<p>Okay, I know this question will make some people roll their eyes. But please understand that it's a sincere one and that I'm asking it as humbly as I possibly can. Oh, and I posted in this forum, rather than the dedicated subject tests section, in hopes of reaching a relatively wide audience.</p>
<p>With that out of the way...</p>
<p>I'm a current HS junior, and I'm planning on applying next year to some very selective colleges. My stats are in range, and although they're pretty well balanced with ECs and leadership, my main strength for college admissions is my academic record. To supplement this area, I took the US History subject test this month, and I'm signed up to take Math II, Chemistry, and Literature in June.</p>
<p>The problem is Literature. I'm pretty confident that I can do well on the other tests, but I know of no way to guarantee an 800 on Lit. I've been taking Kaplan subject tests and haven't consistently gotten that result, and I'm worried that I won't manage it on the real thing, either.</p>
<p>My question is this. Would it look better to take Literature and possibly/probably end up with a score in the 700s...or take only the other two and have a greater chance--yes, I know it's only a chance--of ending up with three 800s? (Only two tests are usually required.)</p>
<p>Thanks for any input. (And sorry for being so verbose.)</p>
<p>No college that requires SAT subject tests requires more than two. Johns Hopkins and Georgetown do not require subject tests but recommend three. If you intend to apply engineering, you are likely to need a math and science to apply to a college that requires or recommends subject scores. In any event, there is no college in the nation to which you need to submit more than three subject test scores so dropping literature would be fine and have no impact on anything. Most of the colleges that require subject scores will use highest two if you send more than two. Harvard and Princeton, which require two, will consider any subject test scores you send but that includes considering any low scores against you so be careful what you do.</p>
<p>Additional tests won’t give you any advantage. Just take the three you feel you will do best on. Very few people manage to get 800’s on Lit anyway, so you don’t need one to guarantee an acceptance.</p>
<p>A 790 on Literature is in the 99th percentile. Several scores in the upper 700s are at an equal or higher percentile than an 800 on most other tests.</p>
<p>
Incorrect, Georgetown requires three. They changed the wording to “strongly recommend,” but an admissions officer clarified for me that it was a de facto requirement, and they changed the wording just because they were willing to lower it for people with very strong reasons for unusual circumstances that made it impossible to take them (many countries have testing for the SAT I but not the SAT II).</p>
<p>Anything less than 800=bad?!?!?! A 720 on the Literature test is as impressive as an 800 on the Math II test, so I don’t really know where you get that idea from.</p>
<p>I didn’t say that anything less than 800 is bad! I’m wondering whether it’s worth taking the extra test (#4) if I’m not sure it will be an 800, that’s all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tables, though. Interesting.</p>
<p>You called any score below 800 “not as good” as your projected 800s, which, while technically true, is not a valid statement in context.</p>
<p>To quote myself,</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Now apply some of that critical thinking to what I said.</p>
<p>Do you want to take the Lit test? If yes, sign up. Not getting an 800 will not harm you in any way. In fact, anything above the low 700s will look great on your resume.</p>