<p>I just had a consultation with a private college admissions counselor. He said that in order for my child to have a chance for the following shcools, 5 SAT II subject tests are required since it's extrememly competitive..</p>
<p>Princeton
Brown
Cornell
U. Penn
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>GPA is 4.4 SAT I 2270</p>
<p>5 SAT I is A LOT, what do you think??</p>
<p>I think the advisor is wrong. I know kids who’ve gotten into 5 of those schools, and none of them had 5 SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>If your child is homeschooled, this might be reasonable advice. Otherwise, it’s excessive.</p>
<p>FYI my S is applying to three of those schools and he’s taken three SAT IIs. He needed two SAT IIs to apply to the UC system and the only reason he took the third test is because he’s thinking he might major in that subject.</p>
<p>Drop this advisor (notwithstanding the possible homeschooling scenario). If anything, desiring 5 AP’s is probably more likely, but even this would be wrong. Your child is fine.</p>
<p>It wold only make sense if he is homeschooled.</p>
<p>They are not needed but they would be easy to do. They are only an hour each and you can take up to 3 in one sitting. The extra cost is only $10 per test. Since they are mostly tests of aquired knowledge they don’t need special prep.</p>
<p>My D took five SATII tests over time for no particular reason. She was going to take Math2 but decided what the hey, lets also take Spanish and Lit. Didn’t even think about doing any prep. She did much better on the latter two than she did on Math2 on that administration.</p>
<p>Incidentally, Harvard’s admissions dean Fitzsimmons is on record as saying that they plan to de-emphasize the SAT-I and possibly start requiring up to 5 SATII’s. So if your kid is still a freshman or sophomore, the requirements may change by the time senior year rolls around.</p>
<p>Unless you are homeschooling your adviser is wrong. No school asks for more than three and most only want two. Every school I’ve heard from says they just look at the highest three. I’m sure they see the rest, but you always risk having lower scores. My older son took three in one go, got all 800s, he saw no need to take more just to have more. He got into Harvard and Carnegie Mellon - didn’t apply to any of hte particular schools on your list.</p>
<p>I think that the reason you have an advosor is to follow his advice. How do we know?</p>
<p>The advice isn’t even correct as regards homeschooling. I know of homeschoolers who have gotten into all those schools without five SAT IIs. The advisor is misinformed.</p>
<p>The OP’s D is a senior in a prep school. Not homeschooled, nor a freshman considering Harvard some time down the line when a greater emphasis might be put on SATIIs. Harvard, by the way, is one of the very few schools demanding 3 SATIIs. I know of none requiring 5.</p>
<p>Homeschoolers are in a different category altogether. Taking SATIIs is a prudent measure to validate their curriculum in the absence of GPA. It’s not required by the colleges.</p>
<p>I’ve been investigating SAT subject tests, particularly for elite schools. The vast majority of schools that ask for SAT subject tests require two. Some suggest three. A small handful ask for three - most of those are engineering/math/science schools. I have never heard of any school asking for four. Our college admissions staff (at a very rigorous school) suggests two for most kids and three for those who know that a school of interest requires them.
My child did three - math2, physics and English lit which seems to have covered all the bases.</p>
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<p>They’re only easy if the school’s curriculum is a good match for the curriculum assumed by the test in each subject chosen, and this may not be the case. If the curricula don’t match, the student may have to do a great deal of independent preparation to have any chance at a good score.</p>
<p>My daughter is at Cornell, by the way, and she only took 3 SAT Subject Tests – in subjects carefully chosen to play to not only her own strengths but also those of her high school. This was probably one more test than necessary.</p>
<p>none of those schools “require” five. Most will only look at the top three. Columbia will look at all that you take, but they do not require that you take 5.</p>
<p>If you took an SATii everytime you prepared and sat for an AP, you cold easily accumulate 5 over the course of two or three years, but the only benefit is to increase your chances of the top three being higher (The AdComm will only look at the highest 3). The other benefit is to show a diverse academic interest: e.g. every college wants to see an English satii. After that, you might want to show a Math and a science. What if you really excelled in Latin or a modern foreign language, you might be able to benefit by showing that.</p>
<p>So, it is possible that the counselor in question is refering to that diversity of academic interest.</p>
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<p>This used to be true a while back, when the English Composition SAT Subject Test still existed, and the SAT did not include a writing section. But now, the only English SAT Subject Test is Literature, and there doesn’t seem to be any particular merit in taking that test over any other.</p>
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<p>This only works if 1) you take those APs before senior year; and 2) the AP curriculum is similar to the curriculum assumed on the Subject Test. Some AP curricula are indeed close to what the Subject Test requires (e.g., U.S. History, Biology), but others are not (e.g., math – the AP test is all calculus, and the Subject Test has no calculus).</p>
<p>Agree with Marian. Don’t think you’d really need more than 3 for any reason.</p>
<p>DS took SATII in physics at the end of his Honors course which he easily Aced. However, had to study for his SATII as there was material in it that was not covered in class. If he had not prepped, probably would have gotten about a 600.</p>
<p>Did counselor suggest the number 5…or subjects in addition to whatever your child has already taken?</p>
<p>If your child already has 2 or 3…but counselor suggests a couple more for diversity of subject, it’s not such an out-of-line suggestion.</p>
<p>If child has 3 in sciences, it might be a good idea to have at least 1 in history or a language. In addition, some schools (Stanford…but it’s not on your list) strongly suggest Math 2.</p>
<p>Also…if Child’s SAT I is 800 verbal, 800 writing and 670 math…counselor might suggest a math or science SAT II, if all of the SATII’s are in non-math/science.</p>
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<p>I remember reading something about de-emphasizing of SAT I. Can we speculate on this? How likely is it that they will require more SAT II instead?</p>
<p>I have a vague recollection of taking achievement tests pre-college. Is that what morphed into SATII?</p>
<p>The important thing IMO is that the SAT-II subject tests provide an opportunity to demonstrate your acquired knowledge in any subject you choose. Unlike the AP tests which are only offered once a year, the subject tests are offered every couple of months, and obtaining and reporting the results is a breeze.</p>
<p>In addition to a homeschooled student, the subject test could be used to advantage by a student from a relatively less well-known school, or a school known to have too much grade inflation, or a school (or specific teacher) that has grade deflation that may not be known to adcoms. Suppose Mr. Brown the school’s chemistry teacher is just one of those teachers who doesn’t give out A’s, and maybe you got a B- in that class. Perhaps the US history teacher just didn’t like you and gave you a C. In all these situations, you can take the SAT-II and show the colleges exactly how much you know about that subject. But this does assume you do know the subject or are willing to learn it.</p>
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<p>Yes. </p>
<p>A lot of selective colleges, in the east at any rate, used to require 3 SATIIs (known as ATs back in the day). Usually English and 2 others. Now that they’ve added the Writing section to the SAT, most schools only require 2. Some programs, such as the early-acceptance-to-med-school variety, may have specific requirements.</p>