I’m looking at several schools which recommend (but don’t require) SAT subject tests. I would really like to avoid taking them if possible, but I’m afraid that doing so will affect my chances of admission. My SAT scores are high (most likely between 1510 and 1580, though I have yet to receive them) and my GPA is above a 4.0. Will not taking the SAT subject tests have a serious effect on my admission chances, or will my SAT I score completely make up for it? (Some of the schools I’m considering are Barnard, Cornell, Georgetown, and Brown…) Any and all advice is appreciated!
Thank you 
Do you have a good (financial) reason to not take them?
My understanding is that “recommended” really means “required for all kids who can afford to take them without any hardship.”
If you don’t take them, it leaves a hole in your application, that most other kids will have filled.
IMHO, it is a risk.
^or if you go to a high school where pretty much no kids take the SAT II because no kids have ever applied to a school where they are recommended, and neither the teachers nor the guidance counselors thought to mention it to a student. This is another big reason why they’ve been moved to recommended. A kid who ends up looking at applications and says “What’s an SAT II?”. This doesn’t sound like your situation.
^That was me, sadly. Unfortunately the school I was looking at actually REQUIRED them so I was super underprepared for the exams
If the schools recommend that you take them, and you don’t take them, it will have a negative impact on your application.
You will be at a disadvantage at the schools you mentioned without the subject tests. Remember you are competing with students with similar stats so you don’t want to do anything that could make you stand out in a negative way.
Only one of my daughter’s schools recommended the subject tests. It was her high reach and not her first choice so she opted to not take them and just focus on her applications. She knew it was a long shot and that even if she were accepted, she wouldn’t go there. She basically applied because her GC told her she needed a reach.
If one of those reach schools is your preferred school, take the tests.
Response I gave to my son for the same question.
You can expect there to be a consequence for not putting in the effort to complete a “requirement” that others you are competing against are completing. Different story if you had a legitimate excuse but otherwise I would strongly suggest taking them or anticipate a negative effect.
FYI I don’t think Georgetown defines them as optional.
@infjuliette - @Nocreativity1 is correct. Georgetown actually requires 3 SAT Subject Test scores (From Admissions website: “Scores from College Board SAT Subject Tests (must be) sent directly from the testing service”), and I agree with all the other posters above that unless you are unable to pay and unable receive a fee waiver, all of the schools above will look at the subject test scores as further validation of your academic strengths and focus. And I’m basing this advice on my own daughter’s application experience at Barnard. She was personally contacted by the Admissions folks because (oddly) they hadn’t received the scores she sent along with her SAT scores. Once they received them they called her to thank her for getting them to them quickly. She was subsequently admitted. If you have any questions about Barnard or Brown, please feel free to send me a private message. Best of luck!
Agree. I heard an admission officer from an Ivy League school specifically address this topic. He said that his school changed the SAT II to recommended from required so as to not put people at a disadvantage who 1) come from an area where SAT II exams are not typically offered and 2)so as not to hurt disadvantaged applicants who may have trouble paying for the additional exams. This makes me believe that a student who can schedule and pay for the exams should do so, especially when he/she will be applying to very competitive colleges.
@happy1 So, if one’s high school does not have a history/record of providing SAT II, then AO’s are fine with that?
This topic has been discussed many times before including:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2027962-sat-subject-tests-are-not-truly-optional-for-middle-upper-middle-class-applicants-at-elite-colleges-p1.html
While Subject Tests are “recommended,” my belief is the reason many schools have switched to “recommended” is that some applicants from a lower socioeconomic status (SES) can’t afford more tests and/or the applicants attend a HS where no students apply to colleges where Subject Tests are requested, and therefore, may not have received the best advice from a GC.
If that does not apply to you, I am of the opinion that colleges at the top tier who request Subject Tests are expecting them from all other applicants. Although everyone will have a story about someone who was admitted without Subject Tests, my view in these cases is that there was probably more to the story (e.g. seriously hooked or lower SES).
