So Harvard recommends the subject sats (SAT IIs) unless there is a financial barrier, but I don’t know if I should submit mine. My relevant stats are the following:
SAT II Biology E: 700
SAT II Math 2: 730
SAT: 1590 (790 reading/verbal, 800 math)
I feel as if the SAT IIs would detract from my overall portfolio, and my only hesitation is that Harvard highly recommends sending them.
Do you think submitting these SAT IIs would make a big difference, or should I withhold the scores?
Are there hints of a “financial barrier” on your application? Did both of your parents attend college? Is your high school private, or one that would be recognized by even semi-experienced AOs? Are you submitting a large number of AP scores? Does your essay refer to world travel or does it talk about working at McDonalds/babysitting your younger brother all summer? Do you play hockey, or participate in some other expensive sport?
Any whiff of being middle class or higher, and you probably should submit subject scores. Are you applying for this fall? Do you have time to retake them?
I have applied through CommonApp for the Fall of 2020.
Well, there are hints about the medical expenses for the surgical removal of my dad’s brain tumor. But overall, my family has an income of 150k/year, so I would say the financial barrier would not apply.
My highschool is public, but it is a top-ranked school in my state (FL), and I am part of the IB program.
I only have two 5s on the AP Exams, but I have taken more AP courses, so I don’t know if I should just put two because then they can infer that the other ones weren’t as good. My essays refer to music and dance.
Sports-wise, I play varsity tennis for my school and do taekwondo (where I am currently a black belt).
I am part of the middle class. I don’t have time to retake, so these are final.
I guess the main dilemma is that I don’t think the SAT IIs will add to my overall application, and even is Harvard thinks that I just didn’t submit my scores, they will expect a 750 or something as I got 1590 on the SAT. And that’s why I’m uncertain about what I should do.
For what it’s worth, a well known and respected college admissions counselor who run$ a private Facebook group advises to never send anything under a 750 subject test to an elite school. This same counselor also advises that many elite schools are being less demanding of subject tests than a few years ago.
Ok thank you!
I have to disagree. I would send the scores. The school specifically states that SAT IIs are recommended. I’d do it just to check the box. 700+ is fine. They won’t nix you for those scores. If you don’t get in it’ll be something else. If you had a 580 or 620 I’d think differently. Not sending them is one less data point in your favor. Sending them is a neutral data point that confirms you’re a strong student. Maybe those weren’t your best pieces of data but they are good enough. My 2 cents anyway. Good luck
Subject tests are really important especially for an international student
I am worried mainly because the average score for my SAT is 795 for each section. If I give my SAT IIs, they are both below this average at 700 and 730. Wouldn’t this harm my score at least a little? If I don’t submit it, they may assume that I scored at least a 740 or 750 on it instead of knowing that I scored a 700 and a 730.
I also am not an international student, so I feel as if this may be something that may slide.
No one on this board knows for sure. This is what I’ve heard from Harvard admissions officers: Harvard has so many applicants that they can choose the ones who submit subject tests and score well over those who do not submit (without a reason) or who score lower. Most applicants who are not disadvantaged will need to submit good scores to be admitted because almost all other admitted students have those credentials. Compared to SAT/ACT scores, subject test scores can be better predictors of success at Harvard, and the only reason they’re not required any longer is to give flexibility to otherwise compelling applicants.
I guess that if you are someone like David Hogg or an Olympic athlete or the child of a billionaire or a refugee who has overcome major struggles, you can stand out without the scores.
So I asked this question of the admissions officer last summer during our tour. My son was freaking out because somewhere he read if you don’t have 800 on Math 2 you are out of luck. He got a 790 and was heartbroken. (Y’all if a kid getting a 790 on a Math II was that stressed out we have a serious problem with the craziness of college admissions, but I digress) Anyway, what she said to me was no, he didn’t have to resit even though that only put him in the 77th percentile or something like that. That parents often don’t believe them when they say that those subject tests are just there to make sure the students can do the work. So whether it’s “800, 790, 780 it makes no difference” to them when they are looking at applications. They pretty much just check a box. That said, I don’t know what that bottom of that is.
I do have a friend who sends her sons to an exclusive and high powered private school in Seattle and they have dozens of students every year that head off the Ivies. She said that their college counselor at the school says above 700 is necessary and if you don’t get that to plan on retaking.
The admissions officer will spend less than a minute reading all of your test scores. Your SAT II scores will be two short lines in a page jam-packed with other information much more important than your subject tests. These scores are fine. They won’t get you denied or accepted, but they will surely check a box for at least having them.
Now, if you’re going into a highly competitive STEM field like CS, they might not look stellar, but it will be much better than “faking” a financial burden.