<p>My D got a 750 on SAT II Chem in June 2005 which was 89% percentile for 2004-2005 school year.. I see by College Board website that you will now need a 770 to make the 89% percentile for 2005-2006 school year. Kind of rots doesn't it? Also noted that 800 in Math level 2C is like in the 80th% something percentile (could have been 70th% something - I don't recall). I saw Spanish and an 800 was also like in the 80th%. Really have to do well on SAT II subject tests. Ordinary grades like 750 etc. look incredibly low in the percentiles. Guess kids do really well on the subject tests.</p>
<p>It's not the percentile that matters. It's your score out of 800.</p>
<p>Sorry, I don't agree with you.</p>
<p>Colleges will see a 800 in Physics better than a 740 in Chemistry even though you can get 6 wrong and still get 800 in Physics.</p>
<p>Colleges absolutely look at your percentile. Say on the Math section of the new SAT, my D scored a 700. That is the 93rd percentile in the nation. Is a 700 on the SAT II chem test as good? Well, first of all, the kids taking it are the best and brightest in that not everyone is taking it. Whereas new SAT taken by most all juniors and seniors nationally except those without college plans. But on the SAT II Chem, a 750 is only the 89th percentile. This means that 11% of the people taking it do better than a 750. so a 700 on SAT II chem is not as good as a 700 on SAT I Math. Anyone else think differently???</p>
<p>It doesn't seem to me that the number wrong has anything to do with it. That is preestablished based on the difficulty of the test. The percentile is extremely meaningful because it tells you how you did compared to the rest of the population taking that test and believe me, it differs greatly from subject to subject. Take a look at the percentiles which are published for each subject test on the College Board website. They vary greatly!!!</p>
<p>Colleges wont spend their time looking up percentages when they got about 30,000 applications to go through in a few months.</p>
<p>They don't have to look them up. They already know them by heart. They know that many people do VERY WELL on the Math level II, people don't do quite as well on the Math level I. They know that the Chem exam is hard. Trust me they know by heart the average scores for each subject and that an 800 on the toughest subject test does not begin to compare to an 800 on the easiest subject test. They are not stupid; give them a little more credit!!!</p>
<p>I think overall, anywhere in the 750 to 800 realm is viewed by colleges as being virtually the same (save language tests).</p>
<p>agree - pretty darn good scores no matter.</p>
<p>i don't think the whole changing of percentiles matters all that much. a 700 on one test represents the same level of achievement that a 700 indicates on another test, though it would be fruitless to say that a 700 on one test is better than a 700 on another because of the fundamental differences between any given test. COlleges certainly might take the percentiles into consideration when looking at a kid's score, but the level of achievement remains the same.</p>
<p>Anyone who's ever talked with admissions officers knows that percentiles matter.</p>
<p>It's just a friggin' fact.</p>
<p>of course percentiles matte, ut its no tlike youre penalized if you get an 800 which is only 85% sicn ethats the highest you can get. Also, I really don't think colleges care too much about sat2s. I think its just 700+ and you're set</p>
<p>Well, in cases like Math IIc where you can't get above a freakin' 10th percentile, then yeah, it begins to matter less. </p>
<p>But in cases where the difference is an 800 (99th percentile) and a 700 (99th percentile) as happens on some of these tests, the difference matters less in the raw score.</p>