Should my son take the SAT IIs?

Parents Forum
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<p>Here's the situation, and I apologize if this sounds like a "What are my chances" question. I hope I'm posting this in the right forum. My son currently plans to apply to five schools. Three good midwestern LACs (not including Carleton or Grinnell, which I mention only because they appear to be much more selective), the big state university (more of an economic safety than a traditional admission safety, since it may actually be the hardest to be admitted to because of population pressure) and a national university in DC. He did fine on his SAT and ACT as a junior (2120 SAT including an 800 in CR; 34 ACT) so we saw no reason for him to retake those this year. He took the writing component in both tests.</p>

<p>His other stats are that he has about a 3.3 GPA (unweighted) taking the hardest schedule at a very good public HS. The math courses have always held him back a little, although his math scores on the standardized tests were still top 10%. Because the school does not weight grades, his class rank is roughly top third. (Last year my niece was one of seven valedictorians at the same school; four or five of the seven, from what I understand, took few or no advanced courses. Ridiculous. Not that it hurt her -- she's off to Macalester, and loves it so far.) He's taking nothing but AP and college level courses this year, and I actually expect his GPA to rise because they are all humanities and social science courses, which he loves.</p>

<p>His ECs are very good, I think. He is the opinions editor of the school newspaper, a prize winner, and has won notice at a national journalism conference for HS students. He is the first male captain of the school's Forensics team, and has won many prizes for extemporaneous speaking along the way. (A separate question: He won first place at the Middle School Forensics Association state tournament for "impromptu speaking" as an 8th grader. Should we list that on his college apps or is it just too remote in time for a college to care?) He's the vice president of the school's Amnesty chapter. He has worked on the crew and also acted in some school plays. He has four years in the school's marching band. So in sum he has been much more than a "joiner."</p>

<p>(All this aside I'm happy to say he's also just a great kid; not a mean bone in his body. He just plain likes people.)</p>

<p>I believe all of that will make him an attractive candidate to the schools he is applying to, which is why we weren't thinking of having him re-take the tests or take the subject tests. (We are hoping for as much merit aid as possible, of course.)</p>

<p>We just found that the DC school, however, alone of the five schools, "recommends" the SAT IIs, but does not absolutely require them. Because of his very busy schedule, it might be that the only date that he can take the SAT IIs is in October. Since we hadn't planned for him to take more standardized tests we hadn't been paying attention to the schedule, and now learn that we must sign up by this Wednesday (and pay a late fee, to boot) for him to do that. </p>

<p>Here's mostly what concerns me. The school strongly suggests the Math test be among those taken, for placement purposes. (I gather the usual approach is to take three subject tests.) That is S's weakest subject, of course, and while his math scores weren't elite in the earlier tests, as I mentioned they were very solid. There is a risk (particularly since he is not taking any math this semester and therefore not really thinking about math) that he will have a (relatively) poor showing. (He will probably also take the French and History tests, and I would expect him to do very well in those.) If that happens, will the SAT II tests be reported to all schools that have received his SAT I scores? </p>

<p>At least two of the LACs he is applying to have not received his SAT scores, and we have not decided whether to submit them, as his ACT score is actually "better" than his SAT I. But should we? Will that 800 in CR catch someone's eye? And do we risk being able to take advantage of it if he has a poor score on an SAT II? </p>

<p>Any advice would be appreciated. By Wednesday, no less. Thanks. I am fairly new to this forum and realize there's a lot of chaff in here, but I have found plenty of wheat, too!</p>

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<p>Does the DC school accept the ACT in lieu of the SAT IIs as well as SAT I? If so, he can submit just the ACT and be done with it, or he can submit both the SAT I and SAT II. Since SAT IIs are only "recommended" and most schools that require SAT IIs will take the ACT anyway in lieu of both, there shouldn't be a problem with submitting just the ACT.</p>

<p>For schools that don't need the SAT II, why not just send the SAT I scores (along with the ACT) before he takes the SAT II (like now)? (Scores that have already been sent won't be updated with new scores unless he re-sends the scores. So the SAT II's won't have any affect on those schools.)</p>

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<p>Chedva's strategy is good re sending the SATIs before he takes the SAT II - then never send again if they don't pan out. IF he decides to take them.</p>

<p>It feels risky, I know, not to send the SATIIs if they "recommend" them. But I wouldn't. He is so strong otherwise - he really came across great in your profile of him. I always liked the perspective of our hs's Guidance Office, which is that your application should show you "as you are on your best day."
The absence of SAT IIs is something he won't actually explain on the app - but could be seen as just something he didn't do because he'd taken the ACT and didn't need to do it for any other schools. This might be one time where listing the other schools he applied to (if they ask) could be good - they'd see that those schools weren't the SATII types.</p>

<p>As to the middle school award, I do think it is too old. Most of the apps specify awards from hs on. If he happens to cover Forensics in his "most important EC essay", he can mention how that spurred him on.</p>

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<p>I would have him send the SATs and ACT results to the schools where he is planning to apply. Then take the SAT IIs and decide if he wants to send the results. They will all go if he does. I agree with Chedva. See if the school in DC will take just the ACT. Then he can forgo taking more tests. Ugh.</p>

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<p>I agree with the above. SEnd out the SATs to anyone who needs the 1 right now. Take the 2. If you're happy with those scores, send them. If not, no one needs to know. Unless he's applying early to the DC school, he doesn't need to send the scores until he sees them and decides to.</p>

<p>I also think that the 8th grade honor is probably too old to be of use, though I think it's great!</p>

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<p>Oh, and yes, the 800 CR will catch someone's eye. It caught mine and I'm not a test score fan ;). So send the SATs and ACTs to all the schools of interest now. They will use his highest score and that CR 800 will just serve to buttress the validity of the 34 in the adreps' minds.</p>

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<p>Excellent advice and information so far. Thank you all very much. Keep it coming.</p>

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<p>I vote take it.</p>

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<p>My d's school (UNC-CH) also required the SAT II for placement...but did not require the applicant take it unless they were accepted. My d took it early anyway to meet application requirements at other schools, but many of the Carolina kids waited until they knew they were going there. You may ask for some clarification about what 'recommended' means at the DC school...it may be similar to UNC.</p>

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<p>As far as I know, there is only one DC college that is in the category of "recommending" SAT II's, American University. If that is the one you are referring to, then NO do not take II's now. Wait until after being admitted and then only if your son chooses to attend there. It does not actually use II's for admission. it recommends them for use for "placement" after you are admitted. The two they want are math and foreign language as the score will determine what level of either you will be placed into.</p>

<p>As to whether to send both the SAT and ACT scores or only the ACT, that depends on your real SAT score. Most colleges are not relying on the writing section yet of the SAT and thus the real score that will be considered is math and CR; thus you should compare those two (added together) to the ACT.</p>

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<p>Yes, if it's AU, their website says this:
[quote]
Subject Tests are optional but recommended for placement purposes should you be admitted to AU.

[/quote]
So, if that's the school, relax and don't even take them. You only need to submit them if you're accepted and decide to go there. Then you can figure out which SATII's you need for placement, depending on what you plan to take when there.</p>

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<p>You guys are good. Yes; it's AU. This really makes it an easy choice; we'll put off the SAT IIs until later, if at all. Thanks!</p>