Hello everyone, not entirely sure if this is the right forum to post this, but here’s my “problem”. So I am a junior, and I am basically a qualified student at all the schools I’m looking at: I have good test scores, GPA is pretty high, decent extracurriculars, however I don’t have a ton of stuff to make me think I’ll actually get into some of my top choices. And since the APUSH exam is coming up I’ve been reviewing a lot, and history is pretty easy for me since I enjoy it and am pretty good at remembering facts, so I think getting a 5 on the exam is pretty much guaranteed (also my teacher routinely has classes score much above the national average). So I was thinking about taking the US History subject test even though no where I am looking has subject test requirements anymore. Do people think that an 800 on the subject test would help me stand out at colleges where other things may not? Thanks!
First look at the Common Data Set and see if colleges of interest even use them.
AP Test scores are generally not used in admissions…but sometimes Subject tests are. Why not take the subject test? It won’t hurt.
If your schools don’t require subject tests, the subject test is unlikely to make or break your application.
If you decide to do it anyway, take a practice SAT subject test as the syllabus is different. APUSH starts (roughly) with the 13 colonies, SAT starts earlier and requires some knowledge of Native American history.
I think you should take it.
Most schools do not “require” subject tests, but a fair number of highly selective schools “recommend” them, and in any event a school using holistic admission standards would at least see and take note of subject test scores, even if they are by no means driving the bus or equal to regular testing.
The U.S. History is one of the harder subject tests to get a really good score. Not as bad as Literature, but people do much better on the math/science /language tests.
If the school does not require it, you don’t need it. If they require or recommend it, then take the test. The way a school “reads” your application is not what you might think. Certain schools don’t even upload data from testing services that they don’t ask for. So, for example, UVA does not “upload” the writing score for the SAT or ACT because they don’t require it.