Should I take the Subject SAT's?

Test Preparation
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<p>Currently I’ve registered for the Subject SAT’s for US History and Math Level 2 for October 5th. I have been studying more or less for the last month for History, but took a gap for two weeks in the middle so really only like 15-16 days and I’m a little less than halfway through the Barron’s book. I still have to revise some of the stuff though. Math I just started yesterday and I am understanding the material but it’s taking quite an extensively long time to get done, and precalc was when I really didn’t care that much about school (I did really well in Calc which I took earlier this year). The studying is usually quite tedious and time-consuming and it also slightly saps up my creativity as I usually waste time afterwards because I am relieved after finishing a lot of work.</p>

<p>My situation is as follows: I am a gap year student and decided to take the gap year to get more certainty about what I want to study in college. A little less than a year ago, I finalized my decision to go into film and have been looking at some pretty good film schools that I think may help me a lot. That being said, they really mostly care about the portfolio which I am working on and I have some decent stuff done so far but I have a lot more planned for the upcoming months. My earliest application is due October 16th with the rest of them due around December and January. The October one is for Florida State which shouldn’t be too hard to get into but I haven’t gotten that far into the application and I really want to make it very good.</p>

<p>The thing is, I looked at the colleges’ websites and the only ones that I’m looking at that care about the Subject SAT are USC and Columbia. That being said, Columbia is still a reach for me and they don’t have a bachelor’s film production program anyway so I most likely won’t even go there if I get in. USC says they don’t require them but only consider them for scholarship consideration. That being said, my chances of getting into USC are slim unless I have some good artistic portfolio items out by the time I apply (December 1st). I am also planning on submitting a film or two to the NFFTY film festival (October 31st deadline).</p>

<p>On top of all this, I’ve recently started looking for full-time jobs because I want to become financially independent of my parents which I think will help in my maturation and also for financial aid purposes as I will more or less be funding my own college expense (my parents are still helping me out but I will be putting in as much as I can).</p>

<p>I am also doing blogging on the side.</p>

<p>Getting back to the Subject SAT’s, I didn’t take any AP classes and spent the last five quarters at the local state college doing dual-enrollment classes. Most of the classes I took don’t really have subject SAT’s such as calc, psychology, and such. I did take chemistry recently and did really well. Ultimately, I decided to sign up for US History and Math however I haven’t really done US History in a year (I did government during winter of this year). As for schools, really only one school (excluding Columbia since I probably won’t apply there) which is USC considers them but they are not nearly as important as other things I could be doing such as artistic projects.</p>

<p>My other stuff includes: a 3.3 GPA (this has been progressively improving with my senior year GPA at 3.8 or 9). I have also received about 73 credits at a state college through Running Start (I don’t count as a transfer student though) and have a GPA around 3.75 or so (I think it’s exact like 3.736 or 3.742 or something) with a 3.9 senior year. My SAT score is about 2060 with 700’s in math and writing and 660 in reading. I also received the Washington State Honors Award which seems to be given to the top ten percent of the graduating class as decided by my HS counselor (I will be getting a recommendation letter from her as well so that should help). Again, I am aware these aren’t perfect but film schools care more about artistic portfolio and that is the area I want to focus my energies for the next few months. I already have some good stuff I’m working on/finished but have more things in mind, possibly submitting one or two to the NFFTY film festival.</p>

<p>I apologize for the hunk of text, but my question is, should I take the Subject SAT’s in US History and Math Level 2 (I have already registered but collegeboard said I can get refunded if I issue my cancellation within the next week. They also said I can possibly switch to a different test within the next week). If so, what are some good ways to study the material without getting bored/worn out. I don’t want half my day to go in this sort of thing! I have left at least 10 days for US History practice testing and about 14 days for the math. My gut feeling is to switch to math level 1 which is a bit easier and I did like algebra far better than precalc.</p>

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<p>So I didn’t read the entire post cause that was a lot if text. But I would say take subject tests. And math 2 is better than math 1. I almost didn’t take my subject tests in June (I took bio, math 2, and us history) because I didn’t feel adequately prepared and wasn’t sure they were necessary. (I started studying the Monday before the SAT). However I managed to score very well (790 bio, 750 math, 670 us history) and they can benefit my application. So I say you have no reason to not take them cause they can’t hurt.</p>

3

<p>I consider the decision to take the subject tests as easy not complicated. If you intend to apply to any college that requires (like Colunbia) or recommends (like USC) subject tests, you should take them, if not don’t take them (e.g., FSU won’t even consider them for admission). </p>

<p>Also, you need to be aware of something involving financing your education including because you apparently intend to apply to expensive private or out-of-state public universities. You are thus looking at huge expenses. Your plan to become “independent” for financial aid or in-state tuition purposes will likely not work. Establishing independence from parents for purposes of determining financial aid usually requires (a) your having worked and lived away from your parents for at least a year (and to qualify for in-state tuition you usually need to have been doing that in the state where the college is if that is not your current home state) , and (b) your parents do not provide any financial assistance, i.e., they can’t be “still helping me out” either during that one year needed to show independence or when you attend the college.</p>

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See [Dependency</a> Status | Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#am-i-dependent-or-independent]Dependency”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#am-i-dependent-or-independent)

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