<p>Before I payed much attention to things like standardized tests, I took the Math 1 Subject Test since I wasn't ready for the Math 2. I somehow managed to score an 800 on it. Most college websites I have seen claim that they do not care which math test is taken, but I've noticed consensus generally is that you should take Math 2 instead of Math 1. Considering I now have the math under my belt required to do well on the Math 2, is it a waste of time to take it? I don't want to waste a Saturday, and my assumption is that an assured 800 is better than the chance of a lower score tarnishing stuff, but I don't want colleges to think I copped out by taking the easier test.</p>
<p>What do you want to study? If you have any interest in engineering or similar fields, they ignore the math1 score and require the math2. S mistakenly took the math 1 and then took the math2 when he learned it was required for engineering. He got a 800 on math 2, lower on math 1.</p>
<p>Math2 is a lot of pre-calc. He was lucky they were reviewing it in both his math and physics courses when he took math2.</p>
<p>I’m interested in studying pure math in college, and it looks like it may actually be easier to achieve a perfect score on Math 2 than on Math 1 if your largest concern is accidental errors, so I’m leaning toward sucking it up and taking the Math 2 test.</p>
<p>When you say “it was required for engineering,” do you mean that engineering schools generally require that test, or that different tests are required depending on your major within a single school?</p>
<p>The schools S applied to in engineering required Math2 and ignored any math 1 score (if it was even taken). The curve does tend to be fairly generous on the math 2 SATII, I’ve been told. I’d suspect you may need the math2 SATII if you want to be taken seriously as a candidate majoring in math.</p>
<p>S decided to declare engineering as his major, since it has better job prospects with a BA than other science and math fields, plus he liked and is good at science, math, physics an computers. He got an EE, but figured he could switch out from engineering easier than INTO engineering, to still graduate on time. YMMV.</p>
<p>You should most definitely take Math II if you plan on going into majoring in Math. I took both my sophomore year and got 800s on both and although there is a huge difference between I and II in terms of difficulty, if I remember correctly you can miss 7 on II and still get a 800.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I’ll definitely take Math 2.</p>
<p>Also look into and consider engineering as a possible major, since you like math. Have you tried physics yet? If you like physics too, engineering is a very helpful major because it helps apply the math and physics to real world issues and has more job prospects (in general) than many other fields for folks with bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>I have tried physics and engineering extensively, but I found I didn’t really enjoy them. It’s unfortunate that math is comparatively not a very lucrative major, but I’ve found that the real world application of math subtracts from the natural beauty of pure math that I so enjoy.</p>
<p>You could also look into math/CS options (which is what I’m studying right now). With an 800 on math 1, you probably don’t need to take math 2 unless a school you’re applying to requires it.</p>