The Importance of the SAT Subject Tests

<p>Right now I'm studying for the SAT II's (U.S. History, Math II, and Literature) and I'm really wondering how much weight these tests carry.</p>

<p>Frankly, I'm tired of these standardized tests and don't want to retake them in the fall.</p>

<p>My question is, will doing really well on these give me an extra bump in the admissions process? And will doing poorly on them severely lessen my chances?</p>

<p>I'm aiming to get at least 700 on each, though I told myself I wouldn't retake any of them unless my score was below 600.</p>

<p>So, I guess you can use that as a benchmark. Will getting below a 700 on any of these tests really decrease my chances of being accepted into various colleges?</p>

<p>In case it helps, I'm looking at Stanford, Duke, UNC, UVA, Georgetown, UCLA, and Berkeley.</p>

<p>I know every single other part of my application will put me in contention at these schools, so will not scoring tremendously on these tests really hurt me?</p>

<p>For Stanford definitely, go for a 750 on each test. I’d recommend retakes below 700.
For Duke, go for the same, but in the 700s is fine. Maybe retakes below 670 or 650? I’m less familiar with their level of selectivity.
Despite the fact that I applied to Georgetown, I’m not 100% sure where one should shoot, but I’d say above 650, 670 to be comfy, and retake below 600. The others might also fall into this category.</p>

<p>Your plan is fine for Georgetown and its ilk, but if you’re serious about your reaches (not trying to imply anything about your academics; Duke and Stanford schools are reaches for pretty much everyone) you really shouldn’t be too comfortable with your scores falling in the 600s, not if you can prevent it.</p>

<p>Yeah, I think I will retake anything below a 680.</p>

<p>When I wrote this, I was feeling very bogged down by having to study for all three tests in such a short amount of time.</p>

<p>But after thinking about it, I know I’ll get 700+ on U.S. History and I’ll likely get 700+ on Math II. I’m just worried about Literature, where I don’t think I’ll get 700+ if I plan to study for my target scores on the first two tests.</p>

<p>Though, now that I think about it, I’ll probably be much more willing to retake my Literature test after I have a whole summer to relax.</p>

<p>When is the first date for the SAT usually? Early October? If I retake my Literature test then, is my score ready for the early action deadline?</p>

<p>You’ll definitely need 750+ for stanford and probably duke as well. 700+ for cal, la, georgetown, to compete with other applicants because a 700 would probably put you in low-middle percentile.</p>

<p>Stanford does not actually require SAT II scores but highly recommends them and they can have an impact on admission. “Doing really well” will mean you are just like 80% or more of those who apply to Stanford – meaning they don’t give you any great advantage over others but if you even want to be considered for admission you better “do really well.” Duke, UCLA, Berkeley and Georgetown all require IIs and they definitely have an impact and like Stanford you need to “do really well” to be in the running. UVa does not require them but recommends them and they can have an impact. UNC neither requires nor recommends them but will consider them if submitted but most who apply and are admitted do not submit IIs.</p>