<p>My son is 17 and was in CTY the last two summers. Don’t wait if your son can knock of an SATII in a great subject like physics is my advice. My son has zero SATIIs completed and will need at least two of them. Guess what…he still has 3APs and at least 2 SATIIS and perhaps an ACT to take on before June of his junior year. Fall of 09 he can do retakes if he likes. He is taking his second SAT this week. Short version. Junior year is downright nauseating re standardized tests.<br>
Eldest son now at Duke stayed inside spring of his junior year too much and did practice SATIIS and aced his…but his equally bright friends thought they could “walk in” and do well. Not true for most kids. The tests are short and easy to review for if you buy the book. Skipping prep is only for the highly gifted not the worker bees.<br>
so…I recommend your son take a practice SATII physics…takes only an hour…take a look at the score…then decide. If it is good and he is up for that AP anyhow…you just made junior year less of a hassle. I agree that Saturday mornings should not be wasted on unnecssary testing. Most colleges want one SATII to be Level II in Math…which has a generous curve unlike Level One. So…if you think your son will ace History and Math…skip the physics…but if he likes physics and it is “fresh”…do it. You should also know that many school use SAT language exams sometimes adminstered in orientation after you move in the dorms to do class placement. Therefore foreign language is also a smart choice for your SATII.
Make a calendar and plot this out to avoid the junior year crunch.</p>
<p>If he’s taking AP Physics, now is a good time to take SAT Physics, too, provided your son does some prep (the formats differ) and – this is a big one – you think he’s mature enough. (There’s a recent thread on this subject.)</p>
<p>Most colleges that require SAT Subject tests require two of them. No college requires more than three. Typically, students take any combination they like, with a few exceptions, like no Math I and Math II. A few university programs (engineering comes to mind) may have requirements, like one math and one science Subject test. Many kids decide to take a combination of math-science-based tests and humanities-based tests.</p>
<p>Thank you both for the advice. Faline, by “practice test,” do you mean taking a test in a prep book? Or is there an online practice test?</p>
<p>wjb, S1 could well end up in an engineering school. He thinks that he wants to be a physicist, but he love to tinker. So taking the math and physics tests now might make some sense.</p>
<p>I do worry about maturity - he is extremely immature. Where is the thread you mention?</p>
<p>Slithey, unless they’ve made huge changes in the Hebrew subject test since I took it (too many years ago to discuss here), it has a very large component of biblical hebrew (not currently used language) and was very difficult. I lived in Israel and went to public school there for several years but the SAT test was definitely not my favorite. I’d look at a lot of other materials before deciding to go that route. And remember, once you take these tests all the results get sent off to the colleges whether you want that test to go or not.</p>
<p>NY mom: Here’s the thread I mentioned:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/450188-should-freshman-take-sat-ii-sat-subject-test.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/450188-should-freshman-take-sat-ii-sat-subject-test.html</a></p>
<p>NYMomoftwo - I also feel that one should not wait until they are sure that you will “need” the SAT to apply to a particular school. I know of students that waited until their senior year and were then having to scramble to get all their testing done. Daughter is currently taking AP Bio and AP Chem as a junior. At the end of her freshman year it was not clear what curriculum she would be taking down the road. We decided that she should pick away at those exams as we could. She tried a practice exam that spring for the Bio and did only better than average. She did some prepping over the summer and took the exam fall of her sophomore year. Landed a 780. MB she would have done better at the end of this year but won’t even have to try. W/ two AP exams and regular SAT I am glad she will be only prepping for two SAT II’s. She will go for her Chem and the Math II in June. Also, if the school he wants does require SAT II’s his AP physics score will not replace it. Those that require tests require the SAT II’s. I don’t believe any colleges require AP scores even if you took the courses (but I could be wrong). At D’s HS they only recently starting requiring the students to take the AP exams at the end of the year. Previously it had been optional. If colleges had required them, I doubt they would have been optional.</p>
<p>My S took five SAT 2 tests (Bio, Chem, Physics, Math2 and US History) and was told by his college counselor to submit them all, because they were all excellent scores. (These were in the days of “score choice.”) I do agree that if your child tests well, there’s no harm in taking three or more as it does show a level of achievement in many subjects.
