AP TEST

Planning to take the AP Test? Then don't forget to take the AP Subject Test!

Let me share with the story of one high school senior who did not coordinate her SAT Subject Test preparation wisely with her AP Tests.

When the October SAT II testing date approached, she panicked because she had a hefty academic workload, college admission applications, and preparation for THREE SAT subject tests (Chemistry, US History, Math). The problem wasn't that she was studying, but that she was restudying information that she had learned two years ago - something that was completely unnecessary. When the test scores came back, everything was fine, but why wait that long without trying to circumvent the problem in the first place?

So what's the moral of the story? Take the corresponding Subject Tests right after AP Testing!

If you are taking the AP US History test in May of your sophomore year, then take the SAT Subject test in June in the same year! There's a reason College Board does that because they usually reuse the multiple choice questions from the AP Tests for the Subject Tests or vice versa. If you think it is too early to take Subject Tests and that you might not be prepared for them, don't worry. With the College Board's newest introduction of Score Choice - a service that allows you to pick which test scores you want to send to colleges for your admissions applications - the worst thing that could happen if you don't do well is that you lose the application money for taking the test, which isn't horrible at all. However, colleges do have different restrictions on the usage of Score Choice, but most schools will enable score choice for the Subject Tests because they aren't mandatory. There is a bunch of room for potential gain and really no loss.

On another note, why should you even consider taking SAT Subject Tests? If you are unsure of where you are applying, it is better to take them because then you have options. The colleges that require Subject Tests are the very selective ones. Some prefer to see one or two, some require specific tests, and the maximum that I have seen required is three (this is currently Harvard's policy).

Since some colleges require that you take certain tests, I would recommend that you take one science, one literature/history, and the math test to even things out and to make sure that you what is needed when its time to apply to colleges. If the school doesn't require them, it still doesn't hurt to take the tests because colleges will prefer your application more because you went above and beyond to take the tests and did well on them. I would say that a score around 600 - 800 (they are scored out of 800) is a good enough score to tell colleges that aren't expecting you take the tests that you've got a grasp on the subject.