Should I send all of these SAT II Scores?

Test Preparation
1

I’m applying to Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, UChicago, etc.

Literature- 800
Math Level II- 740
World History- 730

Should I send all three of these scores? Or is one considered significantly weaker than any of the others?

2

SAT II only 740? Haha scrub B-)

3

I think it’s helpful to look at the percentiles, because there’s a much more significant curve on some than others. An 800 in Literature puts you in the 99th percentile and a 730 in World History puts you in the 80th percentile, but a 740 in Math II only puts you in the 65th percentile. So if I were you, I’d submit Lit and WH but not Math II.

(congratulations on your Lit score, by the way – that’s amazing!)

4

Percentiles are irrelevasnt to subject tests. Important instead is demonstrated proficiency in a subject and all your scores do that so send all. If percentiles controlled, you would often have no one sending math scores because an 800 on some of the math subject tests is no higher than 80th percentile.

5

I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say that percentiles are irrelevant. Seeing as an 800 in one test is not the same thing as an 800 in another test, and college admissions officers know this, these scores could be the difference between two applicants.

I’m certainly not arguing that an 800 in any subject is bad, but 15% of test takers get an 800 in math and only 1% get an 800 in literature. Admissions officers at OP’s schools probably see many applicants with 800s in math, so the 740 could be a major warning sign; conversely, they likely don’t see many 800s in literature, so that score will set OP apart.

6

Okay, so my (very) basic understanding of the SAT II tests is that a 700+ score is considered “proficient” in a subject. Is that wrong? I was considering sending Math II just for the sake of variety, because Math isn’t the strongest part of my application. Do you think that a 740 would accomplish what I’m looking for?