Understanding the make-up and purposes of these tests is important and will contextualize your test preparation. 

Let’s take a look at the primary differences:

SAT Subject test

• Subject Tests are offered multiple times throughout the school year (October, December, January, March, May, June).
• Subject tests last 1 hour.
• Most subject tests are made up of only problem-solving questions (some language exams include a listening comprehension section).
• Subject tests are used to demonstrate that you have advanced knowledge in a particular field of study
• The importance of subject tests comes pre-admission, meaning they are a great way to strengthen your applications.
• Some highly competitive schools actually require them.

Advanced Placement Exam (AP)

• AP tests are offered once per year (in May).
• AP tests last 3 hours.
• Most AP tests (except studio art and music theory) consist of multiple-choice questions and an essay (or 2).
• AP tests are scored 1 to 5 (or 1 to 6, depending on the test)
• The importance of the AP comes post-admission, meaning once a college or university has accepted you.
  • A score of 3 is considered passing, while a score of 4 or 5 will earn you college credit.
  • Many students use high AP scores to pass out of introductory level college courses.

Now, let’s look at some of their commonalities between the tests:

• The fields of study tested on the SAT subject tests and APs overlap. Keep in mind that the APs test the same content, but also introduce more challenging material.
• A high score on both types of tests looks good on your application. An 800 on a subject test or 5 on an AP never hurts!
• Colleges see all your scores, but will only use your highest score on each test.
• You can re-take both tests, if need be.