Georgetown: Remaining Competitive with Two SAT II Subject Tests

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
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Hey guys,

this is my first collegeconfidential post. I recently toured both the east and west coasts and finalized my college application list. I’ve completed my basic standardized testing (SAT/ACT) and have finished my junior year (I’m a rising senior at a very connected school in Palo Alto). I wouldn’t say my school is ultra-competetive, but more reliant on outside forces for admissions assistance (per say a courtyard or basketball gym at a school or being a legacy donor - we have a 40% acceptance rate at Stanford). That being said, I really liked seeing the east coast and lots of the schools over there. One school that caught my eye was Georgetown; unfortunately, I was disappointed to hear that they place a high emphasis on standardized testing. I have a 34 ACT (35 ACT Superscored - 35 E, 34 M, 36 R, 33 S, 35 W), but unfortunately my subject test scores are not in the same range (I also have a 3.9 Unweighted GPA and a 4.1 Weighted out of 4.2 and am a dual citizen of Germany and the US if that matters at all). I took Math II and English Literature this year, and scored a 750 on the math and 650 on English. I plan to retake them before I submit my application or perhaps submit it if I get deferred from Georgetown EA. Unfortunately I got a very low US History SAT II score my freshman year and tried to take the test again three months later only to arrive at a testing center that had been SWATTED (Swat showed up because of a bomb threat hoax). My question is for people who have either been admitted or who have any real insights to the weight of subject tests at Georgetown. I know their website is quite direct about the “very strong recommendation” to have three subject tests, but I want to know if that will play a major part in my chances of getting into Georgetown, and if it’s worth it to learn all of the US History curriculum again just to take the subject test. I know thread has been opened before, but I wanted to be that person who asks again this year just to see how things have faired for people in the last year. If you’ve gotten to this part of the post, thanks for listening and I’m happy to have joined the CC community.

If you didn’t want to read all of that, then my question is right here:

“How will submitting two subject tests (instead of three) affect me in Georgetown admissions, despite my other statistics? Is it worth it to relearn an entire subject just for a better chance?”

Thanks,

Choco of Late

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https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation

It’s pretty back and white. If you don’t take three subject tests then you will have a huge mark against you for admission.

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Well, I wouldn’t recommend against re-taking the US History subject test. You actually cannot hide that score, since Georgetown does not allow score choice- they will see every score from every test you have ever taken.

If you appear as someone who does have the resources to retake a third test and didn’t because of laziness (or whatever reason) it will hurt you. An admissions officer in an info session told me that the “recommendation” is to provide a loophole for international or very, very poor students who cannot afford to access multiple SAT administrations, or cannot access any at all.