SAT Subject Test Scores

[KLparent]

Wanted to check the kind of bare minimum acceptable scores for SAT SUBJECT TESTS for IVY League colleges? Thanks!!

[ZooZooB]

I’d like to know this, too!!

[Wje9164be]

A suggestion would be to go to the College Board website and look at the score distributions which vary quite a bit by test. Consider also how many students took a particular Subject Test. A suggestion would be to target being at or above the 80th percentile

[mathmom]

Back when my kids were applying we figured anything over 700 was okay and 750 was safe. A 750 on Math Level 2 is probably not in the 80th percentile, but if you take it even though from the rest of your application it looks like STEM is not a probable major I don’t think it will hurt you. (It’s probably better than an 800 on Math Level 1 in other words.)

[Consolation]

I would generally assume that what mathmom says is correct: for a typical applicant 700+ is okay and over 750 is fine.

I’m equally sure that there are applicants who have gotten in with lower scores, especially recruited athletes and other hooked applicants. (And no, being an All-State violinist is not a hook. They are a dime a dozen at the Ivies et al.)

I suggest looking at the Academic Index Calculator elsewhere on this site.

[Springbird]

Here’s what @Wje9164be was talking about:
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/sat/sat-percentile-ranks-subject-tests-2016.pdf

Not sure there is really a minimum score, but it would be best to be near or at the top of the pack.

[Data10]

I’m equally sure that there are applicants who have gotten in with lower scores, especially recruited athletes and other hooked applicants.

There are many other reasons for getting in with lower scores. The most obvious one is simply not submitting them. The specific subject test requirements and recommendations vary quite a bit for different Ivies and different fields of study. For example, Columbia’s website says:

The SAT Subject Test scores are not required, but Columbia will accept scores from the exams if you choose to submit them. You will not be at a disadvantage should you choose not to take the tests or submit the scores to Columbia.

Yale is a little more explicit about when to submit and when to not submit saying

Applicants who do not take SAT Subject Tests will not be disadvantaged in the application process. We will consider your application on the basis of the other testing, and all the other information, that we receive with your application. You may wish to consider whether there are particular areas of academic strength you would like to demonstrate to the Admissions Committee. Subject Tests can be one way to convey that strength.

Penn also does not require subject tests, but recommends specific tests depending on field. They recommend nursing students take the chem SAT subject test, business students take math, humanities/SS students take any two SAT subject tests of their choice, etc. Cornell recommends/requires submitting subject tests for some fields/colleges within Cornell, but not for others. Dartmouth says it only looks at the 2 highest SAT subject test scores, implying a low 3rd test should have little impact.

Answering the OP’s question, I’d be surprised if there is a “bare minimum acceptable scores,” such as specific threshold. Instead the score is used in the context of the full application. For example, a lower score in math might raise some eyebrows for an engineering major, but not as big a deal for an English major. The specific score probably has little influence unless it is unexpectedly high or low.

[Marian]

A suggestion would be to target being at or above the 80th percentile

For Math Level II, this would mean not submitting any score except an 800.

I don’t think this is necessary.

[Full disclosure: One of my kids got into an elite school with a 790 (horrors!) on Math Level II.]

[Proudpatriot]

I don’t agree with the comment that scores should be above the 80th percentile on Subject Tests to be competitive for elite admissions. The Subject Tests attract a disproportionately high number of the tippy top students in the world. I would say as long as the score is 700 or above it is competitive. Anything over 750 is a great score regardless of the percentiles reported.

[Marian]

Is there any evidence that colleges care about the Subject Test percentiles rather than the actual scores?

For example, would a college look less favorably at a student with 750s in Math Level II and Spanish (reading) (67th and 71st percentiles, respectively) than at a student with 750s in U.S. History and Ecological Biology (84th and 88th percentiles, respectively)?

Or would a college be more likely to regard these students’ Subject Test scores as being essentially the same – 750s in two different subject areas?

[bucketDad]

@Marian Just to add another wrinkle…the percentiles for the language tests can be deceiving because they don’t distinguish between native and non-native speakers taking the test.