<p>Does Caltech admission favors applicants who have more high-scoring SAT IIs than those that do well but only taking two required SAT IIs? </p>
<p>I have taken only Math IIc and Physics, and got 800s for both. The school counselor thinks it would only help with more high scoring SAT IIs. But I wonder if it actually makes any difference.</p>
<p>Everything makes a difference. The application process is a holistic one, so they look at everything.</p>
<p>Put yourself in Caltech's place; play admissions officer.
If you had two outstanding students with great grades and great scores, both of whom wrote good essays and are highly commended by their teachers, but one had five or six subject tests with 800s, and the other had only two, who would you pick?</p>
<p>Will it hurt you not to have them? They may wonder why you stopped at two, but they won't care... unless they're sizing you up against someone else, in which case every aspect of your being matters, and that includes a few more SAT IIs.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<ul>
<li>Timur</li>
</ul>
<p>While I think extra 800's would help slightly, they're common enough in our pool that perhaps your extra time would be better spent adding to your application in some other ways, like making your essays extra-awesome or doing some research. It can't hurt to get those extra scores, but I wouldn't fret much about it.</p>