NYMomof2, my suggestion is that your S not wait to decide on his college list. Many selective colleges require two of the SAT 2 tests, and a few require three. He should take the tests this year in June, at the conclusion of his Physics and Precalc courses. There is a book published by the Collegeboard called “The Official Study Guide for all SAT Subject Tests.” (I happened to have purchased a copy today. :)) For example, with Physics, this book lists exactly which topics are covered on the SAT 2 test in Physics, and contains an actual previously administered SAT 2 test in Physics. Also contains Math II C and all the other SAT II’s information, so it can be used in future years. There are also “prep” book issued by many other manufacturer’s (Kaplan, Barron’s. Princeton Review) which may be helpful, but this book issued by the Collegeboard is the only one which contains REAL tests which were previously administered.
I have been looking into the issue of which colleges require three tests and which require only two, so PM me if you want further details.</p>
<p>If you are happy with the scores, taking three is good. I’d recommend Math 2C after precalc, a humanities (often US History) and a science. Take the ones that coordinate with your AP tests and you won’t have to do extra studying. The only one I don’t like to see is a language subject test for a native speaker.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, for the information. As usual, CC posters come through! I will encourage him to take those two tests at the end of this year. Fortunately, he does not mind taking any tests and does not become anxious. (For regular tests in school, he does not even keep track of what days they are - just shows up and if there’s a test, he takes it.) I will get that book you recommend, momof3sons, thanks! </p>
<p>The AP exam is required by our HS if an AP course is taken. Some of the older kids are taking 5 or 6 of them in one year - and it is quite expensive!</p>
<p>I’m off to read that other thread, wjb, thank for the pointer.</p>
<p>NYMomof2 - Here is a link just on prep books:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/134260-sat-subject-test-prep-book-list.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-subject-tests-preparation/134260-sat-subject-test-prep-book-list.html</a></p>
<p>(I don’t know how to make the blue link to this thread)</p>
<p>The link converted on it’s own after the submit. I’ve learned something new!</p>
<p>A number of engineering schools like to see Physics or Chemistry as well as a math. I think a few engineering schools would rather see Math 2. I think it’s far easier to take Physics in May or June when you remember the material than fall of senior year when you’ve forgotten it all. Depending on which AP Physics you take you may have to review some material - get a prep book - try a practice test and see what you need to review.</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason to take more than 3 if the scores are good, unless you find out that a specific one is required by one of the schools, and you did not take it (for example, Stanford wants Math II, and Carnegie Mellon requires physics for some majors).
In the spring of senior year, once you know which school your child will be attending, it’s worth checking if the foreign lang requirement can be satisfied through SAT II. The “extra” SAT II can be taken in June, and if the score is high enough - great. If not - it does not hurt anything.</p>
<p>
The Hebrew test is Modern Hebrew now (there is an example of the test in Kaplan Real SAT II book). It is pretty easy if you can read fast enough to finish it.</p>
<p>I think in general it works to take a test after every good AP course that you get an A in. Then you won’t have to stress in junior year when it gets hectic :)</p>
<p>Kind of irrelevant, since the tests have changed, but, way back when, I took the English Achievement Tests with and without essay and both Math I and Math II. It wasn’t completely by choice, however. My Dad insisted that I take the English with essay, but it wasn’t offered at every sitting and I was applying to some schools early, so…and for math, I think one school I applied to wanted Math II, but I wasn’t sure I’d do well on it, so I took both (and I think I got pretty similar scores on both). Glad those days are over for me, but I think it will be just as stressful for me, if not more so, when my kids are going through it.</p>
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<p>Strongly disagree that it’s pretty easy. The many native speakers who take the Modern Hebrew test make the curve brutal. Even most day school students (those who are not Israelis) in our community do NOT take it, even though Modern Hebrew is an integral part of their curriculum.</p>
<p>
That is true of all SAT II and AP language tests (except for Latin, of course).</p>
<p>Here’s data on SATII’s: <a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>Modern Hebrew: 800 puts you in 82nd percentile; 750 in 71st percentile</p>
<p>Compare with French: 800: 92nd percentile; 750: 83rd percentile</p>
<p>On the other hand, talk about a brutal curve:</p>
<p>Chinese: 800: 54th percentile; 750: 21st percentile</p>
<p>WesDad, </p>
<p>that’s why percentiles are meaningless on language tests (and colleges know that).</p>
<p>You need to get 630-650 on a language test (depending on the language) to satisfy your foreign lang requirement at Stanford.</p>