@homedog - Do you have any idea where he is going to college? The reason I ask is that some colleges give college credit for a certain SAT score. For example at Georgia Tech you can get college credit for a certain score on English or Chem SAT II. At UGA you can get credit for Chemistry,Physics, French ( other languages too). The other thing is if he goes to a college that accepts CLEP credit he could take the Biology and French exam for credit.
I CLEPped out of freshman year and highly recommend them - little-known, cheap, and accepted in lots of places.
My S17 just took the exams when they made sense with his classes - not a lot of studying, and we are following the same path with S20. S17 took SAT II Math 2 in 9th, Chem & Spanish in 10th, Physics in 11th. Both sciences were after AP classes, but S20 is taking Physics after regular physics this year. Both kids took exams in 9th grade with no real idea of colleges. S17 sent scores to several colleges, but not all - a few took ACT OR SAT & SAT II.
I guess what Iām asking is does taking these SAT IIs really give you any sort of bump for schools that donāt require them? He isnāt looking at any schools that would give credit for them. The majority of the schools say that they āconsiderā them if you have them but they are not required. Iāve also heard not to report them at all if they arenāt above 700. In the case of Math 2, I heard not report unless above 750.
Some schools that āconsiderā them on our list are Davidson, Grinnell, Carleton, Oberlin, Wake Forest, Richmond.
@homerdog, it is such a difficult decision for a parent! On one hand, you donāt want him to over work while on the other, you donāt want him to miss an opportunity.
FWIW, he can take the SATII next year as well. Earlier, you have mentioned that your son is slightly younger than other kids in his class. Sometimes, maturity plays a bigger role in getting the scores. Also, you can make that decision while choosing the courses/ECs for the next year keeping some time margin for the prep if needed.
If he has not yet narrowed down on his college list or majors, it will give you all some clarity next year. He can take the SATII in the relevant subjects.
Oops, my earlier post #2124 came off a little different than I intended. I meant that the admissions are very competitive. We donāt feel like taking chances. From that perspective, kids take SATIIs even though they are just āconsideredā. They make a lot of adjustments in their already demanding schedule. No offence or question intended regarding his maturity, @homerdog. He is a great kid!
@homerdog my son19 will probably take a few SAT Subjects just in case he decides to apply to some schools that require them. My oder son17 did not take any, took only a couple of AP classes, and has gotten into some decent schools. So donāt stress out about APās and SAT subject tests.
I think itās more important for a kid to take classes in the subject they plan on studying in college, and maybe have an extra curricular that matches that interest. So my son19 wants to study engineering and is involved with robotics and math team and also plays some sports.
My older son wants so study business so he focused on business related in high school and did DECA as one of his extra curricular activities.
I am debating on SAT subject tests for S19. At the moment we are leaning towards opting out. Not one of our older children (3) have needed them. And while S19 may end up going for some more competitive schools, at the moment my H and I have a strong feeling that he likely will do best closer to home, perhaps even commuting and if that is the case, they will definitely not be needed.
It could change but that is our inclination at the moment. He did decide to take AP Physics versus AP Chem after a consultation with the Honors Chem professor.
I wanted to provide a belated response on the theater tech question.
Our personal experience has been that it has only been a positive for S17 on his apps. His schools, though arguably not terribly competitive, have seemed to place value on that EC at least equal to that of music. Whether or not it is recognized at her HS as especially important, to me, is far less important than how it makes her feel and how it might or might not impact college apps. Our experience actually is that many of the athletes are much much bigger partiers (to excess) than the theater kids as they tend to be a bit more mellow and keep within their own group a bit more versus trying to draw in a very large social group. I get the ārepā but you have to know your school, itās audience and ultimately, trust your kid. It will vary by school to be sure but often (at our school) the top academic kids, the top athletes, are also the heaviest partiers, not the drama kids. Granted we live in one of those ālegalā states so no one really needs to go to the theater kids or any one group these days if thatās what they want. Sigh.
We are lucky in the sense that it is valued at our HS. Perhaps not as much as sports but valued nonetheless and is a strong program. My S just returned from a weeklong NYC trip with his Drama group which was an amazing experience. It has shaped his college search, looking for schools where he might have the opportunity to continue tech if he wanted and in some cases, apply for non major tech scholarships. His experience seems to reinforce that adcoms would much rather see commitment over time to anything, versus trying a bunch of things to check boxes and do āwhat is expectedā.
That said, the time commitment and struggle is real. It requires balance and a lot of organization. Iāve found that to be a good ācarrotā for my kid, who knows that if he wants to keep doing it, the grades canāt slip (or at least have to be recoverable if there is a short term dip). He has had friends who have been forced to quit as they couldnāt balance it all, and it is lot.
Iād rather have a tired happy kid though, they are fall less likely to get into real trouble.
