<p>I see lots of folks presenting many SAT subject test scores. My daughter is planning to do SCEA to harvard and RD to several other schools that require two Subject tests. She did two in May and performed well. (Math 2 790 and chemistry 790) I've been planning for her to do another one or two in June. But she is questioning why she should- these scores are strong and meet the requirement.<br>
Does anyone have any insight on the admissions benefit of taking, and submitting, more than the minimum required subject tests?</p>
<p>I don’t think there are many schools that require 3 subject tests unless you’re homeschooled. Georgetown is an example of a school that requires 3. The only question in my mind would be what your daughter plans to major in. If it’s a non-STEM field, it might be nice to show strength in one of the other subject areas. My D also did very well on her May subject tests in Math 2 and Chemistry, but is also signed up to take US History on 6/7. She figures she prepped so hard for the APUSH test that prepping for the subject test won’t be a lot of additional work. On the other hand, some highly selective schools want to see all your scores, so I wouldn’t recommend just taking random subject tests that she doesn’t feel ready for.</p>
<p>Your DD scored 2x 790. You should consider her finished w/Subject tests. Any school that will reject her won’t do so because she didn’t submit 2 800s. Her questioning of you is right on. Don’t do it.</p>
<p>That’s exactly her quandary - she’s busting with APUSH trivia at the moment and so the time is right for doing the SAT USH but she would be thrilled to not take it. I am sympathetic to her argument after 5 APs and the subject tests this month!</p>
<p>And I realize they’re not required, but will it harm her admission packet to only do the minimum?</p>
<p>I don’t see the value of taking more than 2 when you’ve got great scores already unless the place you want to go requires 3. If your daughter has similarly great SAT/ACT scores then she has demonstrated her test taking brilliance to an adequate degree for any elite college. Taking 3 certainly wouldn’t be horrible, but the folks who take 5-7 are probably kidding themselves if they think that’s gonna be the thing that gets them into their favorite school. Similarly, the kids who take 12-15 AP tests when they’ve taken 6-8 AP classes are also probably wasting their time. All the elite schools prize great academic ability but once that’s demonstrated it seems that they’re looking for something else and not just more of that “I’m really, really great at school and testing” piece.</p>
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If she’s applying to schools that are going to evaluate her holistically, YES harm can come. A reader might say: why does she waste her time taking and re-taking test after test akin to searching for trophies when her equally academically qualified competitor (as proven by submission of only 2 tests) is out doing something useful.</p>
<p>Top colleges do NOT want test-taking robots. Didja see the recent post where Harvard is going to loosen its requirement for some applicants who may not have taken the subject tests? SAT IIs are solely the realm of the well-informed and well-resourced. Harvard likes these kids but also wants to admit kids who ONLY took the ACT once and achieved a 32 – because no one in their school district ever takes an exam twice and maybe 3 people even know what a SAT2 test even is.</p>
<p>The OP is asking a specific question about 2 vs. 3 different subject tests, not a situation of retaking the same test multiple times or stacking on 12-15 AP tests. I think that it’s perfectly fine and reasonable to stick with her two already high scores. I think the OP should take her cue from her D who apparently doesn’t really want to take the 3rd. My D, on the other hand, feels “loaded for bear” after studying for APUSH and is more than willing to spend one hour on a Saturday to take one more test. Also we will be touring Georgetown while on a family vacation to DC this summer, and in case she likes it, we want to be prepared with the 3rd test.</p>
<p>On the other hand, her two tests are math and science, and the schools she’s aiming for (as per other thread) place a premium on subject tests. Since she’s already prepared for APUSH, taking the US History Subject test wouldn’t be much work and showing “range” is appreciated. However, she doesn’t need to prep for a 790… anything 700+ would be fine.</p>
<p>@Corinthian GTown doesn’t require 3…</p>
<p>It’s strongly recommended, but not required.</p>
<p>Yes, the wording is “strongly recommended.” <a href=“http://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation/#TRE”>http://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation/#TRE</a>
That’s pretty darn close to “required” in my book.</p>
