<p>so I got a 740 on my bio m sect. but it is only the 85th percentile. I asked some colleges about this and they said they only look at the score and not the percentile. If I am aiming for Stanford do you think I MUST retake the test and get a 790+ or my current score is fine? BTW I got a 5 on the Bio ap if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Remember, relatively few people take the SAT Subject Tests. Apart from the UC system, it’s mainly just a small handful of elite private colleges that require them; so by and large, it’s the students who are aiming for the UCs (generally the top students in California) and nationally a self-selecting group aiming for the Ivies and other elite colleges who even bother to take these tests. As between the various Subject Tests, students will naturally gravitate towards the tests they expect to do best in; so at this level, too, there’s self-selection in favor of the strongest students in a particular subject. So you’re up against a pretty strong pool of test-takers. In that context, 85th percentile is pretty good. Among 2008 college-bound seniors, only about 39,000 took the Bio M Subject Test—compared to 1.5 million who took the SAT Reasoning test. The mean SAT CR + M + W for the 39,000 who took Bio-M was 1884—or 373 points higher than the 1511 mean CR + M + R for all SAT-takers. To be in the 85th percentile of that group is quite good.</p>
<p>That said, a score of 750 or higher will look marginally better than a 740. I’d say it depends how strong the rest of your stats are. If everything else is in order, a 740 won’t hurt you. If you have a ding or two elsewhere, a re-take might allow you to pull your Bio-M score up a few points and stand as a slightly shinier credential. But honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. A 740 shows solid achievement in the subject. That’s not going to keep you out of Stanford. If they reject it, it will almost certainly be for another reason or combination of reasons.</p>
<p>wow thanks for the insightful post! I think I will just keep the score then and focus on all of my other objectives.</p>
<p>bclintonk, can you post the link to the report where you found these 2008 SAT stats? I’d like to look up some other subject tests. Very helpful in interpreting SAT subject test scores, thanks.</p>
<p>^ Sure. It’s all available on the College Board website at:</p>
<p>[College-Bound</a> Seniors 2008](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2008]College-Bound”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board)</p>
<p>Click on the link for “Total Group Report.” The Subject Test data are on pages 10-12. Data for individual states are also available, if that’s of any interest.</p>