November and December are the last dates this year to sign up for SAT Subject Tests. Most selective colleges do require you to take SAT Subject tests. These are tests that evaluate your learning or achievement in areas like English, math, history, or a language. College Basics has some last minute advice regarding SAT Subject Tests for those of you college applicants who are starting the last leg of your journey to college admission.
First, make sure you check the colleges you are applying to one last time to see what they do require. Do they require 2 or 3 subject SAT tests? Do they require a math test, which is usual, or not?
Next, when you can choose which test to take, make sure that you choose a subject area that is fresh in your mind. You may have done very well in chemistry your junior year, but after a long summer and the fall quarter without a refresher, it might be better for you to take your Subject Test in something you continue to study, like English, a language, or history. And, about taking language tests–are you aware that the November Subject Test in languages is a reading and listening test, but the December test is only a reading test? If you have good conversational skills, November is the best option, but if not, think about taking the December test.
You can take three Subject Tests in one morning all at once. Doing all three on a November morning could be your best bet because if you do poorly on this round, you still have December to retake the test(s) and bring up your scores.
If the colleges you are applying to accept it, the ACT takes care of all this. If you take the ACT, it substitutes for the both SAT and SAT Subject Tests!
