I took AP physics C Mechanics last year and scored 5 in it and taking AP Physics E&M this year. Should I take SAT Physics subject test or MIT can see that AP Physics c is much harder course and show more deep thinking and understanding in subject? for computer science & engineering, does SAT Physics has more weightage then SAT Chemistry and Biology? What are your thoughts and suggestions? Thanks.
Colleges already know this.
No. The number of US colleges that specify that they want SAT Physics is exactly zero. The most stingent will say Math and either chem or physics, but most engineering schools will just sat math and a science. So unless otherwise speicifed, the “better” one is the one with the higher score.
Additionally, if the college asks for a Subject Test, AP tests are not used in lieu of them. For a college that requires Subject tests, like MIT, you need to submit Subject Tests.
I will also tell you that the Subject Test covers a lot of topics that are not cover in AP Physics C.
The SAT subject test in physics covers a broad range of topics at a low level (ordinary high school physics level). AP physics C mechanics covers a subset of those topics at a higher level.
So if the student has not had high school physics, or both AP physics 1 and 2, s/he may not have seen some topics on the SAT subject test.
If schools she is applying to require Subject Tests, then take them - don’t assume AP scores are a substitute because they are “harder” unless the school says so (NYU, iirc).
Penn - “preferably Physics for Engineering Applicants” - so not exactly zero. Others prefer “Chemistry or Physics”. If she has the Physics background, that certainly seems to be the one to take.
I would expect that the vast majority of applicants to MIT would be able to get a 5 in AP physics if they take AP physics (not all high schools have AP classes). I don’t think that this is the same as taking the SAT test. A grade of say 97 in physics at one high school might be quite different from a grade of 97 at a different high school.
MIT specifies: “… we require two SAT Subject Tests: one in math (level 1 or 2), and one in science (physics, chemistry, or biology e/m). We do not have a preference as to which science test you take or which math level you take.”
This sounds right to me. I send Math, Physics, and Chemistry SAT tests. Apparently the lack of Biology did not bother them at all (in fact I never took a biology class in my life, including my four years at MIT).
MIT now has a one semester biology class required to get any degree at MIT. Likewise a year of physics and a semester of chemistry are required to get a degree at MIT.
You can place out of some sciences, like Physics 1/Mechanics but every student must take a version of E&M/Physics 2/8.02 and pass it to earn and MIT degree.
If you skip the SAT Subject exam requirements, MIT will reject you. You must take
two exams, and by the way send those scores to all your schools that do NOT require the SAT subject exams. It turns out that some colleges use SAT subject exam scores to award merit money. GaTech gives college credit for a very top score on the SAT Chemistry Subject exam and the AP Chemistry exam alike, and the HL Chemistry Exam. MIT is strictly financial aid awards, no merit money though.
Take the Physics subject test. It’s an easy curve; you can get up to 13-16 questions (out of 75) wrong or omitted and still get an 800. Definitely review a prep book, because there are a lot of topics on the test not covered in mechanics (or E&M) but at a very basic level. My child used Princeton Review and the official college board physics book.
While true, a good physics student should be able to easily handle the SAT Physics subject test. My S took AP Physics C (both mechanics and E&M) in his junior year as his first set of physics courses, and scored a pair of 5s on the AP exams followed by an 800 on the subject test in the same month. I don’t think he did any special prep for the subject test, as he had five other AP exams and two other SAT subject tests that same month (I didn’t even buy a physics subject test book for him).