SAT subject test dilemma

I have read through old threads trying to find an answer, and finally decided to just post a question.

My daughter is submitting her ACT 36 and a 12 in writing but decided not to submit her SAT 1570 (super-scored) because it wasn’t as strong. She did however take 2 SAT subject tests: Chemistry (740) and Literature (780) and is wondering if she should submit them. None of the schools require it. She took them for Rice, but they announced this year that they would not be requiring them anymore. Obviously the Chem one is the questionable one of the two. Should she just send Lit. to Rice? Or would they wonder how bad the science could be if she only sends one?

Lastly, do LA colleges like seeing the subject scores, or should she just submit the ACT and be done with it. Struggling with the proverbial “is more info better or worse” question…

Her SAT II scores are strong and top schools want to see them even if they aren’t “required”. Just send them to all schools. Not sending them makes it look like they are worse then 740. If she can study and improve them, it might be good, but not sending them would be a serious mistake.

Her scores are really good. I don’t know what the rest of the application looks like, but she might consider applying to Ivies and other schools harder than Rice.

Those are strong SAT2 scores. At the very least they won’t hurt her application. If she made A’s in those classes, it will confirm that the A’s were well deserved. “Recommend” generally means they want to see the scores but they are making allowances for applicants who have either economic or geographical (live far from test sites) challenges.

Thank you. I wasn’t sure about the Chemistry score, She had a first year teacher last year for AP Chem and they only got about 1/2 way through the course. She did much of the studying herself using the book and since her science score on ACT was 36 I wasn’t sure if it would hurt rather than help. She is taking Literature now, so she had taken the test before taking the course so that one looks strong I would think.

Would you recommend just sending them to all the schools? Even ones that don’t recommend them?

Not “obvious” at all - it’s fine, IMO.

It’s unclear from their website, but supposedly emails have gone out from Rice which indicate that they require all Subject Test scores to be sent if any are sent. However, your daughter should contact Rice to confirm their requirements.

If they don’t ask for them, I would not pay the fees. If she has done well on the AP tests (4/5), I would self report those on the Common App (official scores don’t need to be sent until the student matriculates and the school uses them for placement or credit). That will serve the same purpose for validating the grades on her transcript.

With those scores, you shouldn’t be applying to schools that don’t recommend or require SAT IIs except as safes. The SAT IIs are really good, and you should send them everywhere.

Thank you for all of the advice! I think we will just have her send them all and self report AP’s onthe common app. She actually likes her safety and target schools quite a bit and if she gets close to full tuitionwould attend one of them in a heartbeat. She wasn’t interested in applying to any Ivy’s so Rice is really the most competitive college on her list.

The 740 in Chem is a great score and I think will only enhance her application. But I’m also not AO.

@2manycollegequestions4me my daughter was in a similar boat and sent in her perfect ACT and every subject test she took ranging from 770-800. She also self reported the APs and sent the scores in to her top schools, as was recommended by her counselor (doesn’t hurt to show all those 5s). I think both your scores are good. If your child is doing engineering, then maybe a 740 could be higher, but if they got a 4/5 on AP Chem I would not worry.

@sattut I am not sure I understand what you meant by saying that if you don’t send in the sat2s they would wonder if her child had less than 740. Why would a school wonder? If they are not required but recommended, then a child could take none, or any tests they want. The college doesn’t have to know which tests a kid took. They only know what is sent in.

My child had taken World History, US History, Chem and Math…it just shows that you have a breadth of things you know or test well at or took in high school.

Because 740 and 780 are good scores, even for someone with perfect ACTs. If you don’t send in the SAT IIs, it looks like the scores are a lot worse than those.If they say recommended, it means they want them.

@sattut I know that the scores OP has are good. But when you say " if you don’t send in the SAT2, it looks like the scores are a lot worse than those." I disagree. maybe the kid didn’t even take any SAT2s to begin with…So NOT sending in scores doesn’t mean that the kid had low scores…it just might mean the kid never took any. I think your logic is flawed in that if OP sends in the 780 only - the college might think that is the only one OP took.

Thanks for all of the responses. I was concerned to send only one (the Literature) because Rice in particular states that if you don’t send the scores it will not be held against you, but if you do choose to send them, you should send 2 and it specifies according to your major which ones. Most people who take the SAT II tests know to take 2 since that is what the colleges who do require them ask for. That’s why I thought they would assume the unsent score was worse than it was. She ended up sending both scores to all schools today. Thanks again for all of the great advice!

You should also submit the SAT scores. They are a great validator of her ACT scores. Both are essentially perfect scores. The subject test scores are good enough. They should be submitted but won’t be much of an issue either way.

Personally, I don’t think it’s flawed at all. Nobody just takes one Subject Test. Okay, maybe a few do, but I’m willing to bet that it’s in the low single digits of test takers that took any. So I think the point @sattut made (although I may reading too much into it) is that if only one were sent, the AO might think the applicant is trying to hide a worse score. But guess what? In this case, that is what that applicant (or the parent anyway) is suggesting. Anyway, anything expressed here by anybody is just an opinion, since no AO will come here to give a definitive answer.

SoI get back to my earlier post. The 740 is fine. Calling is less-than-fine is disingenuous. If the applicant is rejected, it will not be because of a 740 IMO.