SAT 1 vs SAT 2: Whats the Difference

You might have heard of something called the SAT II (or SAT 2) and wondered what it could be. A secret, harder version of the SAT, perhaps? The reality is less dramatic:

the SAT II is just an old name for the

SAT Subject Tests

.

This guide will explain the current form of the SAT II, outline the differences between the SAT 1 vs SAT 2, and help you determine which of the tests you should take.

Feature Image:

Matthias Neugebauer

/Flickr

UPDATE: SAT Subject Tests No Longer Offered

In January 2021, the College Board announced that, effective immediately,

no further SAT Subject Tests will be offered in the United States. SAT Subject Tests (once known as SAT 2s) ended internationally in June 2021.


It is now no longer possible to take SAT Subject Tests.

Many students were understandably confused about why this announcement happened midyear and what this means for college applications going forward.

Read more about the details of what the end of SAT Subject Tests means for you and your college apps here

.

What Are the SAT 1 and the SAT 2?

As I touched on above, these are simply out-of-date monikers:

the SAT I is now known as just as the SAT and the SAT II is more descriptively referred to as the SAT Subject Tests.

Colleges sometimes still refer to the tests as the SAT I and SAT II, so don’t worry if you see those terms.

The SAT started out as a military IQ test

and was administered as a college admissions assessment for the first time in 1926. Since then, it’s undergone

a series of changes

to make it less focused on innate ability and more on testing concepts and skills students learn in school. It’s weathered a few controversies, but it’s still considered

a decent predictor of how students will do in college

.

The SAT Subject Tests are almost as old as the SAT proper. O

fficially called Scholarship Tests but known colloquially as the Achievement Tests,

the Subject Tests

started in 1937

and were basically the same thing they are now:

one-hour tests on specific subjects,

like biology and world history.

There are currently

20 different Subject Tests

, and you can sign up for

up to three per test date.

Here is an overview of all SAT Subject Tests:

Humanities	Math and Science
Literature	Math Level 1
US History	Math Level 2
World History	Biology (E/M)
	Chemistry
	Physics

Languages (No Listening)	Languages (w/ Listening)
French	French with Listening
German	German with Listening
Spanish	Spanish with Listening
Modern Hebrew	Chinese with Listening
Italian	Japanese with Listening
Latin	Korean with Listening

What’s the Difference Between the SAT 1 and the SAT 2?

Originally, the SAT I was meant to test

aptitude

and the SAT II was meant to test

achievement

. That is to say, one tested what you were capable of, and the other tested what you knew.

But when the College Board moved away from the idea of the SAT I testing innate ability, they reframed it as a

reasoning test,

making the difference between the two SATs less well defined.

With

changes in 2016

, the SAT I (now just the SAT) is more focused than ever on testing knowledge rather than logic. At this point, I’d say that

the SAT tests

general

knowledge and the SAT Subject Tests assess

topical

knowledge.

There are also some key ways the two tests differ in

structure.

For one, although the questions on both tests are primarily multiple choice, SAT questions have four answer choices, while SAT Subject Test questions typically have five answer choices. This means that you’ll have

a slightly higher probability of guessing the correct answer on the SAT (25% chance) than you will on the SAT Subject Tests (20% chance).

In addition,

SAT Subject Tests have

a guessing penalty for incorrect answers

,

whereas the SAT does not (though it used to). Note that you neither gain nor lose points for questions left blank on

both

tests. Here’s how the guessing penalty works on the SAT II:

• 
  1/4 point deducted
  
  for every incorrect five-choice question
• 
  1/3 point deducted
  
  for every incorrect four-choice question
• 
  1/2 point deducted
  
  for every incorrect three-choice question

Take a look at the chart below for a rundown of the basic differences between the two types of SAT tests in their current forms:

	SAT	SAT Subject Tests
Other Names	SAT 1, SAT I, SAT Reasoning Test	SAT 2, SAT II, SAT Achievement Tests
Format	3 hr 50 min multiple-choice test (with one essay question)	1 hr multiple-choice test
Subject Matter	Reading, Writing, Math	20 different topics (listed above)
Guessing Penalty?	No	Yes
Which Schools Require It?	Almost all colleges	Only some very selective colleges

Also note that because of the timing of each test, you

cannot

take the SAT and any SAT Subject Tests on the same testing day.

How to Determine Whether You Need to Take the SAT, the SAT Subject Tests, or Both

A good rule of thumb is that

you’ll almost certainly have to take the SAT I (or the ACT), but you’ll probably only need to take the SAT II if you’re applying to highly selective colleges.


Nonetheless, you should check the testing requirements for each school you’re applying to since they can differ quite a bit.

The majority of colleges have one of three basic policies on the SAT Subject Tests. Let’s go through them one at a time.

Policy 1: They Only Ask For the SAT (or ACT)

Most schools, including the major state universities, don’t require applicants to submit Subject Test scores. However,

some colleges will consider SAT II scores,

so they can be a helpful way to show your mastery of a certain subject area (

as long as you do well

).

Policy 2: They Ask For the SAT (or ACT)

and

SAT Subject Tests

A handful of

very selective schools,

including Harvard and Rice, require applicants to submit scores from

both

the SAT I and between one and three (usually two) SAT II tests.

Some colleges have

more specific guidelines

regarding which Subject Tests you need to take. For example,

MIT requires one Math SAT II and one Science SAT II

.

Other schools—including McGill, Tufts, and Duke—will

waive the Subject Tests requirement if you

submit ACT scores

.

These schools will still look at SAT Subject Test scores if you send them, however.

Policy 3: They Ask For the SAT

or

SAT Subject Tests

A growing subset of schools have adopted

a test-flexible policy

, which means they

allow students to choose which scores they’d like to submit from a number of different tests.

Examples of schools that allow students to submit SAT II results in place of SAT I or ACT scores include NYU, Colorado College, and Middlebury.

Recap: Should You Take SAT I or SAT II?

The SAT I is the standard SAT test format, which you will need to take for most college applications. The SAT II tests are subject-specific tests that might or might not be required, depending on where you plan to apply.

As you can see above, colleges’ SAT II policies vary widely. Be sure to

look up the testing requirements for every school

you’re planning to apply to, and determine what you need to do well in advance. You might want to start by checking out our

complete list of schools that require SAT Subject Tests

. That said, don’t forget to confirm colleges’ policies on their official websites!

What’s Next?

If you’ve

determined that you need to take the SAT II,

the next step is figuring out

which Subject Tests you should take

and

what scores you need to shoot for

. You might also want to take a look at our SAT Subject Test study guides for

US History

and

Physics

.

If you’re

applying to

Ivy League schools

,

check out our guides on

what SAT score you need

, what

their average SAT II scores

are, and

exactly how you can get in

.