<p>So I'm applying to Ph.D. Programs in Cell Biology and I took the Bio subject test last November. I didn't do as well as I would have liked on it - 46th percentile. Ouch. For the people who don't know, they split it down into subsections; in the cell biology/molecular biology section I was in the 73rd percentile. </p>
<p>On the application, they say that it is 'strongly recommended' that you take a subject test. I feel that submitting my scores would hurt me as an applicant though; I have a 3.6, three solid research experiences, and (I'm assuming) three good letters. Any advice here? Oh, I already made the cut for an interview at Cornell, which I didn't submit scores to, if that makes a difference. </p>
<p>I mentioned Cornell just to say that I still managed to get an interview spot without submitting scores. I still applied to 8 other schools. Should I still submit to all the schools?</p>
<p>Even though many top bio programs say subject tests are "highly recommended," a lot of great students from my school aren't bothering with them. It's expensive and a pain to take the exam, let alone send out the results, so lots of people don't sit the subject test at all. That includes the very best candidates (in terms of grades/research exp.) who don't think they need another score to make them look better. Many people who do take the exam, and who do pretty well, are paranoid that their score will be seen as "bad". For example, I know someone (delusional) who didn't send a 96% because she thought it reflected poorly on her.</p>
<p>So fairly few applicants submit subject test scores, and those aren't necessarily the best applicants, because some of the best applicants never bothered with the subject test in the first place. Your interview offer is proof that not submitting a subject test score will not reflect negatively on you. And it's been said before: once you get one interview, you're destined to get more.</p>
<p>Besides, isn't it a little late to be rethinking this? Even if you ordered the score reports today, they probably wouldn't reach schools before interview decisions are made.</p>