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SAT II subject tests and IB


FahaD

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I'm taking SAT II math: level 1 in June, and some unis recommend 3 subject tests, some for placement some for admission (Harvard, Georgetown, etc.) , so is it really

worth taking 3 subject tests in addition to IB, or 1 + high grades (IB) will suffice? I'm confused! :P should I take 2 more with IB? IF I were take them which are the easiest to get 800 in? (forget eng lit or any other lang!)

ThanQ,,

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I'm taking SAT II math: level 1 in June, and some unis recommend 3 subject tests, some for placement some for admission (Harvard, Georgetown, etc.) , so is it really

worth taking 3 subject tests in addition to IB, or 1 + high grades (IB) will suffice? I'm confused! :P should I take 2 more with IB? IF I were take them which are the easiest to get 800 in? (forget eng lit or any other lang!)

ThanQ,,

The weird thing about the Uni's in the states is that they don't really factor in the IB really well into their admissions process (from what I've gathered). I'm not sure what the deal is for other Uni's, but I'm going for an engineering college where they want a science, a math, and any other subject. The SAT scores come out before your IB scores so it's a more definite display of your knowledge for the colleges to look at. There's a different process in Europe, although you'd have to ask someone else for specifics. So yea, I took 3 subject tests, Spanish, Chemistry, and Math 2. The easiest ones are the language ones (not english) and possibly math 1 although there are higher scores for math 2 for some reason... Just go with what you know best, and try the practice questions online to see if you know the material being tested.

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i don't know which subject test are the easiest but i suggest that you take the three.if it is what the uni recomends then i would do it. if you are using them as placement exams and you know that you will score well on them, take them. a lot of US unis will not look at IB as a big factor in getting in to their uni.

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For the the elite universities, they require at least two SATiis. Doesn't matter if you do well in IB, you still need at least 2.

I have never heard of any good universities use SAT ii as placement, only for admission.

Take Maths 2 not one if you are good at Maths, you have a much higher chance of getting 800 if you take maths 2.

In fact 1% of test takers get 800 in Maths1 while 10% get 800 in Maths2.

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Another question about SAT II (sorry for using your thread, but I don't think there's a point in making another one :(

I have an Italian passport, but I've only done Middle School in Italy.

For SAT II, I'll probably take Spanish and Chem. If I also take Italian, would that look really bad for unis (since I AM Italian?)

Because I'm not taking any other subject that is on the list...

And are the English Literature texts the same as the ones we study in IB? Is it an easy? (if anybody took it).

Thanks and sorry again fahad!

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It's OK. anytime :(

IMO take Italian even though you are Italian as forester said it will shows you're TRIlingual. I wish I was trilingual :( . I'm just taking math level 1, I can't take any sciences cuz I suck in them :( . And forget eng lit!!!

Thanks all,

*edit*

Can I take both maths together? O.o

Edited by fahad
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no don't take both maths together. you will probably get a lower mark for Maths 1 than Maths 2, if you are good at Maths. Furthermore, it's rather pointless.

Please don't take Eng Lit. OP is taking SL and my HL friend, who is possibly the best at English for his age in the country, did not get a good mark.

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  • 3 weeks later...

wow wth. Why did u guys find math 2 easier? like just more content but easier style questions? i was gonna take math 1 because it looked easier but i didnt really look at any of the practise questions. can everyone verify the following statement lol?

math 2 more content but easier questions wise

math 2 less content but harder questions wise

vrai?

o.o confused canadian here lmao

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Not exactly:

Several things you guys should know about the SATII maths. One, the reason why Math 2 seems easier is for two factors: only people who are good take it so scores are bound to be good, and two, the material is more new. What happens with these exams is that the math rarely goes past algebra 2, maybe some trig. This means that math 2 itself does not involve any hard calculus so its regularly easy. The problem with Math 1 is that it covers less material, which is bad because it leaves A LOT OF ROOM for those really hard logic questions that even if you're smart in math you can easily get confused. In a nutshell, if you are good in math you'll always do better in math 2, if you're ok in math you'll probably do better in math 2, if you're bad in math you'll probably not take the SAT subject test for math so it doesn't matter...

