I recently heard about SAT Subject Tests. Since I am interested in applying to colleges that require taking 2+ SAT Subject Tests, when will be the best time to take them? How difficult are the SAT Subject tests* and is it recommended that one takes an AP Class in the subject before taking the corresponding SAT Subject test?
It depends on what grade you’re in at the moment. Since I’m a junior in high school and am planning to apply to colleges that require SAT Subject Tests in a math and a science, I planned when I would take them based on my school schedule. I decided that I would take these tests once I had a good foundation in what I would be taking (in this case, Math II and Chemistry), so I thought that it would be best to take the Subject tests for these after I took the AP test for Chemistry and finished my pre-calculus course at the end of the year. In order for the material to be fresh in my mind, I took Math II last month after AP testing so I could focus on studying, and took Math II and Chemistry today since school had ended for me and my schedule would be open for studying as well. Since you’ll be taking different courses as I did, it really just depends on your flexibility, how you can handle studying for these tests with school, etc. If you want to take the Subject tests in the winter, you can do so, but the only reason why I didn’t do that was because I had finals and it interfered with my studying.
Hope that helps 
Most people take it in May or June, because that’s when they have completed most of the year’s classes and learned the information necessary for the tests. However, you still have to self-study a lot for things like chemistry and level 2 math (I have taken both), because some information you don’t even learn in class or have to re-memorize. The SAT subject tests are not hard enough that you need to take the AP class before it. Most of my classmates take Math 2 after taking Trig/PreCalc Honors and Chemistry after Chem Honors.
My daughter took the Bio subject test in June of 9th grade (when her school teaches Bio), the Chem subject test in June of 10th grade (when her school teaches Chem) and Math 2 at the end of 11th grade (after finishing Pre-Calculus Honors). Some people prefer to wait until they have taken the AP class in Bio and Chem but I thought it would be better to get the tests out of the way before junior year when she would have the SAT and AP exams to worry about.
Thanks for all the input! Greatly appreciated. Does anyone have any experience with English Literature (should I take it after taking AP English Literature and Composition?) Note that I am a native speaker (English)
@liu102718: Usually that’s what people do, but, since I have never taken the Subject test for Literature, I would suggest looking up the formatting of the test and all that before deciding whether to take it before or after AP Lit/Comp. Some times the Subject tests can be taken without taking the actual AP class that corresponds with it, but everyone is different. I needed the corresponding class as a way to “study”, while some of my friends took the Subject test without taking the AP class.
I’ve heard that English Lit can be a very difficult subject test, even for native speakers, as it is very analysis-heavy. Just being a native speaker doesn’t cut it.
As for Math 2, it’s very easy and the material doesn’t go beyond what you’ll learn in your precalculus class.
Chemistry doesn’t have a very forgiving curve and has quite a few ambiguous questions; I took both Chem and Math 2 last Saturday, and Chemistry was definitely much harder. There is a lot of information and not enough time.
Physics’s curve, however, is far more forgiving and I’ve heard that the questions aren’t too difficult, although they encompass more than what you’d learn in an AP Physics 1 class (especially now that there is no more Physics B).
Take practice tests for all of them; only then will you know for sure.
There is no subject test that needs an AP class as preparation. Whether the individual student feels more comfortable having the AP experience under their belt before taking a subject test is another story.
Note that many AP classes (e.g. any physics, any math) with not prepare you for the subject test.