<p>What SAT IIs did your student take, why and when?</p>
<p>My dd will be a sophmore next year, and will take biology and AP History.</p>
<p>Should she plan to take the bio and US History SAT IIs in spring of sophmore year? Or...??</p>
<p>Do most students take three SAT IIs? What are the most common ones to take and when?</p>
<p>I appreciate insights into a good approach.</p>
<p>It's best to take them at the end of the relevant course. So, taking SAT II Chemistry after AP Chemistry, SAT II World History after AP World History, etc. Some people take it right in May admist AP testing while most of the material is still fresh, while others prefer to take it in June for a mind break and also so they can adjust to the new format. </p>
<p>If your son is taking AP US History next year, then taking the SAT II US History next Spring is a good call. Is the bio regular biology or AP Biology? If it's the latter, take that too. If it's regular, wait until he has advanced till the AP level. </p>
<p>Most people do not take three SAT II's because not that many colleges require them---and at least not that many. Of course, it depends what community you live in--if everyone is shooting for Harvard or whatnot then yeah many will take them.</p>
<p>S took Math II C (or whatever it's called now) in Jan. of his junior year. He had completed Pre-calc (necessary for Math II C) as a sophomore, and he probably should have taken the test at the end of sophomore year. He was a bit rusty, and so had to do some review. He then took US History and Chem in May of his junior year, immediately after completing the corresponding AP exams. (Some independent prep for the SAT IIs is still necessary, as the format/content of SAT IIs and APs differs somewhat.) In general, the best time to take any of these tests is when the subject(s) are freshest in the student's mind. </p>
<p>Many schools don't require any SAT IIs at all. Of those that do require them, some ask for two and some for three. In general, I think some combination of math/science/humanities-based exams is a good idea. For some specialized programs, like engineering, particular tests may be required. </p>
<p>One more thing: It's permissible to take three SAT IIs on a single morning, but it can be pretty grueling. S, who is an excellent standardized test-taker, recommends spreading three over two mornings. </p>
<p>In general, if your D feels she has mastered a subject, that's the time to take the corresponding test. Many students wait until their junior year to take them. Is your D taking AP US as a sophomore? If so, that may be a good one to take. Is she a strong bio student? Bear in mind that there are many SAT II tests, and the most she'll ever need is three, so she can pick and choose her strongest areas. No absolute need to sit for the SAT II simply because she's completed an area of study.</p>
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What was the SAT II strategy in your house?
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<p>D's strategy was "Just say "No" to SATs!" ;) Colleges were selected accordingly.</p>
<p>Isn't it the case that most colleges that request SAT IIs require three?</p>
<p>Do most students take more than three and then pick the best scores?</p>
<p>DD will most likely not take any AP sciences (not sure how this would work at her high school anyway, as the sequence is to take Bio then AP Bio and it would mean NOT taking something else). She will take Bio, Chem and Physics (9th grade is Earth Science).</p>
<p>She is on track to take AP Calculus as a senior (sequence is Geometry as freshman, then Algebra II, Advanced Math, AP Calc).</p>
<p>Her high school (well respected suburban school) does not offer AP English or any history APs other than US. Final year of French is not positioned as AP, but is described as possible prep for the AP.</p>
<p>So -- what would be her best choices for SAT IIs? She is a strong student and although she prefers English and History she does equally well in Science and Math.</p>
<p>PS to BunsenBurner: Your strategy was D1's strategy! D2 is a horse of a different color!</p>
<p>fendrock, requiring 3 was more common in the days before the "new SAT" - now that the SAT has the writing section, many fewer colleges ask for 3 subject tests. </p>
<p>You can't send your favorite scores, alas; send one, send 'em all. But most schools say that they only look at your best 2 or 3 (depending on what they require). </p>
<p>As people have already answered, showing a little variety is a good guideline for choosing subject tests.</p>
<p>D and S1 followed similar strategies: Grit your teeth and take the ones your teachers tell you you're ready for, as close to the end of the course as possible.</p>
<p>My son took Math Level 2 in eighth grade, which was already past the time when he was taking the relevant courses. Since then, he's taken three more (this year, tenth grade), and will probably take a few more in the next year or two, especially his foreign language. This is a more common pattern with homeschooled learners--to take more than the minimum required number of tests.</p>
<p>My son determined that none of the schools that interested him required SAT IIs. He did take one in a subject that he was doing particularly well in, but it was unnecessary.</p>
<p>My daughter knew that she was going to apply to selective colleges and that she was not going to major in science or engineering. She therefore realized that she would need two to three SAT IIs but that she could pick the subjects. She took U.S. History (because she was taking AP U.S. History, and the two tests are very similar), Math Level 2 (because, basically, almost everybody seems to take it, and she's pretty good at math), and Spanish (because she completed AP Spanish Language in 11th grade and figured that she had enough background for it). It worked out fine, but her Spanish score was lower than the others. The curve on the SAT II Spanish test is formidable.</p>
