Submit ACT = No need for Subject tests?

Test Preparation
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<p>Actually, I believe it’s a smart move. If students typically take the SAT, and a college says they prefer the ACT, and a student is willing to go out of their way to study for the ACT, it shows commitment. And, if a state is mostly SAT, that means that a lot of students have been studying for the SAT since they were in 6th or 8th grade. (I saw a movie where the kid was in 4th grade going into SAT prep courses). But that’s just what I think, not what I know.</p>

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<p>Georgetown is the only college that still requires three (rather than two) SAT IIs and requires them regardless of whether you submit SAT or ACT. However, Northwestern and Johns Hopkins, neither of which require SAT IIs, recommend three. Also, Harvard, which now requires only two (was three until very recently) says it will consider any SAT IIs submitted instead of just the highest two if you submit more than two.</p>

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<p>@Drusba:</p>

<p>For Northwestern, If I submit math 1 and math 2 and Chemistry, does that count as a reasonable 3?</p>

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<p>^Most colleges say not to take Math I and Math II and try to use them as two separate tests</p>

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<p>Colleges that require IIs usually want them in different subjects. With Northwestern it is not an issue of meeting a requirement. It recommends three, you are still considered even if you send none. Thus, if you send three but two are math, you will still be considered whether anyone there thinks that is two or three.</p>

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<p>Oh, okay. If I score poorly on one, will that affect my chances negatively and would I be better off not doing that?</p>

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<p>It seems that all the colleges I am considering (Mich, Rice, Rose Hulman, RPI) will take the ACT in place, so I will mainly focus on the ACT over the summer.</p>

<p>However, I will consider some UCs so I will still try on 2 subject tests.</p>

<p>However for the UCs, can you submit ACT + SAT Subject tests or do you also have to send in the SAT reasoning test?</p>

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<p>UCs take ACT plus two SAT IIs. Just a note about Rose Hulman. It takes SAT or ACT. For ACT it uses only the english and math section for admission (and ignores reading, science and composite, Gtech is another engineering school that does that). For SAT, it does not use the writing section. It also superscores both tests meaning if you submit more than one, it takes the highest sections scores from the combined tests. Also, and I am not aware of any other college that does this, for admission it will use highest section scores from combined ACT and SAT – example, if your ACT math is considered higher than SAT math and your SAT critical reading is considered higher than ACT English score, it will use the ACT math and the SAT critical reading to determine admission.</p>

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<p>In the subject test column, many schools say “2 if submitting
only SAT” none of them say 2 if submitting
only ACT"; none of them say 2 if submitting
SAT or ACT"; does that mean you need to submit 2 subject tests if submitting SAT but same is not true if submitting ACT? In other words, you need to submit SAT + 2 subject tests OR ACT w/writing.</p>

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<p>Bella, I can’t tell if you’re asking a question or answering the OP (who has been gone for three years now). If a question, it would be better to link to a school to see the language because I don’t understand what you’re really asking. The schools I looked at are clear in what they want.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.prepmatters.com/sites/default/files/TopColleges-2013Entry.pdf[/url]”>http://www.prepmatters.com/sites/default/files/TopColleges-2013Entry.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Erin’s Dad,</p>

<p>I was asking a question based on the above list.</p>

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<p>This is an old thread with a new question. Bella1234, for that list at the site you provide, if it says “2 if submitting only SAT” under the Subject Tests column, that means the college takes the ACT in lieu of both the SAT and SAT subject tests. If it says “2 Required” that means you need two subject tests regardless of whether you submit SAT or ACT. Be aware that list itself needs to be updates. Columbia now accepts ACT in lieu of both SAT and subject tests so it should not be listed as “2 if submitting only SAT” rather than “2 Required.”</p>

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<p><a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/MemberRequirements.aspx[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/MemberRequirements.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>See the “Sat/ACT Test Used”</p>

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<p>Bella1234, just adding further and to get this list into one place.</p>

<p>There are exactly 28 colleges in the US that actually require subject tests and all require two. McGill in Canada adds one to make 29 such colleges in the world. Of those, 18 take the ACT (w/writing with one exception noted below) in lieu of both the SAT and subject tests. They are:</p>

<p>Amherst
Barnard
Boston U
Brown
Bryn Mawr
Columbia
Duke
Haverford
McGill
Pomona
Rice
Swarthmore
Tufts
Penn
Vassar
Wellesley
Wesleyan (and writing in ACT not required)
Yale</p>

<p>The remaining 11 require two subject tests regardless of whether you submit SAT or ACT. Those are:</p>

<p>Caltech
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell
Dartmouth
Franklin Olin College of Engineering
Harvard
Harvey Mudd
MIT
Princeton
Webb Institute
Williams</p>

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<p>So why is the ACT a replacement for SAT Subject tests? I don’t get it, the ACT should replace SAT I not SAT II’s… Or is it just so colleges don’t have to mingle the different services?? I have a solid ACT score, and solid Subject Tests, but I won’t be able to submit both at some schools.</p>

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<p>The why is not something colleges really explain. The ACT is designed to test more what you actually learned in high school than the SAT and thus that may be a factor since the subject tests do the same. It may also just be a reflection that the colleges are not as anal about the importance and value of the subject tests as many applicants believe they are. In any event, as with many things in the college application process, the why is of little importance; what matters is just what is accepted.</p>

<p>Also, I have one error in my list above. I meant to put Boston College in the list of those that accept ACT in lieu of both SAT and SAT subject tests, not Boston U. Boston U dropped its requirement for subject tests a couple years ago.</p>

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<p>I took the ACT (I’m a Midwesterner) and the only reason I’ve even heard of subject tests is because I use this forum. Our school only ever talks about the ACT and I had to drive ~45 minutes to take the subject tests, even though I’m in a suburb of the most metro area in my state. I believe the private/predatory schools here push the SAT, but not a lot of the public schools. Though none of the schools I will apply to require subject tests with the ACT, I still took them so I can put myself on an even playing field with the SAT takers. At a lot of these elite schools, a majority of the applicants (upwards of 75%) seem to be submitting SAT scores. I’d like to show that I have a good ACT score AND subject test scores, even though I didn’t take the SAT I. That’s just my input. If you take AP classes and have the time/money, taking the SAT IIs can’t hurt. I did minimal prep and got a 760 and 790, so I definitely think that could be a tiny boost for my application!</p>