So I heard if you submit the ACT score, you usually don’t have to submit the SAT Subject Test scores for most schools, whereas if you submit the SAT score, you almost have to submit the SAT Subject Test scores even if the school policy is “recommended.” So here’s my question. Are schools usually ok with not submitting the SAT Subject Test scores if you submit the ACT because the ACT is more content-based and subject related than the SAT? Or are there any other reasons why some colleges are okay with just the ACT but not okay with just the SAT? And IF the reason why they are ok with just the ACT is because it is more content-based and school related, would it be same for the NEW SAT? Because I believe the new SAT is just as school related as the ACT (trigs, stats, academical essay, etc)
“Are schools usually ok with not submitting the SAT Subject Test scores if you submit the ACT” Yes.
“are there any other reasons why some colleges are okay with just the ACT but not okay with just the SAT?” They feel that they can fully evaluate any applicant who only submits the ACT and don’t want to burden (especially lower SES applicants) with unnecessary test requirements.
There is not really a simple answer except that you should be aware that the vast majority of colleges do not even use subject test scores to determine admission even if you submit them.
There are now only 11 US colleges that require subject tests (all of them two such tests). Of those, five, Brown, Rice, Haverford, Tufts, and Wellesley accept the ACT in lieu of both the SAT and ACT. For those, you are fine sending only the ACT without any subject tests. However, the other six, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Harvey Mudd, MIT and Webb require subject tests even if you submit ACT. Thus, for those six, you can be rejected simply for the failure to submit subject tests.
The “recommend” group is then a mixed bag. Yale, Penn and Duke are three colleges that used to require either SAT and two subject tests or, alternatively to both of those, the ACT. However, they both have recently switched to recommending rather than requiring subject tests but in doing so they decided to recommend them even if you submit ACT. Dartmouth is a college that recently went from requiring subject tests, in addition to either the SAT or ACT, to recommending them if you submit SAT or ACT. Stanford is a college that has never required subject tests but has recommended two whther you submit SAT or ACT. Each of those has mentioned that failure to submit subject tests does not mean you will have a disadvantage in determining admission. However, none say that submitting high subject test scores will not help you. You need to face some reality here. For those colleges practically everyone who applies has high stats and most submit high score subject tests even if they submit ACT. The admission rates are extremely low. Thus, your objective should be to present the best possible application that you can muster to compete with others. Adding subject tests with high scores to your application should thus be considered something to do if you can possibly do so. That should be considered true for any high ranked college that recommends subject tests. Colleges further down the ranking order that recommend subject tests may be something to treat differently, including that admisison rates are higher and many actually do not submit subject tests, but even then being able to submit high subject test scores can improve your own chances.
You also have Georgetown and Harvard. Georgetown switched from requiring three subject tests to strongly recommending three subject tests a number of years ago regardless of whether you submitted SAT or ACT. However, it says that if you do not submit them, you should explain why (and I am pretty sure the explanations it wants to hear do not include that you just felt like blowing them off). Harvard has a schizophrenic rule that amounts to a recommendation that should be followed. It “normally requires” subject tests but you can choose not to submit them if there is a financial issue in doing so, or, alternatively if you “decide” not to submit them. I construe that bureaucratic double-speak to be a strong recommendaiton that you submit subject tests absent being from a school that serves mostly low income residents.
There is also a group of colleges that neither require nor recommend subject tests but will consider them if submitted. Columbia and Amherst recently joined that group. For the “consider” group, you probably are much safer than with the recommend grup in not submitting subject tests.
@drusba An update for Yale “SAT Subject Tests are recommended but not required. Applicants who do not take SAT Subject Tests will not be disadvantaged in the application process. We will consider your application on the basis of the other testing, and all the other information, that we receive with your application. You may wish to consider whether there are particular areas of academic strength you would like to demonstrate to the Admissions Committee. Subject Tests can be one way to convey that strength.”
@drusba “For those, you are fine sending only the ACT without any subject tests.”
So for those colleges, will sending only the NEW SAT without any subjec tests be fine? Because like I said, imo the new SAT is just as content based as the ACT, so I am wondering if those colleges would consider that
^ No. When the colleges feel that is the case they will update their websites with the new requirements. Until then it’s just as posted above.