Hi! I just took the sat subject test for history. I was just wondering what a good score generally is. Thanks!
I received a 740 on history. Is that too low for schools like University of Michigan and University of California Berkeley?
Did you take it for US history or World history? Either way, a 740 on either test places you in the 81st percentile, which is pretty good. (from http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Subject-Tests-Percentile-Ranks-2012.pdf)
Neither Berkeley nor UMich require subject tests for admission. The score will be nice to include in your applications to both schools, but it isn’t going to make or break your chance at admissions since both schools practice holistic admissions. Your score may be used to place you in history courses once you are in college, but you will need to check each school’s website to see if they do this and to check if your score will qualify.
I took AP Us History.
I just got my US History score from Collegeboard for the May administration - 800, but that only put me in the 97th percentile. With that being said, top colleges are becoming very competitive, so if you’re looking at Ivy League schools, a score of 750+ is pretty good.
Do not focus on percentile. Schools that use subject tests are looking for proficiency in the subject and anything above 700 tends to show that. Percentiles for subject tests are skewed because those who take subject tests are students applying to high ranked colleges and thus generally have high GPA’s. If being in the 90th and higher percentile were the measure, then in many cases everyone who scores 800 on a math 2 test would be considered ignorant because 800 is often no higher than the 80th percentile.