<p>FromMD, is your d taking any APs? If she is, maybe she should consider SATII in the same subject. One of my d.'s friends took US history AP last year and got a 5 in national exam last May. Then after several months he took SAT II US history, didn’t do well. He told people the lesson is take the SAT subject test right after the AP class. People on CC told me that if one is taking APUSH, then she doesn’t even study much for SAT US history. I hope it’s true, because she will not have time to study for SAT and she is taking it either in May or June. 
(this is not a good emotioncon. Can someone teach me more emotioncons?)</p>
<p>@Maxwell; </p>
<p>That approach (AP then SAT II) is consistent with our thinking. She took one AP (US Govt) last year as a freshman. This year she will be taking APUSH, AP Stat, and Art/History. As for SATII, she will take only about 3-4 SAT IIs in high school. Our thinking is by the time she finishes her Junior year, she will be much more ready to take on SAT IIs. Do you see any flaws with this approach? This means, however, she will have LOTS of exams next year. </p>
<p>Sorry can’t help you with that funny face thing.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your replies about APUSH, she did go talk to the teacher who will most likely have that class next year, and she also went for advice from one of the few teachers with wisdom at this school. For now she has decided to go ahead and take it along with AP Lang (which has a tough teacher) and AP Chem (tough subject but pretty good teacher). She decided easier to sign up now and have the option, they have 1-2 weeks after school begins to drop classes I think before it would show up that way.</p>
<p>She will not do any tests until Junior year. </p>
<p>D1 did not do any SAT ll tests–what are the benefits or drawbacks?
Our school is generally on a much “slower” system than many I read about here, but D1 did not even have the some of the classes this D will and she did very well with the college admissions and scholarships.</p>
<p>One of the “tiring” components of D2’s sports and academics is we are in a very rural area and not close to ANY of it, just the driving time cuts into so much.
Thanks again!</p>
<p>These are the only ones I know that work on CC, maxwell: [College</a> Confidential - Smilies](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/misc.php?do=showsmilies]College”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/misc.php?do=showsmilies)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A handful of colleges require SAT Subject/II tests. Many of those will accept the ACT instead. I haven’t decided if D will take any yet.</p>
<p>As for AP tests, whoever asked upthread, D will take one this year - Euro - because that’s the only AP class she is taking now. Next year, with 4 APs, I imagine she will take 4.</p>
<p>FromMD- not sure what her path is but I will let you know!! Taking some SAT 2s just in case. Probably doing SAT/ACT in the fall and will study/ tutor in the summer and early fall. Doing IB diploma with two APs sprinkled in, unless she changes her mind and goes the AP route only. We will visit some schools and see how things pan out…</p>
<p>Thank you suzi! I’ve been wanting to ask about that for quite a while. 
</p>
<p>FromMD, what I’ve heard is that the best time to take the subject SAT is right after they finish the subject. My daughter doesn’t exactly follow that in math - she’s taking precalc now but she won’t take SATII math until later. Like you said, too many tests this year. But things that they’ve done AP on, you should ask if the SAT II is similar to AP. If it is, then SAT doesn’t take much more study time. SAT II is only an hour test, I believe, and it’s all multiple choice. (Am I right? ) So if they do take AP and SAT at about the same time, most likely SAT will be a bit easier. At least that’s what we are hoping.</p>
<p>Yes SAT 2 is a multiple choice test that is an hour long.</p>
<p>Some colleges allow you to use a sufficiently-high SATII score to fulfill requirements or skip out of introductory-level classes. </p>
<p>e.g. at UC Berkeley:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the University Entry-Level Writing requirement can be fulfilled by a minimum score of 680 on the SAT II: Subject Test in Writing. (It can also be fulfilled by scoring 680 on the SAT Reasoning Test, Writing Section; scoring 30 on the ACT combined English/Writing Test; scoring 3 on either AP English test; scoring 5 on the IB English-HL; scoing 6 on the IB English-SL; or passing a transferable college class)
[General</a> Catalog - Undergraduate Education - Undergraduate Degree Requirements](<a href=“http://catalog.berkeley.edu/undergrad/requirements.html]General”>http://catalog.berkeley.edu/undergrad/requirements.html)</p></li>
<li><p>the University American History and Institutions Requirement can be fulfilled by a minimum score of 550 on the SATII: Subject Test in US History. (There are other ways to fulfill it, too, similar to above list for the Writing requirement.)
[American</a> History and Institutions - Office Of The Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/?PageID=ahi.html]American”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/?PageID=ahi.html)</p></li>
<li><p>the Language requirement in the College of Letters and Sciences can be fulfilled by an SAT II: Subject Test, Foreign Language minimum score of 590. (It can also be fulfilled by other means, similar to the above list for the Writing requirement.)