Math is the only subject that has two levels (except for Bio but thats different) of difficulty and the simple reason is so that English majors can feel comfortable about taking an easier test. Both tests are practically the same!

So technically bescherelle was right about both statements, but the reason why ten times the number of people score 800 in math 2 instead of math 1 is not because its harder...it's because they allow more errors (scores may vary depending on the national average, they vary A LOT):

a friend took math 2 and left 10 questions blank. Assuming he got all of the others right, which he might've, he still got a 780. Another friend took math 1 and left 1 answer blank and got 1 wrong and got a 770.

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  • 4 weeks later...
The weird thing about the Uni's in the states is that they don't really factor in the IB really well into their admissions process (from what I've gathered).

I definietly agree.

Everyone who went on to colleges from my school who were in IB said that they regret being in the IB program.

Colleges tend to be more favorable towards AP tests because they are more uniform in the United States.

For the SAT II's though, I would definietly suggest the Math II. It is pretty much "highly recommended." I have heard that they won't even consider your score if it is a Math I.

English Literature is definietly a killer and I also suck at languages.

The biology was really easy for me, and everyone I talked to in my biology class said that it ended up being their highest score out of all the SAT II.

I took the ecology portion and did well, but people who did molecular bio did well also.

I heard US history is easy but really this is just from AP people. No one in ib took history.

Hope this helped.

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I definietly agree.

Everyone who went on to colleges from my school who were in IB said that they regret being in the IB program.

Colleges tend to be more favorable towards AP tests because they are more uniform in the United States.

i wouldn't say that i regret it. i think it helped in a lot of ways, but it is harder to get college credit wiht IB that it is with AP.

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i wouldn't say that i regret it. i think it helped in a lot of ways, but it is harder to get college credit wiht IB that it is with AP.

I definietly think that skills gained in IB is in some ways greater than AP and that there is a bit more responsibility on the part of the IB student than just taking tests. (CAS, EE, IAs) Yet, some of my friends are resorting to taking both AP and IB tests along with subject tests to try to ensure that they get college credit. (Even though the AP and IB testing period overlap)

I just really wished that the US universities start putting a little bit more weight on IB and realize all the effort that we have to put into just staying in the program.

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It's quite weird, as October is apparently the worst time to do SAT 1, and yet I received my highest score then. So I do not think the time of the testing session matters.

If you are taking the sciences I would suggest doing it in IB2, as some of the materials you might not have covered. However in IB2 there are many assignments due and EE and TOK and university applications, so it's basically a trade-off and you have to get the balance just right.

Maths2 you can do anytime, it's not very hard eg. none of the hard HL stuff.

I did my SAT1 in May 2008 (end of IB1) and October 2008 (Towards the beginning of IB2)

I did my 3 SAT2 subjects tests all in one session (November 2008), which I would recommend against as you get so tired in the third test. Normally I finish maths2 in 30min, however since it was the third test I did, I finished in exactly one hour and did not have time to check. (Ended up getting maybe 3 wrong, however it is still 800)

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I really don't think it matters when you take the SAT I.

I felt like the SAT I was more about critical thinking and reasoning skills than having actual subject knowledge. My highest score came from my junior year (IB 1) just because I was not as busy as I was this year.

However, you should take SAT II's in IB 2 because those tests ARE based off of subject knowledge yet, surprisingly I received my higest scores in my junior year.

Those would be my suggestions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think that good IB grades are not enough, especially if you are looking to go to the states for university as universities in the states don't recognize IB as much as AP or SAT scores. So, taking SAT tests can only help you get admission. IF you do not do well in your SAT scores, you can decide not to send them, or take the SAT again. Its generally better to do the SATs if you want to go to the states as it is one of the primary factors that the admissions officers look at along with G.P.A and the rigor of the courses you take.

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  • 3 months later...

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