With respect to college entrance exams, certain questions come up frequently. One example is, “Should my student take SAT subjects tests?” Another: “Should my child take the harder or the easier of the two SAT Math subject tests?” And another: “Should we do the optional (ACT / SAT) essay?”
The web has umpteen lists claiming to show what particular colleges want. Example: The College Board is kind enough (so it may seem) to provide you with this list of colleges and their SAT essay requirements. Do you suppose that list (thousands of colleges!) is at every minute perfectly accurate? Very implausible.
Our suggestion: ignore all this web material and go straight to the horse’s mouth, or maybe it should be horses’ mouths: The colleges your student is considering. That should be your starting point in answering the above questions. Find out from the final authority, the college itself, what their requirements or preferences are. If this is not 100% clear from the college’s web site, call.