Parents, you were probably proud of yourselves that you had finally mastered the differences between the SAT and the ACT, and then, surprise, up pops the very stealth-like SAT Subject Tests. What?

Yes, there's another wrinkle in the testing area of the college application process. The good news is that it doesn't apply to most applicants. Only students looking at the top-tier, most selective schools in the country need to be concerned with being required to take the SAT Subject Tests for admissions purposes. However, other students may want to take them to place out of introductory classes so they can get into higher-level classes sooner. High school juniors should be thinking about this now and plan to take these tests, if appropriate, at the end of the school year.

Students need to carefully check the testing policies for each of the colleges they are considering. A variety of colleges and universities will allow students to submit the ACT (with Writing) in lieu of both the SAT and the SAT Subject tests. Other schools require the SAT Subject Tests regardless of whether the applicant takes the SAT or the ACT. And then there are colleges and universities that "strongly recommend" the SAT Subject Tests.

You may want to submit a strong SAT Subject Test even if the college doesn't require it because it shows that you have a defined interest in a specific area.

All SAT Subject Tests are one-hour, multiple-choice tests. You can take one, two or three tests on a single test day.