My son may have to take the SAT again, depending on some sports recruitment stuff early this summer. He will need to take another SAT subject test. He took math 1 and 2 the other day, he wasn’t feeling confident to take a science yet as he didn’t really prep for it all. He thought he did OK on the math tests though. We’'ll see.
It didn’t sound like he got a perfect score. His goal was anything over 7. One school he is considering requires 2 sat subject matter tests and they’d like to see them at least in the 700 range.
His other schools of interest don’t require them, and only 1 recommends them if I remember.
@elena13 I’d let your son take it again, it can’t hurt. The schools only care about the best score. It’s only a few hours out of the whole summer, and it’s not that expensive. Even if he doesn’t study who cares, he has a good score already. He doesn’t have to submit the score anyways, in most cases, unless he wants to.
There is so much out of their control in the whole admission process, maybe letting them retake the tests at least one more time, even if we don’t think it’s necessary, is a good thing just so they feel at least they have that little slice of it that they really do have control over. It might help them from that psychological point of view.
@elena13 I say have him take it, especially since it sounds like it’s his idea. I would make it clear, though, that he should have no expectations of it going up if he does not study.
S19 took SAT2 History last Saturday. Thought it went better than he hoped but we will see. I’m planning on him taking Math 2 in Aug. I just added Lit to that Aug test. I just thought, eh, he’s a pretty strong reader and he can look over practice tests in the summer. If he can do well on it, then he can add it to his “academic profile”. He didn’t do any better on the EW part of his school SAT so we are sticking with the 740. Got another 800 on math so there’s that. I just feel like any way he can show his English skills might add to his app. Hoping for a 5 on AP Lang test too. Got a 21/24 on school SAT essay so that’s decent but only a couple of his schools consider it.
Right now, he’s bogged down with AP tests. He really sees the light at the end of the tunnel though. After his last AP next Thursday, his load should lighten a bit. Running will officially take a break as well for a couple of weeks at the end of May and Amen to that!
I haven’t seen my son’s rehearsal schedule for the fall, but I suspect strongly that it will be too full for him to be able to take the ACTs in any of the fall sittings except maybe the December version. So, he’s sitting the July test. By that time in July he will have 3 shows each weekend, but nothing else to do during the week except study and write essays. We may take a couple of day drives up for college interviews, and we have one week long road trip in August. He’ll have time to do essays.
D just texted me that she’s done with the AP Chem test! OMG, what a relief that’s over. She worked harder in that class than she’s ever worked before and although she has this odd ‘knack’ for tests, I was worried. She thinks it went well.
Now on the the AP Psych test. I feel like I’m going to hurl today but she seems as cool as a cucumber 
Thanks for the advice parents. I think I’ll let him take it once more but tell him he really needs to work on essays as well. Right now he has a super score of a 35, but based on the way they score it, he feels like he just missed a 35 composite by one question. I guess if he gets the score he wants, it will save me money by only having to send one score report to schools that super score. All this testing is pretty annoying!
I’m going to be proctoring AP tests as a volunteer at our high school. I actually enjoy it. The kids are so sweet when they’re nervous. 
Our school does a nice job of trying to be supportive by having snacks on hand, plenty of proctors to allow for bathroom breaks, calculator and pencils, etc.
My daughter is another in APUSH. She had a full length practice test (also the course final) last Friday after school til 6:30 and then another 3 hour review session the next day. Glad the end is in sight.
Consensus here is that SAT 2’s should indeed be taken if you’re applying to top-tier LACs? I’m sooooo tempted to skip them, since hers would be redundant with her AP tests. I haven’t noticed that any of her schools require them. She’s not going to get 800s so I don’t think they will add much to her applications. It’ll be an August thing for her if we do them. Just so tempting to bail.
Does anyone happen to know anything about student health insurance for kids in college? I mentor a former foster youth who plans to attend school in Missouri but, being legally homeless and effectively totally independent, obviously doesn’t have health insurance through a parent. Unfortunately she recently developed a significant health condition, so she’s now in the “pre-existing condition” camp. She has Medicaid in another state, but that doesn’t cross state lines. So while she’s in Missouri, I want her to have some coverage. Her school doesn’t offer it for domestic students. So she needs to buy coverage independently. The school sent links to student plans, but they exclude pre-existing conditions. Surely there are other young people who don’t have coverage but need it, and have a pre-existing condition that they want coverage for…? The school’s health officer was going to look into it but I haven’t heard back. Wondering if anyone has any insights. Thanks!
@SDCounty3Mom Regarding SAT2s, S has two schools that recommend them and he’s shooting for their merit scholarships, so he’s taking a few. His other schools say that they consider them if you send them. Since he’s applying everywhere RD, he needs to have the strongest application possible so he’s just trying to give them ever reason he can to get the nod!
He also has a few real reaches on the list that he may or may not apply to and they require SAT 2s. If these were the only schools on his radar that needed these tests in any way, he would probably skip SAT2s entirely and just drop these from the list.
