Will taking the SAT subject tests conflict with the SAT reasoning tests?

Will taking the SAT subject tests conflict with the SAT reasoning tests?

The SAT subject tests are given at the same time and locations as the SAT reasoning tests, except in March when only the reasoning test is offered. Every time you take a subject test, you give up the chance to take the reasoning test. As noted above the optimal time to take the subject tests are in May and June during the school year when you are taking the course related to the subject test. If you plan to take the SAT reasoning the test, you should try to take it at a date that does not conflict with the optimal times to take the subject tests. As an alternative, you should consider taking the ACT instead of the SAT reasoning test since the dates never conflict with the subject tests. The ACT is accepted by almost all colleges (including all of the Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, Caltech etc.) as a substitute for the SAT reasoning test. In fact, some colleges even exempt you from the subject test requirement when you take the ACT instead of the SAT reasoning test.

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How should I prepare for the SAT Subject tests?

How should I prepare for the SAT Subject tests?

If you take the subject test near the end of the academic year while taking the particular subject in school, you can get by with much less work that if you are taking the test a year or more after you have completed the class. For example suppose you are taking AP Biology in 11^th grade and that you are taking the SAT subject test in May or June, you only need to familiarize your self with the format of the questions by doing some practice tests with real released questions from the college board. The studying that you do for you AP exam and final exams should be adequate preparation for the subject test. If you need quick review of the content a review book will be helpful.

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When should you take the Subject tests?

When should you take the Subject tests?

The best time to take a subject test is near the end of the school year you are taking the corresponding subject in school. Ideally you should be done with all of the subject tests before the start of your senior year. For example, if you happen to be taking U.S History sophomore year and do not plan to take any more U.S. history junior year, you should take the U.S. History subject test near the end of sophomore year. On the other hand if plan to take an AP course during (or before) junior year, you should take the subject test close to the AP test. For example if you are taking Honors Chemistry sophomore year and plan to take AP Chemistry junior year, the optimal time to take the SAT Subject test in Chemistry is near the time of the AP tests. If you will be  preparing the AP test, you will not have to do much additional preparation for the subject tests. If you put off taking the subject tests until the senior year, you will have to waste a lot of time and effort to review material that you may have forgotten. Taking the subject test when you are taking the corresponding course benefits you three ways: Any effort you put in will help your grade in the AP course, your score on the AP test, and of course, your score the SAT subject test.

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Which subject tests should I take?

Which subject tests should I take?

Some programs may require you to take tests in specific areas like Math Level 2 or Chemistry, but the vast majority of colleges that require these tests will allow you to pick  the subject tests you want to take. In these situations you should take the tests in the subjects that you are strong in.  If you have trouble in math you should probably avoid the Math subject test, if you are strong in math we recommend that you take the Math Level 2 Subject test rather than the Math Level 1 since the Level 2 exam has a very generous scaled score curve although it is a significantly more difficult test. For example, on the Level 2 exam you can leave several questions blank and still get a perfect score of 800 because the exam is more difficult. In contrast, to get an 800 on the Level 1 exam you have answer all of the questions and get almost all of them right. If you are taking AP classes before senior year you should consider taking subject tests that relate to your AP classes since AP level classes usually prepare students well for the SAT subject tests. For example if you take AP Chemistry and are doing well in the class, you should consider taking the SAT Subject test just before or after the AP test. If you did not have AP classes before your senior year and need to take a subject test that does not require you to know a lot of factual knowledge you may want to take the English Literature test. You should avoid taking subject tests in your native language, since colleges will not be impressed if get a high score in your native language. If you are native Chinese speaker, you will not impress anyone with an 800 in the Chinese subject test.

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Should you take the SAT Subject tests?

Should you take the SAT Subject tests?

Yes, if you want to be a competitive applicant.

 The vast majority of colleges do not require you to take the SAT Subject tests, but many of the highly competitive colleges require at least two of them. Harvard actually requires three subject tests. Even when a college does not require the SAT Subjects, many will consider them if you submit them. If you do well on these tests they will enhance your application even at many of the colleges that do not require them.

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What are the SAT subject tests?

What are the SAT subject tests?

The College Board administers two types of SAT tests. The SAT Reasoning test is the major college entrance exam which tests more general academic skills in math, reading and writing.  In addition to the "Reasoning" test, the College Board also administers SAT Subject tests which test knowledge and skill in a wide range of subjects such as Chemistry, Spanish, and U.S. History etc. The subject tests typically require more in-depth knowledge of a specific subject than the reasoning test.

The College Board gives currently gives 20 different SAT subject tests:

English

 Literature

Science

  Biology E/M,  Chemistry and   Physics

History

  U.S. History and   World History

Mathematics

  Level 1 and   Level 2

Language

  French,  German,  Italian,  Latin,  Modern Hebrew and   Spanish

Language with Listening

Chinese with Listening,   French with Listening,  German with Listening,  Japanese with Listening,  Korean with Listening and   Spanish with Listening

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