Difference between SAT  General and SAT Subject Tests

The students who are interested in preparing for SAT Exams in the Middle East countries often get confused with the words SAT I and SAT II. They are not very clear with the difference between the two examinations. Testprepkart helps the students in understanding the difference between the SAT I and SAT II examinations.

The SAT I examination is now known as SAT General examination whereas the SAT II examination is referred as the SAT Subject Tests. The SAT I examination was previously introduced as the Military Test with the main objective of admitting the students on the basis of this test. It helped to determine the aptitude of the students.

Whereas, the SAT II examination was introduced in the year 1937 and was referred as the Achievement Test. It was used to determine the achievement skills of the students. The SAT II examination includes the Subject Tests which are still in existence. The SAT Subject Tests determines the knowledge of the students in various subjects like Chemistry, Biology, History, English and many more. The SAT Subject Tests are conducted in 20 subjects currently. The students can register themselves for up to three subject tests on different dates.

As we have already discussed that SAT I determined the aptitude of the students whereas SAT II determined the achievement of the students, but now the SAT I is used to testing the general knowledge and the SAT II examination is used to determine the topical knowledge of the students.

SAT I examination is a mandatory examination for the students who are preparing for SAT Examination whereas the SAT II examination becomes mandatory for only those students who want to apply for some selected colleges.

The SAT Subject Tests have some basic policies which almost all the colleges have to follow:-

• Colleges ask for only the SAT/ACT score. There are few colleges who will not require the SAT Subject scores but will completely rely on the SAT I score on. Whereas, in some colleges, only the SAT Subject Scores are accepted as they want to determine the subject knowledge of the students.
• Colleges ask for both SAT I and SAT II scores. There are few handfuls of colleges who accept both the scores of SAT and SAT Subject Tests. For example, Harvard, Pomona etc.
• Colleges ask for either the SAT Score or the SAT Subject test Score. There are few colleges like NYU, Colorado College and many more which follows a flexible policy among the students. They give the liberty to the students to submit their scores of either SAT or SAT Subject Score.

As we all can notice that the requirement of every college varies drastically so it is important for all the students to go through the admission criteria of every college while selecting their target college. It is advised to the students to check the criteria of every college by regularly visiting the College Board website.

SAT Preparation Resources