My child was scheduled to take the subject test in October, but it was delayed due to weather and he could not attend the makeup date. He took them in November, but was sick on the test day. He intended to take 3 tests, but left after the second one due to his illness. He got a 770 on Math II but only a 690 on Bio (the second test he took. BTW AP Bio score of 4 even though he took college bio, not AP).
He has great stats, 2250 SAT, #1 in class, great AP scores, great EC’s, and is a competitive applicant who intends to study engineering. We know that Harvard say the tests are not required, but that seems to apply to applicants who cannot afford the additional testing.
How would sending just the 770 Math II look to Harvard? It is likely they would assume he was hiding his other score, but he does not want to harm his chances by sending the 690. Is it better to send nothing than to send one score? TIA!
A 770 in math 2 is 84th percentile. Which bio did he take? I don’t know much about the bio SAT2’s but a 690 in ecological bio is 81st percentile-not that different from the math but the 690 in molecular bio is 66th percentile. Since he did not take AP bio, the school would not be expecting the AP score. A 4 isn’t great for Harvard. I’m not sure any of these scores help him compared to his SATs that place him in the 99th percentile.
He took Bio-E. The scores certainly do not add anything positive to his application. His school has a very odd order to science classes, so he took the subject test for the last science class he took. He was scoring close to 800 on practice tests, he just was off pace due to his illness. He has a 5 on Calc BC.
When evaluating a student’s SAT Subject Test scores colleges DO NOT look at percentiles but merely take the highest score and plug it into the Academic Index to calculate your AI score. So, don’t worry about percentiles. See: http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index/.
FWIW: Now that SAT Subject Test scores are optional, I’m not sure how Harvard calculates a student’s AI. Definitely have your son send the 770.
The implication is that while Harvard would prefer students to apply with 2 SAT Subject Tests, students may apply with 1 SAT Subject Test or with no SAT Subject tests and their application will still be considered without prejudice. That is slightly different than Yale’s requirements, and many other colleges, which do not require Subject Tests if a student is submitting the ACT.
@collegec123 what do you mean by AI? Academic index? I thought that calculation was for athletic recruiting and ranged from ~176-240 in the Ivy League. I had heard something about admissions ‘groupings’ that they stratify applicants. Do you have a link or info on that?
So, while the AI is used primarily as an athletic recruiting tool, every student who applies to an ivy league school has an AI calculated on them. Your AI score is actually printed on your file, so an Admissions Officer can glance at anyone’s AI and instantly know where they are in the pecking order of applicants. How much it’s actually used for non-athletes is a question only an Admissions Officer can answer. See: http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index/.
@gibby@collegec123 I am familiar with the Academic Index. But I think @collegec123 was referring to a stratification of applicants into groupings, from 1-9, that I had heard about but cannot find any information. Anyone know?
@cdk - by following the link to the AI in post #4, I calculated the number to be 2XX - which the site then classifies as a 9/9. I have no further info than what the site indicated.