Hey! So I’ve been seeing people on here mentioning that taking too many SAT subject tests are a red flag for admissions officers, and I’m quite nervous about this, as I’ve taken 7. Why would I do that? Well, I’m a first generation student so my parents didn’t know anything about the admissions process, and way back in freshman year, someone said to me “hey, if you feel prepared, take as many sat2s as you can; it helps colleges understand that you know what you’re doing.”
That made sense to me, and I didn’t feel the need to extensively prep for any of the tests I took (most of them I just walked into after their respective AP, and I think I took maybe two practice tests over all of the subjects). After all, going on person x’s advice, I wasn’t short on the money, an hour isn’t a huge amount of time out of anyone’s day, and I wasn’t spending huge amounts of time cramming, so why not? So, now, I have math , world (740s), bio-e, chem, us history (750+), math2 and bio-M (800s), and suddenly I’m worried that colleges are going to think I’m a testing freak or something, when I really just took the tests I felt I could perform well on to “prove” the rigor of the courses in my school. Is it worth having my guidance counselor explain that I didn’t participate in extensive prep for these? I guess I’m just worried because I’m now being told that not only will the first two (the 740s) HURT me in “elite college admissions,” but having all of them will make me look like some testing nut, when really have much better things to do with my life. Advice would be much appreciated!
Oh! too late to edit, but I just realized that I didn’t explicitly mention why this is in the yale thread and not the general admissions thread. It’s because Yale has no score choice and is my early school, so this is relevant the most here. Other schools, it would just be “oh, only send some of the scores”
I’m not sure where you read that, but it’s not true. My daughter, who attended Stuyvesant High School, applied to colleges with 6 SAT Subject tests. My son, who also went to Stuyvesant applied with 8 SAT Subject tests. They did so because Stuyvesant insisted: (1) Student’s not taking an AP class take the SAT Subject Test at the end of the year to prove their competency in the subject, and (2) The more data points a student can provide a college admissions office the better their chances.
So, while some folks might think taking lots of SAT Subject Tests indicates a test obsessed student, I think Admissions Officers understand why student’s do it. And, depending upon the college, sometimes Admissions Officers put MORE weight on curriculum based tests than they do on ACT/SAT tests. This from Harvard: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/harvarddean-part2/
Not sure if Yale feels the exact same way, but they probably do. So, If I were you, I would take a deep breath and relax, as you have nothing to you worry about it, especially as you scored 740+ on all your tests.
No explanation whatsoever is needed from your guidance counselor.
OP, I also haven’t heard about the “too many SAT subject tests” effect. What I believe, and others do also, is that it’s possible to obsess about achieving a 2400 or 36, and imo retaking a 2380 would raise a red flag.
@gibby okay, thank you so much for the detailed reply you and your high-achieving kids still scare me, though and thank you for the Harvard link; it’s quite comforting! And okay, I’m so glad. I felt it would be an odd conversation to have with my GC: “hey, so I think I took too many tests can you explain that it was kind of an accident?” Yeah, I can’t see that going well, but I thought I should check! As to the where, I’m not sure where I heard this; it’s just something that pops up in the threads I see from time to time, and it made me a little nervous. @IxnayBob thanks to you, too don’t worry; I had no plans to retake any of the tests; something very similar to that scenario happened with my SAT, actually! I got 2390, and people didn’t understand why I “wouldn’t just retake it because it’s so obvious that I could get a 2400.” I don’t LIKE testing any more than the next applicant. I just see that it’s necessary :-/ and so try and get it done as quickly as possible
you and your high-achieving kids still scare me, though 
and thank you for the Harvard link; it’s quite comforting! And okay, I’m so glad. I felt it would be an odd conversation to have with my GC: “hey, so I think I took too many tests can you explain that it was kind of an accident?” Yeah, I can’t see that going well, but I thought I should check! As to the where, I’m not sure where I heard this; it’s just something that pops up in the threads I see from time to time, and it made me a little nervous.