I’m a senior who took the SAT Physics Subject Test for the first time in December. I made the awful mistake of deciding to not take the test after about a week of studying during the summer, as I figured I probably wouldn’t do well. I then decided last minute that I actually should take the test, but at that point I didn’t have nearly enough time to study. I only studied for about a week, and then I received a 660 on the Physics Subject Test. To make matters even worse, I put on my UC application that I planned on taking the test, as that’s what you’re supposed to do when you take a subject test in December.
So, now I’m pretty devastated. If I don’t submit the score, the UCs will know I failed it, but I’m fairly sure that submitting it would make things even worse. I received an A in AP Physics 1 both semesters, a 4 on the AP Physics 1 Exam, and a 790 on the Math 2 Subject Test, but I really don’t know if those scores will compensate for this.
So now I’m wondering, can a subject test score make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection? Would submitting it or not submitting it be more detrimental? Lastly, this is a bit off topic, but does being a woman give you an advantage when it comes to applying as an engineering major to the UCs? I know they don’t consider race, so I’m assuming they don’t consider gender either, but I’m not sure. Thanks for the feedback! I know this is really long.
@ucAdmirer Several of the UCs don’t want 2 Subject tests, but I’m not sure if they look at them if submitted. Davis doesn’t require any and UCSB I think wants just Math II. Based on the gender ratios in engineering at the UCs, I have not seen evidence of any advantage for being female. At least compared to the UCs, it does seem to help at USC.
You’ve done all you can at this point, so try and relax until March. I’ve gone through this twice in the last 3 years with kids in ME at UCs and I know how angonizing it can be. Best of luck.
If your overall UC application is competitive, one SAT Subject test will not have a major impact. They are only recommended and not required so follow @youcee’s advice.
At UCLA, an admin counselor said about as clearly as possible without explicitly saying it that when they say “recommended” you should read that as “required”.
Thanks for the advice! I was leaning towards not submitting, but it sounds like you’re recommending submitting it @youcee even though my score is a bit unfortunate?
I think if you applied to UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, or Irvine that they want to see a second test score. I honestly don’t know enough about how they look at subject test scores to give a definitive recommendation though. I do know that ME is a very competetive major (9.7% acceptance rate at UCLA this year, probably lower at Berkeley) and that you need to have as strong of an application as possible.
Edit: @ucAdmirer I’ll add that one of my kids got an 800 on the Physics test and didn’t get in to UCLA and the other got 750 and did get in as an admit in the top 20% or so. More depends on the rest of your application.
@youcee Ok, thank you! I’m applying to all of those schools, but I’m definitely not expecting to get into LA, Berkeley, or SD. I’m really hoping for Irvine. Still not sure what to do about my score, but I’ll try to figure it out quickly. Hopefully the score won’t make that much of an impact on my application.