AP or SAT II

[Quiver0f10]

Which would be the better to take as far as what colleges are looking for? Is one test harder than the other? Thanks!

[Jane in NC]

Certain AP scores can translate to college credit whereas SAT-II scores (based on a high school level of understanding) are used for placement purposes or to compare your highschooler to others applying to the college.

 

Some schools (like Duke) want SAT subjects even if your student has done AP tests.

 

Colleges were once more generous with giving credit for AP scores of 3 or above. Now many schools want 4s or 5s.

 

In general, this is an area in which one needs to cover ones behind and have your student do what is necessary for the colleges on his list. AP is harder (3 hour exam which includes essay type answers as well as multiple choice) whereas the SAT subject is a 50 minute multiple choice exam.

 

Idea: borrow a SAT subject book and an AP book for chemistry or whatever subject you wish to compare from your local library. This might give you a clearer idea.

 

Also, you can get a bit of an idea of what is expected from the College Board website.

Jane

[Bev in B'ville]

the AP Biology and the SAT-II tests and did well on both. (I was hedging our bets since this was her first AP course.) Both tests have MC questions, but the AP also has essay questions which are real buggers, not easy by any standards.

 

My understanding is that AP approximates a college level course knowledge of the content whereas the SAT-II is testing high school level course knowledge content.

 

The AP will earn college credit in some cases, depending on the score and the college in question (e.g. some colleges will give credit for a 3 on the AP test and some will only give credit for a 5 - it can also depend on the chosen major). Also, some colleges give credit, but don't apply the grade earned toward the GPA. So, on one hand, a student can earn credit and even go to college with enough credits to be a sophomore. However, the first two years of college are, generally speaking, filled with the easier courses which a lot of students count on for 'A's to bolster their final GPA when they start taking the harder junior/senior level courses. With just credit and no grade to help the GPA the student will be taking the harder courses with no cushion (so to speak).

 

The college my dd wants to attend does accept credit, but not grades so here's what I'm doing. My dd will have a couple of AP course grades on her transcript to show them that this hs child can really do the work. But, she'll probably have more SAT-II tests than AP, just to show that we really were doing the work and not swinging from the trees. She'll also have some CC college courses to bolster her transcript. In other words, I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket. AP is the hot trend right now, but who's to say what will happen a year or two down the road.

 

HTH.

[Gwen in VA]

Answer -- if your child is seriously interested in applying to more "elite' colleges, think about doing BOTH!

 

SAT-II's -- required by many of the more 'elite' colleges.

 

Great for showing high school-level understanding of material.

 

We used them to back up 'mommy grades" and also to demonstrate competence.

 

My kids each took 5 SAT-II's.

 

AP's -- great for demonstrating ability to do college-level work. Even if you take an AP in a subject, some colleges still want to see the SAT-II in the subject.

 

Can be useful (as Bev says) for college credit.

 

My kids each entered with over 20 credits, most of which was from AP's, and those credits will help them be able to double/triple major.

[8filltheheart]

We just went through this debate over biology for our 9th grader. We opted for the SAT II. Our decision was made by looking at required AP score at the colleges she might like 4 yr from now (LOL!) and mostly saw 5s. She isn't a great test taker. She is only 14. The class is already taking hours a day. Adding AP was supposed to take an additional 5-10 hrs per week.

 

2 yrs from now we might have made a different decision.

[Quiver0f10]

Thanks everyone. I am not sure what we will do yet, but I did find out the college nearby wants a 4 to accept the AP course. I am not sure where he is going to apply to yet though and so doing some SAT II might be a good idea. I need to talk with my son and see if he wants to do both, which might be best for us.