Oh no!

[eye lovethe eye]

I'm going into my senior year of high school and I haven't yet taken the SAT's. I was going to take them in May, but because I didn't have my license then and I didn't have a photo ID, I wasn't allowed to take them. And then I didn't get to take them in June either because I didn't have a ride to the testing site and I didn't have off of work. Anyway, I'm going to take them in October and I planned to take them in November and even possibly in December. But I found out that November/December SAT's are SAT II and not SAT I. Does that matter? I really don't want to apply for college with only one try at the SAT but I'm afraid that might have to be what happens. Will the SAT's be more important than GPA? I have a good GPA thankfully (something like 3.7 or 3.8) but I'm afraid my SAT's may not be so good.

So my questions are:
1. What are the differences between SAT I and SAT II?
2. Should I take the SAT's in November/December or will that not be necessary because SAT II is so different that SAT I (which I don't know)?
3. Will I still be able to get into the colleges I want if my SAT score is a little lower than I planned?

If anyone has any answers, I would greatly appreciate them! Thank you!

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[HumidBeing]

I'm not a SAT expert, but can tell you that the SAT and the SAT II's are different exams. The SAT is the exam that you need to take and have the scores submitted to colleges. The SAT II is a choice of a variety of single topic proficiency type exams. So, taking that October test is very important if you are planning to apply to college for the following year.

Lots of people take it only once. Go in well prepared and do your best. You can buy preparation books that contain practice tests, or enroll in in a prep course, which is a much more expensive option.

 

[Silverhand]

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about/SATII.html Here's the official page on the SAT 2 tests. In a nutshell, they cover a variety of subjects that complement your SAT 1 score. Each test is only an hour long, so you can easily take a few in one sitting. Most colleges (UCs, etc) expect two; which ones depends on the major or the preferences of the college.

SAT 1 is the all-encompassing test that the majority of colleges will expect you to take. It covers math, writing, and reading comprehension. Bear in mind that these tests are evaluated in conjunction with your GPA, extracurriculars, etc and that no one factor decides your admission

 

[eye lovethe eye]

So it may not be so bad that I only take the SAT's once? I'm also wondering if signing up for SAT II would be a good thing? I mean, I guess it couldn't be bad, but from reading that page from the college board, it seems that the SAT II can be used to help a college determine a student's admission and is a good thing. But I never seem to hear people signing up for the SAT II around here. Is it just me or would it probably be best to sign up for it too? And also, should I maybe take the ACT? I've heard before that someone who doesn't do so well on the SAT will probably do better on the ACT, and vise versa. I'm not sure if that's remotely true or not, but that's what I've heard. Again, if anyone has anymore suggestions or advice, I would appreciate it!

 

[MoosePilot]

So it may not be so bad that I only take the SAT's once? I'm also wondering if signing up for SAT II would be a good thing? I mean, I guess it couldn't be bad, but from reading that page from the college board, it seems that the SAT II can be used to help a college determine a student's admission and is a good thing. But I never seem to hear people signing up for the SAT II around here. Is it just me or would it probably be best to sign up for it too? And also, should I maybe take the ACT? I've heard before that someone who doesn't do so well on the SAT will probably do better on the ACT, and vise versa. I'm not sure if that's remotely true or not, but that's what I've heard. Again, if anyone has anymore suggestions or advice, I would appreciate it!

Quite a few years ago, when I was applying, some schools required the SAT IIs (you picked up to three subjects you wanted to take), but many didn't. Almost all schools require SAT or ACT, so be sure to take that one. Many students take a prep course or prep on their own, so it's best not to go into it cold. Good luck!

 

[ladyoflies]

So it may not be so bad that I only take the SAT's once? I'm also wondering if signing up for SAT II would be a good thing? I mean, I guess it couldn't be bad, but from reading that page from the college board, it seems that the SAT II can be used to help a college determine a student's admission and is a good thing. But I never seem to hear people signing up for the SAT II around here. Is it just me or would it probably be best to sign up for it too? And also, should I maybe take the ACT? I've heard before that someone who doesn't do so well on the SAT will probably do better on the ACT, and vise versa. I'm not sure if that's remotely true or not, but that's what I've heard. Again, if anyone has anymore suggestions or advice, I would appreciate it!

Where I'm from, people took only the ACT if they were only applying in state. The SAT is more universal. I took both and sent both scores to all my schools. I didn't take any SAT IIs and don't really see the point in it unless you want to show admission people that you REALLY like a certain subject. For now, the SAT would be first priority and get it done soon so you can apply soon.