<p>She sounds lazy. If she's so smart, then she won't even have to study for the SAT II, she can take math and literature or something. As someone applying to a school as competitive as Stanford, one should take advantage of all resources and do everything be it required or recommended. Plus, if her ECs are so average, then she should have plenty of time to prepare!!</p>
<p>In my research of 30+ good private colleges. Only about 4 don't require SAT II. Of course, good colleges such as Harvard, MIT, CalTech,Stanford etc all require STA II. Therefore, I suggest your daughter checks the admission requirement first before she makes the decision.</p>
<p>Chen - I think you mistated. I think that most good private colleges DO NOT REQUIRE the SAT II. Most will accept the ACT with writing in lieu of the SAT IIs or the SAT IIs are recommended.</p>
<p>I suggest that if the official admissions policy of a school states that they will accept ACT + writing in lieu of SAT + subjects, you take them at their word. These cases, then, are not reasons for her to pursue the subject tests.</p>
<p>I also suggest you convey to her that she is hurting her candidacy at schools that recommend but don't require the subject tests. She will also be depriving herself of the option of applying to schools that require the subject tests should she decide she would like to apply there. You can also convey to her that she probably has until December (for RD) to take them and that they will be easier than AP tests in the same subject. This would be an honest representation of the situation. But, because it is her college search, she should make the decision about whether or not to take them herself. Sorry, but the need to optimize her future options does not trump the need to respect her personal autonomy.</p>
<p>I think she should take the SAT IIs. When i was a junior, i went to my counselor and asked if i should bother taking the SATs a second time. I had gotten a 35 on my ACT, but a 610 on my reading on the SAT and i wanted to send my SAT II's (some required it even with the ACT i believe) so the SAT would be sent too. </p>
<p>what my counselor said was that while it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, when/if i didn't get into one of my first choice schools i would have been upset with myself thinking that there was somethiing i could have done. This relates to your situation too. While it probably won't matter, though it might i'm not sure, when/if your daughter gets rejected from a school that she wants to go to she might be kicking herself and thinking there was something not that hard that she could have done. If she takes the SAT IIs then there is nothing else she could have done. </p>
<p>All of this is a long way of saying she should take the SAT IIs to settle herself and to add an edge to the application</p>
<p>I would recommend she take the SAT II's, I mean with her potential and all the hard work she has put in, she should take the SAT II's and do well. I mean the competition for college admissions is greater than ever, and she has the potential to make it to one of the top 5/10/15 colleges in the nation. As someon said earlier, after all the work she's put in, why trip at the finish line and ruin everything? Most people would kill for her SAT/ACT scores and potential in academics.</p>