The pointless brother: Math Level 1

Posted by Dee

The College Board offers two math SAT Subject Test options: Math Level 1 (previously known as Math IC) and Math Level 2 (previously known as Math IIC).

Honestly, don’t bother taking the Math Level 1.

My first reason against taking the Math Level 1 is because it’s a waste of time considering the regular SAT math section covers the same material. Compare the Math Level 1 with the mathematics section on the SAT Reasoning Test:

SAT Reasoning math section: Number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry & measurement, data analysis, statistics, and probability. Expected years of college preparatory math: three.

SAT Subject Test Math Level 1: Number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry & measurement, data analysis, statistics, and probability. Expected years of college preparatory math: three.

Wow, they’re the exact same thing! Especially as compared with the SAT Subject Test Math Level 2, which requires that you have additional skills in pre-calc and trigonometry, and expects you to have four years of college prep mathematics. (Math Level 1 expects you to take 2 years of algebra plus 1 year of geometry. Math Level 2 expects you’ve done the 2 years of algebra, 1 year of geometry, and another year of pre-calculus and/or trigonometry.)

So, from a content perspective, it just doesn’t make sense to take the Math Level 1 because you’ll already be showing the admissions committee your math abilities through the regular SAT math portion.

Reason number 2 against taking the Math Level 1 is based on schools’ standardized testing requirements. Take a look at which schools require which standardized tests in AdmitSpit’s post titled, “Standard list for colleges’ standardized testing requirements,” and you’ll see that most schools don’t specify which SAT Subject Tests you need to take. You’ll also notice that the top schools that DO specify particular SAT Subject Tests to take are mainly engineering schools or more math-oriented universities or majors, in which case, it’ll probably look pretty bad if you opt to take the Level 1 over the Level 2 exam anyways.

But, what is you’re bad at math? Well, then you’re probably not applying to engineering school, so you probably don’t need to take a math SAT Subject Test at all!

If you disagree with my logic here that the SAT Subject Test Mathematics Level 1 is pointless, leave a comment! I’d love to hear any other considerations that may prompt someone to take the Level 1 over the Level 2 exam.