Not sure about the health insurance but regarding the SAT 2s, I don’t know if they are really necessary.
My son will be taking them, but my D17 did not. She was accepted to several top 30 LACs, including two in the top 12. So, you may be able to skip.
S got his essay score back from ACT. An 8, which is a bit like his SAT essay score of a 17. These are low scores relative to his ER and R scores on SAT and ACT. S hopes to apply ED to a school that does consider the essay. I will talk with his GC tomorrow and will, , ask if she thinks he should retake to up the essay score. This is the first time I’ll be talking with his GC. I was supposed to do it ages ago. Sigh. And I fear S is missing the boat on APs. His school offers none, and a lot of the material on the test is really different than what they cover in class. (I know plenty of students study for APs independently, so I’m whining here.) He’ll only have done Calc AB, BC and Spanish. He expects to do well on BC (took AB last year) but is not expecting a good score on the Spanish exam.
We have no schools that require the subject tests, a few that recommend them. But to my mind “recommend” isn’t strong enough to have my kid go through prep time and waste a summer Saturday when he’s got performance the night before, performance the day of, rehearsal all week long.
We have one potential school on the list that does require a math and science subject test for engineering applicants. She may not end up applying there anyway… I can’t tell if it’s really bottom of her short list or if she has convinced herself it’s better there since it’s a reach in comparison to the others. So she will take the subject tests just in case they are needed but I can emphasize that there is not need to worry about them.
@ninakatarina I’ve read a number of times now that recommended pretty much means they expect to see them unless the student is from a disadvantaged situation where the student may not know about SAT 2s.
@liska21 everything I’ve seen is that the essay scores aren’t very important, more of a checked off thing. Then again, that’s probably easier for me to say since D is already a bit lopsided and going for a STEM major anyway. I forget what your son is leaning towards for a major?
@homerdog, I hear you on needing to maximize the app for RD. D19 will have some weaker areas (rigor), so we are seriously weighing ED if she is ready.
@SDCounty3Mom I think we are skipping the SAT 2. Her top schools say:
Not required
Optional
Completely optional
Not a primary factor
She may take the language one because she likes Spanish, but other than that, she has test-prep fatigue. My hat is off to kids who can take SAT, ACT, SAT 2, AP’s, plus their regular final exams. The energy and endurance is impressive!
@mom2twogirls He’s a STEM kid. 8 and 17 on the essays is right at the 25% quantile for the school he is targeting based on the 2017-2018 CDS. His SAT score is at the 75% and ACT 50% so that’s fine. No point thinking about it now (not that that stops me…). Thinking about this minor thing takes my monkey brain off other things I could be stressing about. He’s not stressing about this btw but he also doesn’t know the quantiles for the essay like I do. For now, I have no plans to mention this and hopefully his GC says not to worry. Most schools don’t consider the essay, but its just that the school he’ll probably apply ED to does.
So FYI- D just got home and WAS NOT given time in between her two AP exams today to eat lunch. I am so furious I can’t think.
She managed to swallow a piece of fruit whole between tests but was not allowed anything else, so she’s gone from 7am until now with just eating a banana, and having to think and concentrate on the biggest exams of these two classes. So if your kid is scheduled for 2 APs on another day- be forewarned, unless this is just a total lack of thought & caring on our school’s part- and I won’t be surprised if it is 
@SunnyFlorida22 ooh that is not good. The only thing I know about these AP exams is that they have something to do w/ the College Board, which to me means it’s run by them. I didn’t hear from my D after the AP chem test, but she didn’t have another AP exam today. Her first period teacher, for anatomy, did have some kind of test today that my D will have to make up, which I think stinks too. Next AP exam for my D is Friday, APUSH. Ugh, not her best subject.
And, my D told me that the chem teacher says hardly anybody gets higher than a 2 on the AP chem test at her school. So why do they take it?! :((
D19 is taking Physics and Math 2 in June and the SAT again (though without the essay, which she did not do well on the first time) in August (that’s the plan, anyway). She is studying her Barron’s book for the SAT subject stuff – we’ll see how she does. I will definitely be getting her an SAT study book (beyond the College Board one she has) just to help out for the August retake – I’m not sure she spent enough time studying for the December (?) one. It’s been awhile since I’ve checked the requirements for the schools she’s most interested in, but since she she can’t take AP Physics (not offered) and she’s interested in a Physics major, that subject test is a good way for her to demonstrate her interest…
And of course she has 3 APs in the next couple weeks – we hosted a small group study for APUSH and Eng Lit yesterday afternoon/evening – plus her school’s large performing arts showcase the week before the June 2 subject tests, so the next 4 weeks will be busy.
At this point, we’re just trying to make sure her little brother doesn’t needlessly antagonize her. 
@jellybean5 why would that be the case for AP Chem? I agree. What’s the point? So kids can say they took AP Chem on their transcript? If I were you, I would get on the principal or the school board about that. Those teachers have a job to do and they are clearly not doing it.