject tests in the same sitting? This is probably the last chance to take any subject tests and have them considered by admission committees. I look at taking both math tests in same sitting as taking “two bites at the apple” because MIT will accept either score. Also, it could be possible to raise a math score to 750-770 with luck. So I am leaning in this direction. However, child has been studying only for Math II and the science test, so how likely to score 740 or more on Math I, having never taken Math I before? Would it be better to take a chance on improving 780 Literature score instead of Math I? Thanks in advance for suggestions.
Taking math 1 when he already has a 700+ in math 2 is not necessary. Retaking lit when he already has a 780 is overkill. Go home an hour early!
Take the science and math 2.
Completely agree with @AroundHere.
@AroundHere and @ThinkOn, thanks for that advice! If my kid insists on taking a 3rd test in that sitting, then how likely is it to score well on Math I when Math II has been primary focus? Remember, we are talking about HYPSM and I see so many 750+ math scores listed on “chance me” threads. My kid spent so many hours working on MIT (and HYPS) essays that sitting for an additional 1-hour test is not viewed as a particular hardship. This is a strategic question on how to fill that 3rd subject test slot … and a likelihood question regarding Math I v. Literature. Anyone out there with experience actually taking Math I and Math II in same sitting?
Your kid is over focusing on testing. Insist on just doing two tests. With what s/he has already, there is no third test that would meaningfully improve admissions chances.
I’m at a loss as to why a student would take the Math 1 when they are getting a decent score on the Math 2. The Math 2 is much more challenging and thus, any score above a 700 is much more valued than ANY score achieved on the Math 1.
@ThinkOn, thanks. My understanding of AI (as used by HYP) is that they will use the top two subject test scores, no matter whether they are Math I, Math II or Literature. Right now my child has a 730 Math II and a 780 Literature. On the other hand, MIT, will use the highest of Math I or Math II and then look at the science score (to come in this sitting). So the advantage of taking Math I is having a chance to score higher than 730. I am just taking MIT’s word that they will accept either Math I or Math II. Asking my original question in another way, and since you say Math I is easier, should my child take Math I (to get higher than a 730) plus the science… and forgo retaking Math II in the same sitting? Thank you again.
@Sam-I-Am I totally understand and appreciate the issue. If one of my children were in this situation, and we very well may be come next year or 2, I would stick with the Math 2 and forego the Math 1 entirely. It’s not entirely clear how the AI’s are being calculated when so many of the Ivy Leagues do not require and/or recommend submission of the Subject Tests. And for MIT and others outside the Ivy League, all know the value of the Math 2 vs. Math 1 (even taking into account the percentage issues and the like). I think of it as being akin to getting an A+ in a regular Biology class vs. getting an A- in AP Biology, the later being much more favorable in the eyes of many. Again, for us, the Math 2 will be our focus and we’ll take any score above a 700. Good luck and whichever decision you make, you can’t go wrong because your child already has a great Lit and Math 2 score!
Take a M1 practice test at home. For kids who are advanced in math, it is not necessarily “easier”. Too many basic rules that are easily forgotten. Plus, M1 has a brutal scale. Not recommended.
No. Just no. It’s the end of your part of the application process, and it’s hard to let go of the feeling that there is one more trick you can try to improve your chances. But at some point you’re done and it’s up to the adcoms.
You are not making any sense. Of course colleges look at which specific tests you took, just like they look at which specific classes you took.
OK… these posts are all very helpful. From the advice, Math II should be considered the preferred math test for my child. And I did not know that the grading scale on Math I was so “brutal.” That is good to know!
However, here is the thing about the AI at the Ivys, @ThinkOn and @AroundHere. Harvard highly recommends two subject tests (and at a visit we asked if they were needed if the student already had a “5” on an AP test…they said they were needed). Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth “recommend” any two tests. Brown and Cornell seem to require two subject tests. The remaining Ivys may be reducing the importance of the subject tests, but I gather that “recommend” really means “better take!” just as there is nothing truly “optional” about the “optional” essays at these schools. I don’t think they can calculate an AI without them, so unless an applicant has a “hook” or is otherwise exceptionally well qualified then the applicant is best advised to maximize two subject test scores. Also, there is an AI calculator somewhere that reduces an applicant’s supposed academic promise to a number 1-9. I saw it here on CC and that is what motivated me to strategize the Subject Tests. Prior to that I had given in relatively little thought.
Thanks again! BTW/ if we were not looking for “one more trick…to improve your chances” then none of us would be on CC! lol