SAT1 vs SAT2 2400ers

energize
Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:36:34 +0000

2400 on SAT 2s is a ****load easier than getting 2400 on the SAT 1, speaking as someone who earned a 2360 on the SAT 1 and 2400 on SAT 2s (Chem/Physics/Math 2). The difficulty might be comparable if you’re talking about, say, a Lit/Math 1/Non-native language combo. But generally, getting a 2400 on SAT 1 is going to be quite a bit more impressive than 2400 SAT 2s because SAT 1 tests reasoning skills more than the SAT 2s, which test your knowledge of the material more. Knowing a set of material is generally easier than having good reasoning ability, and therefore, the SAT 1 is going to be harder for most people than the SAT 2s (in general; SAT Lit is apparently CR on steroids). Thus, it would probably be more common to see 2400s on the SAT 2s than on the SAT 1 (in the population that submits more than 2 subject tests).

The bottom line is that 2400 on SAT 2s probably isn’t that much of a boost, particularly if you submit 800s on tests with good curves and low corresponding percentile ranks (Math 2 and Physics come to mind).