Which tests/exams should I take as international student?

[lionnne02]

Good morning!

I'll be sophomore at a high school in Germany next week.
The German school system is quite different to the American. There's no official GPA (only on our leaving certificate), no class ranking and the only exams we write are in the very end of our senior year.

So I suppose I'll have to take some other tests. I know that I have to take the SAT-I and the TOEFL and started preparing some weeks ago.

But what about other tests..?
1) How many SAT Subject Tests should I take? I plan to do Biology, Chemistry, Physics, World History and perhaps Latin. And what's the difference between Mathematics Level 1 and Mathematics Level 2?
2) I'll take GCSE in 9 subjects and British A-levels in 3 or 4 subjects. What do universities think of these exams in the US?
3) How important are APs? Would taking some increase my chances to get admitted to a good college?

[Erin]

I'll try to answer some of your questions. First, you should decide on the universities you want to apply to, as the requirements can vary quite widely. Some schools don't require the SAT at all, while others require the SAT and the SAT Subject tests. If you can take five SAT Subject tests, and do well on them, you'd be in very good shape. Most schools don't require that many, but of course, many will look at your scores on the tests.

The Math Level 2 is just harder than the Level 1; it has a higher concentration of hard problems. Some schools, the UC system, for example, don't accept the Math Level 1 test.