SAT II - how bad do I need it?

[MariusIBDP]

I'm thinking about applying to US(even though it's not my priority), I want to know how bad do I need to take subject SAT's? Is it required everywhere, even for International Students? I know I really need SAT and I'm going to take it, but I'm not sure about subject tests.

Also, could you help me to pick what to take(if I have to)? I'm studying Lithuanian A1 , English B and Econ as HL's and Russian ab initio, Biology and Maths as SL's. My languages are not available in SAT's and I am not that good at English to take English related SAT's.There's no Economics test and I'm not even considering Biology as an option. I'm pretty good at Maths, but not so good to be in HL(I dropped out), so which Math test should I take Math I or Math II? Also, I was thinking about taking World History, as practice test seemed easy and I enjoy studying the subject. Problem is, I'm not studying it right now. Do you think it would be a problem to study for it on my own? What could be other options?

[Emmi]

Not every uni requires it. Some require it, some recommend it but don't require it, and others don't care if you have them or not. Usually top unis like the Ivy Leagues and MIT and stuff like that do, but many don't. None of the schools I applied to required SAT II's. I would imagine that if it is required for admission, then even international students such as yourself would need to take them.

If you feel that you want to take some or it's required by a uni you're applying to, pick ones that you think you'll do well on. If you really want to take the World History subject test and you know you will study hard for it, it's probably worth taking it. I don't see how it would hurt you.

Math II is harder than Math I, but judging by what I googled through it seems that Math I is mostly algebra and geometry while Math II includes more complex stuff. Exactly what is on either I don't know, but you should be able to take at least Math I with SL math. Try looking at sample Math I tests and see if you can do the majority of the problems. If you can, perhaps you could take the actual subject test.

Good luck

[epic_t0aster]

Ok first of all, subject SAT's are required only for some universities, and on top of that they usually only specify how many you need to do. So my advice would be to look into what programs and universities you are interested in and see whether they require you to have a certain number of subject SAT's.

Second of all, the difference between Math I and Math II is that Math II covers a lot more pre calc stuff and more advanced stuff in general. However it is not as simple as "take Math I because its easier and I'll get a better mark." If you are in a decent math student and have taken pre calc, algebra, geometry, trig, etc. then you should probably take Math II. The reason is that due to the distribution curve for Math II, it is actually much easier to get a higher mark if you know your stuff reasonably well. In fact you can get around 8 questions wrong and still get a perfect score on Math II due to the distribution curve. If you feel confident and you are decent at math, then take Math II as you have a much better chance of getting a higher score even if your raw score (ie. how well you actually do on the test) is worse. The raw score never gets sent to universities so it doesn't matter anyways.

[garimaib]

hey,

No, not every university requires SAT II but the most selective and well-known ones do. The subject that you choose to take the SAT II in depends on what you want to study in university. For instance if you want to study business you'd probably take Math level 1 and maybe one of the languages?

Math Level 1 is like Math SL. I had the same dilemma when I was deciding whether to take level 1 or level 2. Most majors require Math level 1 except a few such as engineering, physics or chemistry.

I have no idea how the World History test, sorry! But I hope I helped, any questions ask me

I will be applying to american universities myself this fall.