<p>Our son will be applying to colleges that don't require them. My husband thinks he should take two, anyway. What do you think?</p>
<p>I agree with dh. Your son might change his mind about which colleges he applies to, and then he’d be left scramibling at the last minute to get them in. Also, you can always submit them to other colleges if the scores are impressive.</p>
<p>My son who applied to colleges that didn’t require them seemed at no disadvantage not taking them. The pressure he would have felt by taking them would so much not have been worth it. He feels enough pressure in college courses. Why start early?</p>
<p>I agree with YDS. My DS2 took 2 SATs, but then he visited Gtown and fell in love. They require 3. Oh he was so stressed about this, decided not to even apply. That was such a dreadfully stressful time he could have avoided if he planned ahead. I’m not suggested your son take three, (I recall Gtown and Harvard may be the only ones who ask for 3). But I think he should take 2 to keep his options open if he changes his mind about where he wants to apply.</p>
<p>According to Harvard’s website they now require two subject tests, not three. Georgetown does still require three, not sure who else does as well?</p>
<p>It depends on the student. If he’s absolutely, no how no way, not going to be applying to schools which require them it’s not worth the stress. My kids have found subject tests to be much more of a PITA then the regular SAT.</p>
<p>Just last night my H and S2 went to a presentation give by 5 colleges - one of them being Georgetown. Similar to Limabeans comment, it was not even on S2’s radar. He loved Gtown’s portion of the presentation and wants to explore further. I am glad he is signed up for 3 sub tests in June. If he does not do well on the tests, then we can just cross off applying to GTown and MIT. (I love crossing things off my to do list)</p>
<p>dke,</p>
<p>Everything depends on your kid and his list. Happykid cannot test her way out of a paper bag, and she is absolutely un-pushable when it comes to things that she is not interested in. Fortunately, when she is interested, she commits completely. We passed on the test business until we knew what her college list looked like. Many of her artsy-type friends did the same. For their goals, this kind of exam was meaningless.</p>
<p>My kids for some weird reason actually kind of enjoy taking these tests! Personally, I would encourage you child to take the SAT2’s so they don’t close any doors, but both my kids knew junior year that almost all the colleges they were considering required them.</p>
<p>D took 2, did not need them for admission but the university uses the score in the math 2 SAT II as one of the items to determine if the placement test is needed or not.</p>
<p>One of my daughter’s friends decided in fall of senior year to apply to a school that required SAT 2’s. All the testing sites in our area were full and he ended up driving 3 hours to another city in order to take them (which also required an overnight stay, since he didn’t want to be up and on the road at 4:00 a.m. on the day of the test).</p>
<p>He REALLY wished he had taken them in the spring, especially since one of tests was U.S. History and he had studied for the AP anyway. Instead he had to review all that material again. </p>
<p>If you think there is any chance you “might” need them, it is better to go ahead and take them in the spring. That will give an additional data point which is helpful in putting together a college list. If the student doesn’t do well on the SAT2’s it is easy to steer away from the schools that require them and no one need ever see the scores. Conversely, a good score might give the student confidence to go ahead and shoot for a “reach” school.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore. The Math II SAT II is the only one I think my son will take, as a just in case it is needed for placement or provides credit for precalc math (which it did at my daughter’s college, another school that did not require SAT II’s). </p>
<p>None of the schools he plans to apply to require SAT II’s so I would rather have him use his testing tolerance to take the ACT and SAT.</p>
<p>He will have a reasonable amount of AP credit. Maybe if he weren’t taking AP classes, I’d be more keen on having SAT II scores to show to colleges.</p>
<p>You are getting good advice here, OP. My experience: D1 took two and didn’t need them at all; I just checked and 2 of the schools that are already on D2’s radar (class of 2012) require them. So it really depends on the kid, knowing where they are likely to apply, and covering your bases if you/they are not sure. </p>
<p>For a sense of how many schools (and which ones) require SAT 2s go to this page on the Common App website and click on the Deadlines and Requirements PDF: <a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/DownloadForms.aspx[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/DownloadForms.aspx</a></p>
<p>thanks for your feedback, everyone. We’ll discuss it this weekend.</p>
<p>Don’t know what year your S is, but if he’s taking AP courses that correspond to SAT IIs (eg. Bio, Chem, Phys, USH, etc.), and he feels confident about the AP test, he could likely take the SAT II with little or no extra study.</p>
<p>I completely agree with entomom, and strongly recommend taking the SAT IIs if you are taking a corresponding AP class/test. There’s no downside, and a very possible upside. If you take the SATIIs in May, it can work as a warm up for the AP exam. If you take them in June, then you’ve already done most of the studying in prepping for the AP exam. Unless your college doesn’t accept score choice, you have nothing to lose but the fee and one hour per exam on a saturday morning.</p>
<p>Also, even many schools that don’t require SATIIs will consider them if submitted, and they may help the application of a student who has good but not great SAT I scores. I think this really helped my son in his applications. His SAT I one was, IIRC, about 2110 (one sitting; wouldn’t take it again), but his SAT IIs were stellar: 800 (Spanish), 800 (US History), 770 (Biology). Got accepted at Brown and some top LACs (Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury). Without these SAT II scores, who knows if his admissions decisions would have been as happy, but I have to believe that his SAT II scores helped the colleges conclude that this was a kid who could really learn a subject area.</p>
<p>Along the same lines, if you are from a HS that doesn’t send many kids to a particular college then SAT IIs could possibly help put your kid and the rigor of his HS into better context for them.</p>
<p>@electronblue, post #5: This is from Gtown’s testing requirements:
They require THREE SAT tests.</p>
<p>Totally concur with the AP-Subject Test connection. Even if a college does not require them, strong scores can only help an application.</p>
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<p>Or have no effect at all.</p>
<p>At a college I visited with one of my kids – a college that does not require SAT Subject Tests – someone at the information session asked whether students who have taken these tests should submit the scores. The answer: “You can submit them if you like, but we’re not going to look at them.”</p>
<p>Will it be so stressful for him to take the tests? This really depends on the student. Count me as one who actually sort of enjoyed the SAT IIs, albeit in a weird way. Not as tedious as the SAT proper.</p>