<p>Hi, I'm a junior and planning on applying to Harvard next year. I know I need 3 SAT subject tests and I have taken 1 (Biology M). I got a 5 on the AP Bio exam and biology has been one of my best subjects. For the subject test I got a 650 (which I know is not great). As a sophomore and at my high school, I was not informed of the SAT II's until very shortly before the test. Also, I was unaware of the test's importance and therefore did not study. That being said, when applying to Harvard and other schools, should I include this score?</p>
<p>if this is a subject that you feel confident in and believe that with better preparation could score better… why not take it again? especially if bio is something that you are going to pursue in college it might be beneficial to score higher… but even if you don’t want to, you can always make up for it by preparing and taking other SAT IIs either way good luck :)</p>
<p>A 650 isn’t a horrible score, but it isn’t a great score, and it’s not too competitive. I’d hesitate to include any subject test score that isn’t in the 700 range, if you’re willing to take three different tests/and/or retake Bio. </p>
<p>So I’d not include it if I could. If your other two subject tests are 800, it still won’t look good.</p>
<p>To compare, Oxford is the only school I know of that posts stats. Obviously it’s a great school, at a level similar to HYP. So I’d say it’s a good benchmark. They ask that candidates have THREE SAT IIs at 750 or above (or THREE APs at a score of 5), to “submit a competitive application”. </p>
<p>My call: 800 is great, of course. 750-800 is good. 750 is expected. One score of 700-750 is OK, if the other 2 are above that. 700 and under is not competitive at all. But…that’s just how it “feels” to me.</p>
<p>Although I agree a 650 might not be the most competitive score (and I am sure you’ll score higher next time; I self-studied Biology two days before the test and scored a 720; and I am an international at that, you can ace it if you want, since it is a pretty straightforward test), I do not think you can compare the US system with Oxford.</p>
<p>Oxford basically only requires standardized tests scores, not your GPA, so more emphasis is placed on the tests. The SAT scores should be in your intended field of study (Biology if you want to study Biology etc.), if you want to be a lawyer your inability to do physics isn’t really an issue for Oxford. Oxford requires As at A-level, which they compare to a 750 on the SAT II. Furthermore, Oxford does not care about extra-curriculars etc., so they have a lot less information to base their decisions on and place more emphasis on (narrow) academics.</p>