<p>Everyone I know who has ever applied or considered applying to G-town quotes the same required three subject tests.</p>
<p>As for the OP, I do not think it will harm your daughter to just take 2. My son only took two SAT subject tests and was accepted SCEA at Harvard. (Of course, this is not causal, just anecdotal.) He took the SATs once and then the two subject tests and said, “I don’t need to spend any more time taking tests.” Let your daughter make the decision. She has done very well and taking one more subject test isn’t going to make the difference.</p>
<p>Currently, there is no college in the US require 3 SAT2 anymore. However, certain programs may still require additional SAT2. For instance, Integrated Science at Northwestern requires Math2, Physics. and Chem.</p>
<p>Just want to point out that in another thread where the OP asked this same question, Sally Rubenstone said: “Regardless of what the colleges may tell you, I think that students shooting for the MOST selective colleges, like Harvard, are well served by sending in more than the two required Subject Tests, especially if these scores show off strengths in a diversity of areas and in those areas that are not tested by the SAT or ACT (e.g., US History). But, I still advocate quality over quantity. So I don’t push the “extra” Subject Tests unless the student feels that he or she can do well on them.” <a href=“Harvard "Loosens" Subject Test Requirement - #4 by Sally_Rubenstone - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>Harvard "Loosens" Subject Test Requirement - #4 by Sally_Rubenstone - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums. I totally agree that the OP should let her D make the call. My D happens to be up for the 3rd test. If she wasn’t, I definitely would drop the matter.</p>
<p>My kids attended a specialized math and science high school that required students NOT taking an AP course to take the SAT Subject Test at the end of the year in whatever course they were taking. The end result was that every student from the high school (860+ students) applied with multiple AP and SAT Subject tests – and Admissions Directors who follow the school understand the school’s policy, so they get it when kids (like mine) applied with 8 SAT Subject Tests and 8 AP’s. But, that is NOT normal – and AO’s understand that too. Most students apply with just the minimum number of SAT Subject Tests required by each college, and that’s fine! If you come from a high school where there isn’t an “over the top” policy on SAT Subject Tests, AO’s may question your sanity to take more than the required amount – especially when your scores are all in the 700+ range.</p>
<p>I would personally push for more tests only if my student had something to prove. For example coming from mediocre high school where the rigor is questioned or having some unfortunate grades in the transcript that do not represent the student’s knowledge. Other than that I would advise to use prep and testing time to strengthen EC’s. </p>
<p>I think she should go ahead and take it, especially if she is already well-prepared via APUSH. It’s only an hour-long MC test. If she doesn’t do well, don’t submit the score. I didn’t think the “submit all scores” lingo applied to Subject Tests anywhere, but I could be wrong. Like others, I agree that it will show well-roundedness paired with the Math II and Chem. My ds had those two by the end of his junior year, but he did apply to Georgetown, so he did lit in the fall of his senior year. I agree with @Corinthian who quoted the other thread. For selective schools, more is better. She will be compared to those who do have “more.”</p>
<p>If OP is taking APUSH, it may be a good idea to take the USH SAT2 too. It is a small fee but it will also get you 4 free score reports. Also, some schools want to see SAT2 from humanities. Nevertheless, it is not necessary unless the school require that. I was a bit regret that my D did not take the USH SAT2 in sophomore right after the APUSH. I tried to convince her to take it in Fall but she said it will take too much time to review the materials (even she got 5 in APUSH). She ended up with SAT2 in Math2 and Chem only but that is sufficient for all the schools she applied.</p>
<p>@billcsho – RE: four free score reports….I may be completely wrong about this, but I thought that the student had to select the four schools prior to seeing the test score and that all testing history would be sent along with that day’s subject test score. Is that correct? I am not fully familiar with all of CB’s reporting rules, but I thought I recalled that.</p>
<p>I always wondered what happens with scores sent before an applicant’s Sr year. Are they held in an electronic file or do schools ‘sweep’ the applicant files before the start of a new admission cycle?</p>