What will colleges think of 7 attempts on the SAT II

Applying to College
1

I have taken quite a few sat IIs and I was wondering what the colleges will think of it.

Scores:

June 6, 2015: Chemistry: 710 Physics: 720
October 3, 2015: Chemistry: 690 Physics: 730
December 5, 2015: Math 2: 790 Physics: 780
January 23, 2016: Math 2: 780

For the colleges that require me to send all my scores, how will this look? Although my physics showed improvement, my chemistry and math 2 decreased a little. I plan to major in computer science and will submit only Math 2 and Physics to colleges that participate in score choice. I am right now worried that they will think I am obsessed over scores and frankly 7 sat IIs are a little overboard.

2

Hopefully you did not spend ton of time on the repeats. Good that you did no take any more than 2 times. Remember that even when you are applying to score choice schools, if you want to send one SAT2 you have to send all that were taken on that date. For you, that shouldn’t be an issue since you have not taken an absurd number of repeats.

3

Thanks for the input!

Could you clarify what you meant by “not spending a ton of time on the repeats”? Unfortunately, I actually did take physics a total of 3 times.

4

I did not read that correctly-sorry. I meant hopefully you did not let test taking and related tasks interfere with school or other activities. Competitive colleges, the only ones that require SAT 2s don’t want grinders who just study for tests and class. They want those involved in a range of other activities.

5

Oh, thanks for the clarification. Also, are you sure that when using score choice, you have to send all tests of the date of the test you want to send?

6

@lostaccount @Punisher1998 I don’t believe you have to send all subject tests taken on one test date with Score Choice. From CB’s web site:

You can choose which scores to send by test date for the SAT, and by individual test for SAT Subject Tests.

7

Correct.

To the OP, if all your target colleges accept score choice for Subject tests, they will never know that you even took them 7 times. Hopefully you don’t have (m)any colleges that require all scores for reasons that @lostaccount stated.

8

I have to wonder what you were thinking in retaking any of them when they were over 700, but the retake on Math 2 totally boggles my mind.

9

It was actually my college advisors suggestion. He argued that the percentile difference between a 790 and a 800 was large enough that I should take it again, especially since I plan to major in computer science.

So what will admission officers think when they view see all my scores?

10

Of course you should use ScoreChoice whenever you can. If a schools does see all 7 they will likely think that you spent too much time studying for and taking SATIIs but nothing you can do about it at this point.

11

Here is a list of colleges that actually have a rule for sending all scores, which rule itself varies among these colleges. There are only five, Georgetown, Duke, Cornell, Harvey Mudd, and Carnegie Mellon, that actually require all subject test scores, and all of those other than Georgetown assert they use the highest two if you submit more than two (Georgetown uses the highest three):

Georgetown requires all SAT, SAT subject test, and ACT scores.

Duke requires either all ACTs or, alternatively, all SATs and subject tests; if you submit any SAT or any subject test scores, you must submit both all SATs and all subject tests.

Stanford, Penn and Barnard require both all SATs and all ACTs, but you can send whatever subject test scores you want to send.

Yale requires either all SATs or all ACTs (if you decide to send both you must send all of both), but you can send whatever subject test scores you want to send.

Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and Harvey Mudd require either all SATs or all ACTs (and all of both if you decide to send both), plus all subject tests

UCs, Rice, and Tufts require all SATs if you send any SATs but you can send the ACTs or subject tests you want to send.

Syracuse requires all SAT scores if you send any SAT, but you can send whatever ACTs you want to send (it does not require or consider subject tests).

12

Well, IMO,that was pretty bad advice. There is really no difference between a 790 and an 800.

Asked and answered.

13

From above: “Remember that even when you are applying to score choice schools, if you want to send one SAT2 you have to send all that were taken on that date.”

That is not correct. If you identify a college in your SAT test application as one to automatically receive scores upon release (e.g., as one of your free sends) then you must send all subject tests taken on the test date. However, if you instead order scores sent after scores for the test date are released, you can choose to withhold one or more subject tests taken on that date.

14

Also, unless Penn changed their position recently, I spoke to them in December, and they said all subject test scores must be sent if you take them. I specifically asked because I thought their website was unclear.

15

While true, I would not be surprised if this changes this application cycle, as Penn has now made Subject Tests optional. Yale, as an example, used to require all Subject Tests scores, but changed that policy when they made them optional. As always, when in doubt, ask the college in question.

16

Penn made subject tests optional last August, but their online policy statement was so nebulous. That’s why I called.

17

A college admissions officer at Boston U once told me to send them all, because taking more tests shows you care about doing your best. Just a thought.

18

^ bad idea. Only send them all if required to.
It looks a bit too much frankly.

19

@dragonfly26 because a school like BU would welcome an overachiever like this. Some other schools might not – those concerned with grade or test score obsessed automotons, which hopefully the OP can convince that he/she isn’t.

20

@skieurope I actually think he was right to retake the Math 2, at least per counselor’s advice. The Math 2 percentiles are so skewed-- a perfect 800 is in the 80s percentile-wise. So there is a tangible difference between the perfect score, and the 790. Also the curve is 6 raw points, so 800 sort of just says, alright, this person is a good mathematician. Whereas the 790, yes, may only be 1 question difference compared to an 800, but equally, that 800 could have been somebody aced the test. So having the 800 obscures the number of wrong questions and would push OP to the perfect category. Although numerically it seems minor, a large volume of CS applicants would probably have perfect scores, so since he was retaking Physics anyway, it was easy enough to just take Math 2 also. Just what I think. (Although personally I wouldn’t retake a 790, and that’s coming from somebody who probably got right on that borderline today taking the Math 2.)