<p>In terms of timing: My daughter took U.S. History in 10th grade because that's when she took AP U.S. History. She took Math Level II in 10th grade because that's when she was completing precalculus (this is the best time to take that test because there are a lot of precal topics on the test). She took Spanish in 11th grade because she took the AP course that year and wasn't going to take more Spanish the following year.</p>
<p>tokenadult, thanks for the link.</p>
<p>Reviewing the link I learned that surprisingly few schools actually require SAT IIs; several of the schools on my d's very early list are among them, but even then it looks like the ACT may do.</p>
<p>D absolutely refused to take them. Said she'd pick other schools instead. She did. Didn't seem to hurt her any. It appears increasingly clear that she will apply the same innate stubborness to med school applications. I hope it works out as well for her.</p>
<p>My son applied to several schools that wanted two or three SAT2s. Basically his strategy was to take three in June of his junior year that corresponded to the courses he was taking. He took them in June rather than May (when he had APs) because he had to do a bit of review for the physics, but most of his friends did them in May. He took US History, Physics and Math2. (He should have done Math2 the year before when he did pre-calc, but he forgot to sign up.) Some parents think that taking three at once is too stressful, but it worked out fine for my son. He got them all out of the way at once and he couldn't have gotten better scores. :)</p>
<p>My D took 3 - Math 2, BiologyM, and Enlish Lit. I don't recommend more than 2 at a time. As stated previously, take it right after the highest level of the class, May or June. Or with Math 2, right after pre-calc. My D took English lit at end of Junior year, as she wanted to be done with testing before Sr year started. Really good that you are getting a plan together early.</p>
<p>Some colleges will accept the ACT + writing instead of the SAT and SAT Subject tests. Be sure to check out all the testing options.</p>
<p>My D was another in the "No SAT II" camp. Like BunsenBurner & Curmudgeon's kids, she selected her schools accordingly. It was not a problem at all for her in admissions. So the SAT II strategy at our house? Do whatever it takes to avoid 'em. :)</p>
<p>I wound up taking my SAT IIs sometime in October of my senior year. I hadn't touched my AP Chem notebook since the day before the AP exam the previous May (most likely a mistake), but somehow managed to still get an 800. Had been back in AP Calc for a few weeks, so that had gotten the math part of my brain working again and wound up with a 790. Unfortunately, I hadn't written an essay since, well, about six months prior, so my Writing score of 520 was a little weak.</p>
<p>I'd recommend taking it closer to the end of the school year Junior year, as it's likely things will be much more fresh than at the beginning of senior year.</p>
<p>My son took the SAT II in Math 2 and Biology at the end of his sophomore year. Scored 800 and 740, respectively. Just took the U.S. History and Chemistry and got 800s. He says that he would like to do one in Spanish sometime in the fall, just for college placement purposes.</p>
<p>D in her sophomore year took SAT Math IIC (770) in January and SAT II Chem (780) in June after the AP Chem exam. She also took the Sat II literature (730) this May of her Junior year prior to AP English Language.
She was not happy with her SAT II Math timing and told that June would have been a much better time to take the SATII. She took Literature SAT II in May because of her SAT1 schedule in June.</p>
<p>My son has took 3 SAT Subject Tests because two of the colleges on his initial list required that many. Most of the others required two tests. He took Math2, World History, and Literature.</p>
<p>My daughter has taken 3 also (Math1, world hist., and lit) but will take 2 more (US hist. and Latin) next week.</p>
<p>My kids are both homeschoolers, and my daughter in particular has done more home study and fewer traditional classes than my son, so she thought it might be good to have more SAT subject tests to validate her homeschool grades.</p>
<p>Neither of my kids really took the tests in a way that corresponds too closely to the finish of a class or a home study effort. They just figured out when they wanted to take what and prepared for the tests as the date approached. I mean, they'd previously studied the subjects in depth -- but the test prep part didn't necessarily correspond to the immediate conclusion of their work in that subject matter.</p>
<p>My son took AP US History at the high school a couple years ago and took the AP test, but didn't bother with the SAT subject test at that time since it seemed a little redundant. That was a missed opportunity, as it turned out, but he got in all the SAT subject tests he needed without it, so it wasn't a big deal or anything.</p>
<p>Take them in June, right after school gets out. Every faculty member at our school recommends this rather than waiting till fall.......D's took US History, 1 took Chem, 1 took Bio, both took Math (can't remember 1 or 2) and did very well. Info still fresh in their minds and they were still in school mode. Why wait 5 months to test something when you can do it immediately afterwards?</p>
<p>If a student is taking the AP test, why would they need the SATII? My D didn't take any SAT IIs. The high school didn't even mention them as part of college planning.</p>