Subject Test retake: what happens if I score lower/the same/only a little bit higher?

I retook my Subject Tests today because I had 770s in Chem (2014) and Math 2 (2015). I am 99.9% sure I got an 800 in Chem, but not so sure about math. I don’t want to cancel my scores because I know that means cancelling chem will hurt me big time. Max I scored in math is 800, but I know I did at least 740-760+. I’m applying to schools that require the Math 2 and my entire testing history. If my math score turns out lower, will it hurt me?

no. schools know scores can vary. They will look at your best sittings

Don’t worry scores do vary from sitting to sitting and high scores often go down a little instead of up.

@mathmom so a score of 750 or so won’t hurt me?

No it will be fine anywhere.

No ones going to ask what’s on everyone’s minds? Why on earth were you retaking 770s?

@iwannabe_Brown I didn’t like them, and I was confident I could score 800s in both. I’m literally the only non-800 SAT 2 Math 2 in my school and grade that I know. I feel like a failure, and do you know how much that sucks with all the other sht I have on my shoulders? No one has any right to judge me for doing this unless they are in my position. Someone told me that not 800 means not Asian. I can’t face the stigma.

I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s too late for you to do anything about it now, but for future applicants reading this - your time would be better spent doing other things to build your apps than trying to improve your SAT2s by 30, especially given the likely chance that your score does not go up or even goes down.

@iwannabe_Brown I’m getting an 800 chem, so it wasn’t a total waste of a Saturday morning.

True, my point though is that what you (or any future person in your shoes) gained from an admissions perspective by retaking a 770 to an 800 is not as much as one could have gained from doing other things with that time spent prepping and retaking.

@basedchem: Have you done other things that set you apart from the general Asian grouping of exceptional activities? The question goes to this: When the standard for what you are willing to delve into, the risks you are willing to take, and the assessment for whether you have achieved or succeeded is set by those outside of yourself, you are always in a losing position.

Brown was not seeking to hurt you, but to ask you to consider that the attributes you have which are expressed in your individual strengths, unique to you, may better have been served and strengthened by turning attention there.

If you are Asian, can anyone tell you you are not? My son is not Asian, and people sought to tell him he was not Asian, which was stupid. One Asian kid questioned how my son could be Black, also stupid.

You are probably an amazing young person. Don’t forget the applications and presentations you will make to colleges and universities will be looking for that person, not the Asian 800.

Good luck to you.