<p>There are only a small number of colleges that accept the ACT in replacement for SAT plus subject tests. I know Swarthmore is one. I am sure other posters can name more. But my kids applied to 18 colleges between the two of them. Swarthmore was the only one that did this, although several did not require any subject tests. A few schools have specific subject tests they want (eg, Harvey Mudd requires the SAT Math II test). Some schools say they are “optional”, and some explicitly state that they won’t look at them (St. Mary’s College of Maryland would be an example of that). But I think a strong subject test can help show depth in a given area for a candidate. Or breadth (not that colleges care so much about that) if they can do very will in disparate subjects (eg, Literature and Physics, or something like that). My D did very well in on the Literature and Math II tests, and sent them to all of her colleges.</p>
<p>You might note that the curve varies among them. The College Board (that money absorbing institution that you are about to become acquainted with!) publishes a list that shows what percentile a given score falls in for each subject test:</p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; </p>
<p>I often see people saying on these boards that their given subject test score was pretty good, then they name a score that was only 50th percentile (not so good for the top schools that often want the scores). So this is just helpful to really judge the true quality of any given subject test score.</p>
<p>If you have started to put together a college list at all, you can look at their websites and see if they want Subject Tests. Your son might not apply to any colleges that require them.</p>