Hi there,
I’m applying to at least Harvard, Stanford and Princeton this winter, declaring Bio as my major and East Asian Studies as my minor/second choice (I’m Hispanic and European, not Asian). I took a total of seven different SAT subject tests but most of the scores aren’t very good. My scores are the following:
Biology M: 760
Biology E: 720
Physics: 680
Chemistry: 660
Math 2: 660
Chinese w Listening: 630
Latin: 600
My counselors didn’t know what advice to give me. Sending all my scores makes me look more ambitious but many of the scores aren’t even in the upper half!
Could you please help me?
These are my other stats, for more context:
SAT: 1470 (Math: 750 Lang: 720)
Grades: good but not perfect. Trouble after moving to the US.
AP: Total of 9 tests, passed all of them
IB Diploma candidate
Awards:
National awards for foreign language skills
AP Scholar Award with Distinction
National Hispanic Recognition Award
National Merit Scholarship Commendation
Extracurriculars: Tons
Transferred to US in 10th grade
Lots of traveling
Family Background: tough but educated
Essay: “mature and descriptive style”
I’m really nervous to submit my apps because my grades aren’t the best and I don’t want my application to look even worse because of my SAT subject tests. What do you guys think is better? Looking ambitious or sending only decent test scores?
IMO, sending all your scores (all seven of them!!) will make you look like a one-dimensional test-taking drone with nothing better to do on a Saturday. I’d tell you to just send the 2 best, but the bio tests are duplicative.
Yikes you must be one of the leaders in number of subject tests taken.
It seems to me that the Chinese score is pretty good for a non-native speaking Chinese person (I could be wrong) so i’d submit that one and the Bio M score. Especially since they are in line with your intended major and minor.
The most important thing for you to be focused on right now are the schools you are applying to which are NOT Harvard, Stanford and Princeton. Your SAT 2 tests could all be 780 and 800 and you STILL have a good chance of being rejected.
So go pick some schools with slightly higher admissions odds to fall in love with; you could send all of your current scores or some of your scores- but it might not make much of a difference.
You’ve already taken 9 AP tests- how is that even possible?
what do you mean you passed all AP tests? are those 3’s or are those 4’s and 5’s?
Those schools re highly unlikely for anyone, and I don’t really see how you stand out so much from the pack. To answer your question, if the schools don’t require SAT subjects, then I would only send that high Bio one. If they require 2, then I would send Chinese or Latin (or both), since they make you seem interesting even if you didn’t ace the test.
But you really need to take it down a notch and find another group of schools to focus on. You are competing against some serious stats.