@eandesmom Sounds like your son is having a blast and making good friendsā¦and keeping out of trouble. Weāve also hoped that our kids would choose activities that would keep them away from the āpartyingā group. In our S19ās case, he quit soccer after freshman year and one of the reasons was that group was just plain fast. He didnāt fit. Now, running XC and track, heās found kids like him. Maybe a little geeky, but Iāll take it!
Our D21 is a ballerina and her training and rehearsals take 30+ hours a week. Sheās too tired to do much but school and danceā¦and sheās surrounded by girls so we may avoid any boyfriend situation too! :))
My S19 doesnāt have the ECs and resume to get into any really competitive school, so SAT subject tests are off the table for him. I donāt think he even knows they exist. I can imagine the eye-rolling if I suggested he take them ājust in case.ā Heāll probably take the SAT one time if he can get away with it!
Theatre seems like it can be much more time-consuming than a lot of ECs. S is thinking of trying pit orchestra for the upcoming spring musical but even the rehearsal schedule for that is nuts! (Of course, he canāt participate if he never remembers to actually e-mail the theatre teacher, but thatās a different issue)
@eh1234 We are in the Midwest and SAT 2s are not really on most peopleās radars (even though our high school sends many kids to very selective schools). They are on the guidance counselorsā calendar but, if I didnāt ask about them, I wouldnāt have known about them. Still seems like itās mostly east coast private schools that require them. And, when I looked on the college board website today, I think there were only 12 that required them and half of those were for specific engineering or 3/2 medical school programs.
I just donāt know if good scores on these tests even make a difference for the schools that just āconsiderā them. If a student has good grades and strong SAT scores, I canāt imagine two more decent SAT 2 tests would push him into an āacceptā pile. I guess thatās why Iām still wondering if itās worth it.
My d19 will most likely take SAT2s in math and chemistry just in case. Sheās leaning towards engineering but regardless will most likely end up in something math and or science related as a college major. Cornell is in our state, a couple of hours away, so on our radar as a possible reach school.
Sheās currently in PreCalcH and ChemistryH, taking AP Calc BC and AP Chem next year. We had thought about the math SAT 2 this year but I think she might have decided to wait until next year for both.
Maybe if our school was one that did practice PSATs and that kind of thing in 9th/10th for everyone, she would feel ready but I think she wants to wait until after the 11th grade PSAT.
Of course, if she finds out any friends are thinking about taking them sooner, everything could change. Itās almost always easier to try something new if you arenāt the only one.
@homerdog - schools donāt give credit for SAT subject tests- they are supposed to measure HS level classes. Some require them for admission.
@mom2twogirls - general recommendation I have heard (and followed for my kids S17 and S20) is to take SAT Math 2 after pre-calc.
@MA2012 I know thereās no credit given for SAT2 scores. Maybe you didnāt read my whole post? I said that only about 12 schools require them ā¦and that some schools on our list āconsiderā them. I understand that considering them just means itās another data point for them to see in order to decide on admission.
Just asking if sending them with an application makes any difference for admission. Wondering what percentage of kids applying to places like Davidson, Carelton, etc. actually take them. If most kids take them, then Iām more likely to sign him up. If itās not a big deal to apply without them, then we would maybe take a pass.
@mom2twogirls Our S19 swore he knew no one taking SAT 2s last year after freshman year. I insisted on him taking the Bio SAT 2 and, wouldnāt you know it, he knew plenty of the kids there. Itās weird. Itās a test no one talks about but then the tippy top students all take it. If I didnāt know any better, Iād think parents in our town donāt want to tell each other in about the test so that their kids can get a leg up on kids who donāt take them!
@homerdog if his grades and other scores look to be solid for those schools, I wouldnāt add more tests. Basically, if the SATII scores wouldnāt likely say anything significantly better academically than the data the schools would already receive, and the schools donāt require it, donāt do it. Both my older two are attending college on competitive tuition scholarships. No SAT IIās at all, and no regrets. Their grades and SAT/ACT scores already told the story academically. They didnāt even report AP scores on their applications, and they both had good ones. Your son is better off putting his energy into his ECās.
@eandesmom I had to laugh when I read that your son is choosing Physics over Chem AP after talking to the Honors Chem teacher. At our school, both are pretty daunting but Chem AP isnāt taken as often because Honor Chem is so hard and the kids get freaked soph year when they take it. When they then ask about Chem AP, the teacher tells them itās like Honors Chem on steroids!
@homerdog - I did read your post, but just responded to the credit comment (for you and anyone else reading this thread).
I am in the Northeast and SAT2ās are commonly taken by students at my kids schools (they are in different private schools), but there certainly could be geographic variation. Some of the Ivyās say if money is an issue donāt worry about taking them. So presumably that wonāt be a disadvantage there. donāt know if it one is at a disadvantage not submitting any to a school that says they consider them. That is an interesting question.