<p>Can anyone direct me where to find the score ranges for SAT II tests for the colleges that require them (i.e., 25th to 75th percentile for a recent incoming class)? I don't know what goal that my DS should be shooting for or what constitutes a good score (other than perfect of course). I was told by the local magnet high school that the SAT II score is not required to be as high as the SAT I score, but I don't know if that's true. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’ve never found such a list, but if you go to the Counselors section of the College Board site, you will find the 25-75 ranges for the overall SAT 2 scores in the yearly report of scores. My guess is that the scores for the colleges would be similar, since only a few colleges even require the SAT 2s.</p>
<p>This is the national report:
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>There are also state-by-state reports.</p>
<p>Scores vary by test. On the Math 2c, for example, 21% of the test takers had a score of 750-800. For literature, it’s only 6% in that group.</p>
<p>Thanks, dmd, 77. Dearest friend’s only child just received first set of scores and this is a great resource for rising junior and senior parents.</p>
<p>The only school I know of that lists the score ranges for SAT IIs is MIT.</p>
<p>Thanks, dmd77. One thing that struck my eye: check the SAT subscores (critical reading and math) in the section that sorts the scores by income group. I notice that the scores go up with each higher income group.</p>
<p>here is the percentile info
SAT I
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
SAT II
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>Thanks for this info. What exactly are the colleges looking for in terms of scores? My DS wants to apply to only a couple of schools that look at the SAT II–primarily Carnegie Mellon. He is not planning to apply to the HYP ranks. The guidance counselor at the local magnet high school said that the SAT II scores are not usually expected to be as high as the SAT I scores and that they should be in the 600’s, but so many posts here talk about scores well in the 700’s. His own high school can offer no guidance on this as they don’t send many students to schools requiring the subject tests. He got a 690 on Math II, 690 on Physics and 760 on History. If he needs to retake Math II and Physics, then he should probably study over the summer break. Thanks again for your help.</p>
<p>Thanks for those links!! Very helpful. Son absolutely refused to study more than a few minutes for the SAT IIs…scores (in mid 80%) reflect that…</p>
<p>va_catlover, hard to say for Carnegie Mellon, for Tepper and SCS which are the most competitive schools within CMU, I’d be inclined to retake Math and perhaps the physics and to be safe, I might for CIT as well. Those are very good scores however, and there are many schools slightly less competitive than CMU that will be very happy with them. What were his SAT1 scores like?</p>
<p>va_catlover…although his scores are good for taking the tests cold…retake Math Level 2. It has a generous curve..so that score is actually very low in comparison to the highly self selected pool of test takers. No one takes that exam unless they are applying to a career path that requires math or to highly selective schools..and a Sunday afternoon of prep and doing the practice exam can work “wonders.” My sons are no math geniuses but aced that test when prepared…and they also have buddies who walked in cold and regretted it later.
High schools are notoriously bad about being up front with students that preparation and self study is the missing link for making scores in the 700s unless you are a stone cold genius at exams. Our teachers know NOTHING about these exams and make a point to stay that way..most classes are not geared to cover AP or SATII material. There are always two or three concepts our sons had to teach themselves. If you have only a few cards to lay on the table..the SATIIs are short and sweet to prep for and can help you a great deal to show your fortitude and self discipline.</p>
<p>Faline2 - that’s great advice. we learned the hard way that D’s HS curriculum does not prepare adequately for Math 2 even though she had taken up through pre-calc. she figured it out by doing poorly on practice tests in the few days before the exam and ended up switching at the last minute to Math 1.</p>
<p>which leads me to my question: I need help interpreting her SAT I and SAT II Math scores: 720 on SAT I (her total score puts her at 97th percentile) and 720 again on SAT II/Math 1 (88th percentile). what does that mean? that she had a bad day on the SAT II? that the population and/or the curve are different for SAT II vs. SAT I? something else? </p>
<p>I’m really not math-challenged but … 
</p>
<p>Except for the UCs (which do not accept Math 1) and engineering-tech schools where Math 2 is a practical requirement, 720 is a 720 for admission purposes. </p>
<p>The differences in percentiles is due to self-selection of the test takers. The ‘stronger’ math kids complete precalc by Jr year so they take Math 2, which has a more generous scale – can miss ~7 and still score an 800. Someone who starts out in Alg I in Frosh year will not likely complete precalc by end of Jr year, so if they want to take a math test, it will be Math 1 (which, btw, has a brutal scale – miss one = 770).</p>
<p>thanks, bluebayou - that’s very helpful.</p>
<p>Mathmom: His SAT I’s were 740 English, 670 Math and 660 Writing on first try. He is retaking in the fall to try to raise math. He wants to major in Computer Science, hence the need for high math scores.</p>
<p>I’d definitely recommend trying to get a higher Math score on both the SAT1 and subject test if he can. The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon is extremely competitive. If he’s got good computer science experience that may help to mitigate his less than stellar scores. They are still very good scores mind you. Have you see the [Admission</a> Statistics](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University) page at the CMU website? You can deduce that for SCS 25% of the kids have 800s on the SAT1 if the range for the middle 50% is 740-800. That unfortunately puts him in the bottom 25% there - he’ll need to have other things in his application to make up for the scores.</p>