<p>D1 is taking AP World this year, and is planning on taking the corresponding subject test at the end of this school year. Next year (10th grade), she’ll have AP US History and Trig/Math analysis; in 11th grade, she’ll have AP English and AP Chem. Is there any downside to her taking five different subject tests? She generally tests well. She’ll be applying to UCs, so she will definitely need the subject tests, but she does not yet know what she’ll be interested in studying.</p>
<p>I think 4 SAT II’s is enough for the UC’s or almost any college. I would advise she hold off on taking the Math IIC test until after her Jr year, when she will have even more math under her belt[ I’m assuming she will be taking another math class in Jr year]</p>
<p>Mine took them as soon as she finished the class. She took 4 SAT subject tests. I don’t think it hurts, I think it actually helps for private schools. She listed them all for UCs application, eventhought UCs only require 2 subject tests.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don’t think any college requires more than three SAT IIs. So . . . unless you blow one, four is too many. Five starts to look like a candidate for a 12-step program on standardized testing.</p></li>
<li><p>There is absolutely no reason to take both World History and US History SAT IIs. Schools that want to see them want to see them in different subject matters (usually including Math).</p></li>
<li><p>Unless your child already is familiar with SAT-type tests, and knows she does very well on them, I would caution against taking a (probably superfluous) SAT II as a 9th grader. My experience, and that of many others – but of course it’s not universal – was that all my kids’ test scores went up significantly between the beginning of 10th grade and spring of 11th. My son took the Chemistry SAT II at the end of 10th grade, and it was significantly lower than any other test score he got. Even if she ultimately takes three others, the score will stay on her report, and people may or may not notice that she was in 9th grade when she took it. </p></li>
<li><p>However, she should probably take the Math SAT II whenever she completes the course that prepares her for the higher level test (probably what looks like a pre-calculus course in 10th grade).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Mathson took Math1 as a freshman which even at the time I thought was dumb, but no one listened to me! His score was fine - it’s just that as an engineering/math/comp sci kid we knew he’d take the Math2. Then junior year he took three (US history, Math2, Physics), got great scores and didn’t take more. He thought about taking Bio as a sophomore when he was in AP Bio, but he hates bio (though he’s very good at it), and decided to put off science till the next year when he was planning on taking a science he likes. </p>
<p>I really think the only kids who might want to take more than three SAT subject tests are homeschoolers if they have no other way to show mastery of a subject.</p>
<p>At my house it was any number over 0. Once D found out that the vast majority of schools that required them, that she had any interest in, also had the ACT as an option she just said nyet and wouldn’t budge.</p>
<p>“I really think the only kids who might want to take more than three SAT subject tests are homeschoolers if they have no other way to show mastery of a subject”
^^^ Have to disagree with this. Many students at my son’s HS were encouraged to take more than 3 subject tests.
My son took 4 subject tests US History, Math II C, English Language , and Latin, in part because he did not want to have to take foreign language in college if his SAT score would fulfill the college’s language requirement [ Stanford, Dartmouth for example]
By taking 4 different test and doing well in all of them, I also think it reinforced his academic strength in a wide range of areas.</p>
<p>“By taking 4 different test and doing well in all of them, I also think it reinforced his academic strength in a wide range of areas.”</p>
<p>“Five starts to look like a candidate for a 12-step program on standardized testing.”</p>
<p>My kid took six by choice, was admitted to Harvard SCEA as well as other top schools and was an Emory Scholar. Probably didn’t need that many but it sure didn’t hurt in any way. I’d go with statement #1 above.</p>
<p>I’m not sure taking the extra SAT subject tests will help her at all for the UCs since they only require 2 now that the writing test is included in the regular SAT. I think you can take up to around 3 subject tests in one day so taking a few is doable. I think they’ll just use the 2 tests with the highest scores in their calculations for admissions. For the school of engineering one generally needs the Math2C and a science subject test. </p>
<p>You might want to check the websites of any other prospective colleges to see what they’d actually do, if anything, with more than a couple of SAT subject tests.</p>
<p>The downsides - burnout and cost.</p>
<p>I agree getting out of a foreign language requirement is another good reason to take an extra SAT subject test. :)</p>
<p>The Common Application has space for six SAT II scores. As mathmom mentioned, homeschoolers taking more than the minimum number of SAT II tests is one reason colleges are used to applicants submitting more than just a few.</p>
<p>My D took four just as soon as she took the relevant AP exam - why not? She was as primed as she would ever be over the subject matter.</p>
<p>Very helpful, thanks! I’ll be checking with other parents and the GC to see if there’s a better history (so to speak 
) with students taking the World or the American History subject test. Otherwise, waiting the year for the extra maturity to kick in on the history test makes sense. Though it sounds like the UCs superscore the subject tests–that right? Is this generally true for other schools, as well? If that’s the case, maybe no harm, no foul to take the World test now.</p>
<p>Language subject test: she gets foreign language credit via a supplemental program in Hebrew. I’m concerned that she’ll make a poor showing when compared to other students who have either been in private day schools (where Hebrew is part of the curriculum from first grade) or raised by Hebrew-speaking parents. Maybe best to wait and see if she is truly interested in any private schools with a language req. before going down that road. </p>
<p>I like the idea of having her being able to spread the tests out over the years, taking no more than one or two at a time, rather than having to do three different subjects in one morning or afternoon.</p>
<p>Slithey, check the curve on the Hebrew test; not for the faint at heart.</p>
<p>A few thoughts:</p>
