<p>I'll be applying for SCEA in November, and currently I have 2 subject test scores:</p>
<ul>
<li>770 Maths II</li>
<li>800 World History</li>
</ul>
<p>I'm thinking of taking Maths II again and Literature in October for the following reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'm kinda unsure about the number of subject tests Yale wants; I know they "officially" require 3, but is there a number they "expect" from successful applicants? Like 3 or more tests?</p></li>
<li><p>I want to rectify my Maths II score. Because so many people get 800 for Maths II, I'm afraid that a score like 770 would be perceived as "nasty" to Yale.</p></li>
<li><p>I want to take literature because I've heard that unlike any of the other subjects tests, literature really strikes a chord with the adcoms. I'm confident that if I took literature, I would get very high, if not 800. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>On the other hand, there would be an opportunity cost for studying for these tests; it would take time away from slaving over commonapp/Yale supplements and my normal courses, possibly resulting in lower first semester senior-year grades. I know first semester senior grades don't affect SCEA, but if I get deferred and shifted into RD, they could potentially be a burden...</p>
<p>Thoughts about what I should do, and about my 3 concerns? I would especially appreciate input from silverturtle/Descartes/someone else familiar with the statistics.</p>
<p>Don’t overthink this. yale requires two tests of your choice. If you send them six tests, they will only officially consider your top two. It is good to show a bit of variety, but if Yale preferred the Lit test iver the others that much, they’d probably make everyone take it. Your plan to take two more tests should work. I feel that the 800 Math 2 may not be quite important as you think at Yale. At MIT, on the other hand, an 800 Math 2 may be more of a “necessity”.</p>
<p>You only need 2 SAT II’s, and your scores are great. In fact, I would suggest that the difference between a 770 and an 800 on Math II is so small that Yale will not care at all (I got in with a 760 Math II), and your time might be better spent working on other parts of your apps rather than attempting to boost an already phenominal score. If your grades may decrease as a result of studying for the Math II exam (or any other subject tests), do NOT take that risk for something that really won’t help you. Your senior year grades may turn out to be very important to you, even though you are applying SCEA. Remember, the SCEA deferral rate is very high.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess the consensus is that there’s probably no need to take anymore tests, and that I should focus on the rest of my application.</p>
<p>I’d actually suggest taking Lit or another subject test in October - you already have two strong subject test scores, so you’ll probably do relatively well on a third. That way, if you do well enough, Yale’ll consider that score instead of your Math II one.</p>
<p>A 770 on Math II is really good in the sense that the scaled score is really high, but percentage-wise, it’s (surprisingly!) not that great. I got a 780 on Math II, for example, which is only in the 87th percentile for all Math II test-takers. I think that a 770 is 84th percentile. (I mean, 84th percentile is pretty good, but a 770 on Lit would put you in the 97th percentile - which, I think, would be more impressive).</p>
<p>I mean, I’m not a college admissions officer, but it seems logical to me that most college admissions officers (especially the ones at top schools) are probably vaguely familiar with the curves on the different subject tests.</p>
<p>I agree that two is enough-there are a lot of different things to do senior year that would probably benefit you more. I don’t think a 770 on Math II is bad at all.</p>