Can a good SAT subject test compensate for a bad grade in the respective course?

To be frank, I got a C in Chemistry and it’s a blight upon my otherwise pretty good record. I was wondering that if I were to take the SAT Chemistry subject test and score particularly well on it if colleges would be open to excusing or turning a blind eye to the C on my transcript. Thanks in advance for the help!

The Chem subject test is pretty difficult. Have you taken an actual, published test to see how you would do on it? There isn’t any guarantee there. Assuming that you could study up and do well on the subject test, I don’t think it’s a bad idea, especially if you may need some Chemistry for an intended major, or other science. It wouldn’t matter as much if you want to major in History, unless a college you are interested in has a hard science distribution requirement. As you can see, it does depend on where you are applying and what you might want to study.