<p>Not all high school courses provide good preparation for SAT Subject Tests. The SAT Subject Tests are often the last things on the minds of the people who design high school curricula (because they have other priorities and because relatively few kids take the tests). Before a student takes any subject test, ask the subject teacher (and the student grapevine) whether kids who have taken this particular course at this particular school tend to do poorly or well on the Subject Test. It is also a good idea to get a test prep book and do the practice tests. Sometimes, students who do this find out that their high school course didn’t cover some of the material that the test covers. They can then decide either to do some additional studying on their own or to take a different test.</p>
<p>If your school teaches AP U.S. History well (meaning that lots of students get 4s and 5s), taking the SAT U.S. History subject test is a good idea for students who have done well in the course. The SAT subject test is almost identical to the multiple choice section of the AP test.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether the two World History tests correspond as well.</p>
<p>The best time to take the SAT Math II subject test is at the end of whatever your school calls the math course that comes just before calculus. Many of the topics on the test are taught in that last pre-calculus year.</p>
<p>The AP English usually taught in 11th grade is AP English Language, which is not much help for students who want to take the Literature subject test. </p>
<p>Not all scores from 10th grade are low. My daughter took two SAT Subject Tests that year and got 790s on both of them. It depends more on the rigor and thoroughness of the courses rather than the age of the student.</p>
<p>Well, Marian, what I was trying to say before was that not all scores from 10th grade are low, but that it DOESN’T completely depend on the rigor and thoroughness of the courses. My son’s 10th grade SAT II score was basically about halfway between his 10th grade PSATs and 11th grade PSATs. His 11th grade SAT II scores were all in the range of his 11th grade SAT I scores. There was a big difference. I thought the consistency of results across different tests suggested that test-taking skill and familiarity were perhaps important elements.</p>
<p>My (vicarious) experience with U.S. History was the same as yours: The SAT II, given two days after the AP test, was essentially a chance to re-take the AP test, with half the questions helpfully the same, or nearly so.</p>
<p>I just want to agree that AP US history and the SAT subject test are a perfect match. In our school at least, everyone gets great scores on both tests. (It’s a junior year course so timing is nice too.)</p>
<p>our experience is that personal prep was necessary and class prep was non existent…buy the book and review it…it is only a one hour test. Three is more than enough with the ascendance of APs…I think it is silly to duplicate if your AP score is good in a subject and wish they would accept the APs which are not optional for weighted credits in most HSs.
The math level 2 is something to prep for but has a generous curve. Math level one’s curve is less forgiving.</p>
<p>JHS, perhaps we should say that a rigorous and thorough course that includes the material that is covered on a particular SAT Subject Test is essential, but the greater maturity and test-taking experience of an 11th grader as opposed to a 10th grader can also be an important factor.</p>
<p>But I wouldn’t advise anyone who has a chance to obtain a good score in 10th grade to wait until 11th.</p>
<p>My daughter took an excellent AP U.S. History course in 10th grade. That’s why she got a 790 on the SAT Subject Test in U.S. History taken at the end of the same year. This course was a gift from the gods, and she wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity at an excellent SAT Subject Test score just because she took the course “too early.”</p>
<p>The same daughter took an Honors Physics course in 11th grade. All the maturity in the world wouldn’t have gotten her anywhere near a 790 if she had taken the Physics Subject Test because the course didn’t include some topics included on the SAT Subject Test (something the teacher openly admitted). Unless she chose to study those topics on her own (fat chance), she wouldn’t have had a chance at a good score. Fortunately, she did not need this test and therefore did not take it.</p>
<p>I definitely would not suggest that a student like my daughter, who has a opportunity to obtain a good score in 10th grade in a subject that won’t continue into the next year, should refrain from taking the test just because he/she is a 10th grader. A case could be made, however, for waiting in ongoing subjects (such as literature or foreign language). Here, the extra maturity might help. (Then again, my daughter took the Spanish Subject Test in 11th grade and scored lower than she had scored in Math II and U.S. History the year before. But Spanish has a dreadful curve.)</p>
<p>Basic principle: If your school teaches a course in 10th grade (or even 9th grade) where it is known that kids who do well in the course get high scores on the SAT Subject Test, take the subject test at the end of the year. I’m not just saying this because of my daughter’s experience with U.S. History. It also happened to me. Thirtysomething years ago, when the tests were called Achievement Tests, I took a chemistry course in 10th grade where it was well known that people who got As in the class tended to get very high scores on the Achievement Test. I got an A. I took the test. I got my one and only 800. It didn’t matter that I was a 10th grader.</p>
<p>This is a timely thread for me, so I’ll resurrect it. A letter outlining standardized test requirements for college applications came today from the guidance department at the HS where S1 is a 9th grader. I was vaguely aware that the advice is to take SAT subject tests immediately after completing the pertinent course because of a comment by S1’s math teacher. S1 is taking pre-calc and AP physics now, so presumably he should take the subject tests in math and physics this year. He tests well, and did quite well on the SATs in 7th and 8th grades (for CTY). I’m wondering, though, whether it would be better to wait until we know whether he will be applying to colleges that require them. At this point, we have absolutely no idea what colleges will be on the list. My understanding is that most colleges do not require these tests. So if he does take them, it could very well be a waste of a Saturday morning. How do others make this decision?</p>
<p>He is already registered to take the AP Physics test this year. Is there any point in also taking the SAT subject test in physics as well? Do any colleges require both?</p>