I am applying to Stanford as an engineering major. I was planning to take the SAT subject tests in October but was unable to change my registration from SAT I to SAT II because of an error from CollegeBoard that occurred due to a discrepancy regarding my school’s status as an SAT II test center. I signed up for the waitlist but did not receive a spot.
At this point, I can either apply REA without any subject test scores or RD with them. Would my AP scores ( 5s on 9 exams including Physics C and Calc BC) make up for my lack of SAT IIs? Between REA and RD, which option would increase my admission prospects the most?
I wouldn’t get your hopes up either way. They get SO MANY highly qualified candidates and they have only a few slots. It’s not that you won’t get in, it’s just thst, even with perfect stats, the odds are stacked against you. Unless you’re a legacy, you’d better have some alternatives.
With that said, even though your chances are probably higher REA, you’ll likely automatically miss the first cut by not having SAT II scores. I’d take them and apply RD.
I’m in the same situation. Honestly I find it unfathomable that a college would even care about SAT Math 2 if somebody already has a 5 in Calc BC. The difficulty of Calc BC is orders of magnitudes of miles ahead of that of the SAT Math subject test. Same for physics vs AP Physics C.
It’s a hoop, one of many they use to narrow their gigantic, highly qualified applicant field. It’s a metaphor for many things that will follow in life.
Personally, I think the SAT II tests are kind of rubbish and really disadvantage certain groups, particularly ones from socioeconomically disadvantaged students or those without a community of people who know these games and tests. (I was from a small town in the midwest and hadn’t heard of SAT IIs until fall of my senior year, which ended up being incredibly limiting.) If you’ll have a chance to take the test later and apply RD, that seems like a better option.
Honestly, it really doesn’t matter either way. Those schools turn down 30 students for every one they let in, probably more than that for engineering admissions.
I remember that a bunch of those high-end Ivy type schools “recommended” SAT II subject tests, so you might get weeded out of the application pool automatically without them. But having them really doesn’t change your resume at all. You’re already qualified as it is, most of the 30 other applicants aiming for that one seat are too, and it’s pretty much just down to luck from there.
If it were me, I’d just wait and take the subject test later to check that box off (and I really doubt they’d care about a letter from your school). But the odds don’t change a lot either way.
When I was doing this process, I viewed the Ivies and private schools as lottery tickets, just throwing my name in their hat with no expectation of success. I focused much more on the state schools that I was likely to get in to. In the end, every private I applied to turned me down and every public accepted me, so it ended up being a good approach to take.