[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Foreign Language](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/fl.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/fl.html)</p></li>
<li><p>the Quantitative Reasoning requirement in the College of Letters and Sciences can be fulfilled by an SAT II: Subject Test, Math Level II minimum score of 520. (It can also be fulfilled by other means, similar to the above list for the Writing requirement.)
[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Quantitative Reasoning](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/qr.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/qr.html)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I found this list, compiled by a NACAC board member, of how different colleges use the SATII subject exams. It claims to be current as of July 2012, but advises double-checking with the individual college in question:
[2012-2013</a> SCHOOL YEAR: SCHOOLS THAT REQUIRE, RECOMMEND OR UTILIZE SAT SUBJECT TESTS IN ADMISSION OR FOR PLACEMENT/CREDIT](<a href=“https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fQD41yn0jKU5oxFuMktWRvrYoe3r0s7ur0RiRLrQ4vg/edit]2012-2013”>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fQD41yn0jKU5oxFuMktWRvrYoe3r0s7ur0RiRLrQ4vg/edit)</p>
<p>We decided against taking SAT II this year because we felt D will be much better prepared next year after she finishes her Junior year. I am not sure if this was the right decision… She should be ready to take SAT II for Math, English, Science, and one more subject after her AP exams. She is in precal this year and will be in Cal BC next year. IMO, kids’ knowledge base grows significantly between end of 10th and end of 11th. </p>
<p>@mihcal - thanks for the linkage. Very useful.</p>
<p>Hi All ! OP here…
I have a kid graduating HS this year, so I have been busy on that forum, while DD’15 just does her own thing…She will be taking 5 AP test this May which has just become very painful to me ($89/test). I am going to suggest to her taking SAT US History shortly after AP US History this year, as the two are very comparable. She also has to take SAT Math as soon as possible, but no time to prep and she will need to prep a little.
DD’15 is very different from DS’13 and I already know that she will want to apply to some schools outside of the US. Anyone here in the same boat?</p>
<p>HELLOOOOOO OP! :)</p>
<p>5 APs already? Yowza!</p>
<p>My d will take SAT II US history, since she is taking APUSH now. There is no reason to wait - she either takes it this year, or never minds it. SAT II chem may belong to ‘never minds’ category. It’s not a good idea to wait. I’ve heard many AP 5s get bad SAT II scores after waiting for several months. Of course you’d wish they’d keep their knowledge all their lives. But the fact is, if they don’t use it, they forget it quicker than they think. D. is not going to do science in college. If she takes SAT chem, that’d be something extra. Math II (next year), US history might be enough? We may need to check with colleges to see if she needs to take another one. hopefully not.</p>
<p>@Kelowna, my D. talked about England a year ago. Now things are getting serious, she decided to stay in east coast. What does your D15 want to major in?</p>
<p>@ herandishMom - DD is not sure what she wants to study yet. She is very serious about languages, is a natural leader with good influence on people, great public speaker. But she also likes science! She would like to travel the world though. Is seriously thinking about college in Spain, but we tell her that it would be more beneficial to study in English. So England or McGill, as far as I am concerned 
McGill would be great also because of French, which is her fourth language. I am sure it is all going to change!
She is going to spend part of the summer in Spain, yet again. She has been there for 7 weeks after finishing 8th grade and this time she has arranged an exchange - a girls from Spain will spend part of the summer with us and then my DD will fly to Spain for 7 weeks . We have already purchased her ticket, she is so excited !</p>
<p>@Kelowna, that’s so interesting! How many languages does she speak? My D. doesn’t know any spanish. But she knows Chinese. Her second language in school is French. I find it very difficult for them to get really good at a FL unless they have chance for total immersion.</p>
<p>D is so envious of those who are able to pick up foreign languages. It’s such a vital skill and really helps make you a citizen of the world in a way that those with only one language cannot be. Unfortunately, language is the hardest thing for her. She has a slight auditory processing disorder and severe stutter in classroom and social situations. It’s really the first thing that she has been faced with that she feels like she is unable to master. :(</p>
<p>It’s really hard to gain mastery of a second or third language living in the United States. My D speaks only English but she has studied Hebrew, Chinese, and Spanish in school. </p>
<p>Elliemom, she also has a stutter that manifests itself in social and classroom situations and it does make language acquisition more difficult–especially if the child, like mine, becomes anxious about it and resists conversing. Then again, she does this in English too. But she seems to enjoy other languages on paper and listening to them. Sometimes we watch tv programs or movies in the other languages with subtitles. It really helps to boost comprehension. I would love to give D the opportunity for an immersion situation in any of these languages.</p>
<p>
so true. </p>
<p>I wish to get some tips for kids learning FLs while stay in this country. Is there any? My D. takes French in school. I barely hear her talk French - recently it’s a little better. She is in French III now. She should speak more and read some. I don’t see much of reading either except for textbook reading. She picked up Chinese from one side of grandparents. Learning Chinese (reading, writing) is just extremely hard.</p>