Well… It appears the standardized testing season is upon us. I’m looking at some selective schools. Most of them don’t require SAT subjects but I figured I could use them to supplement my application. The problem is, however, which ones should I take?
I plan on majoring in history so I was considering taking both World and US History (I also found the practice tests really easy). But which ones after that? I would probably be good at the Biology test so maybe that… The difficulty I’m facing is that I might take Literature or Math Level 2, but I worry about how well I’ll do on them. I thought literature was a little harder, but the Math 2 I found unrealistic for myself do well on without some good ol’ studying.
Do colleges view certain subjects tests as superior (And thus give greater weight and credibility to them) than others???
If so, which ones? Should I take them and put effort into doing well on them?
I know you said that the colleges you are looking at don’t require the tests, but even for those that do, they typically only ask for two. Given this and the fact that you can only take up to three in a given sitting, it seems to be a major waste of your time to take so many. Take the two or three you think you will do the best on. If you think you could more easily do well on bio than on math 2 or lit, take it. I also feel like taking bio as opposed to lit would be a good idea so that you can diversify your standardized testing portfolio and show that you are well rounded and can do well on both humanities and stem tests.
if u only do 2 dont do 2 histories just because youre majoring in it. Colleges will want to see diversity and skills outside your intended major. I say pick 1 of the histories, and take bio. If you really wanted you could take a 3rd but its not necessary for most schools and only do it if you do really bad on bio or the history.
Check your schools’ policies on accepting tests–I know some schools will only accept one of the two math subject tests. If they accept both histories, I see no problem taking those if you also take a third. I’d vote for Lit, personally.
I know some of the top tier colleges require a science and math subject test, so you might end up taking Math II (some schools don’t even accept Math I) and Physics, Chem, Bio E, or Bio M.
Some schools even require 3 exams, so that’s where you can fit in your history exam.
I’ve been continuing my college search and found one school I’m interested in requires subject tests… not just two, three (Georgetown).
Which three should I take? Will they personally weigh certain ones more than others? When should I take them?
If I chose something like Math II, could I wait till the after summer to take to study the topics that weren’t covered in my school’s math sequence? I don’t even know when they’re offered and if they’ll be in time for early action.