For the schools that the Subject Tests are “recommended,” particularly those with very low acceptance rates, I am at a loss why an applicant would not want to submit as strong an application as possible. Now if the OP took Subjects Tests and had scores that were not ideal, then maybe we can have a discussion about the best course of action. But it seems to me that the OP does not even want to attempt Subject Tests.
Subject Tests are “recommended” at Georgetown. From their websight “It is strongly recommended that all candidates, whether they have taken the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT, submit three SAT Subject Tests scores.”
https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation
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That’s a different issue: Georgetown is one of the few schools that requires all scores from all testings to be sent.
Yes, but I would make the comment that at some point, the applicant needs to own the process. Some applicants might be the first person in the family to apply to colleges and be struggling to figure out how to find information. Those are the ones that colleges are targeting by making the tests optional, not the student that knows that s/he should take the Subject Tests but would rather not.
@NewEngParent First off to be clear I am trying to relay information I heard. I will not opine on how admissions officers may view a particular situation (which of course can vary from college to college, from admission officer to admission officer). I agree with the above – that the applicant must make decisions that appear reasonable for his/her situation and must then be responsible for any ramifications of those decisions.
But as clarification, the example given by the admissions officer I heard speak was that the school did not want to penalize a student who lived in a rural area where no SAT II exams were available within a multi-hour drive. So I don’t think it is all about what tests are given in the particular HS, it is more about what is accessible in the area. (As one example – if a student is at a small private HS that does not administer the SAT II but the local public HS does then I don’t expect that would be a valid reason for not taking them.)
Ok, we’re at a rural public high school which doesn’t administer the SAT II. (in fact the school only has 1 SAT testing date per year, probably sounds insane, it does to me)…it might sound crazy, but I asked the GC if my son should take the SAT II but her response was “he can, but you’re going to have to drive and I don’t know if it’s worth the drive…” I replied, ok, let’s assume it is, where can we go and what should he take? She suggested l look online or at the CollegeBoard website. So @skieurope & @happy1 thanks for this. I’m guessing we’ll probably either steer away from SAT II “recommended/required” schools or just explain our situation to those schools if they make some list.
@NewEngParent You might want to ask for feedback on the situation, but on your own thread. We don’t need to muddy the waters for the OP with you situation.
Your student’s application is going to be judged together with other kids from his/her high school and area. (Taking the financial issue off the table b/c it has been discussed above. If you can’t afford the test, then AO will consider that), Do the top kids at your high school take SAT II subject tests? If so, your kid may be at a disadvantage if applying to the same schools. I’m not sure any high schools give the subject tests automatically (like the ACT/SAT) to their students. If you are at a rural high school and no one in your high school is taking SAT subject exams, maybe that’s different.
I’ve read (in various books on getting into college) that many AO’s consider it redundant to take an SAT Subject Test for a course in which you took an AP class and did well on the AP test. Your SAT II scores, it is believed, won’t really add any new or interesting information to your application. So that’s something to consider when deciding whether to take SAT IIs and in which subjects.
I guess if you’re a kid who has taken a dozen AP classes and aced all twelve AP tests, and the colleges you are applying to say that SAT STs are optional, you can probably take them at their word.
We are really trying not to stress over SAT2s. I’ve heard/read a number of times that they are not deal breakers. Our S19 is applying to only a few schools that require them and many more that “consider” them. I think some of the stress around SAT2s is also around how high the scores need to be and if the student needs to take them more than once.
One anecdote that may or may not help - I called the Dartmouth office a few weeks ago to ask if the essays will remain the same for next year and talked to a current student working in the admissions office. While I had her on the phone, I figured I would ask about SAT2 scores and if she felt like there were certain cut off for “good” scores. She told me that her SAT2 scores were the weakest part of her app, that she took each of her two SAT2 tests twice and was ok with her scores but they weren’t great. No more detail on the actual scores. She said, though, not too worry too much about them. You have to send them, yes, but they are a small part of the whole app. She said her grades and SAT were good and those SAT2’s not as good and that admissions is truly holistic. She was told by her AO that her essay blew them away so she thinks that’s what helped her stand out.
To anyone out there who knows about SAT2s at all, they should send them if they are required. Seriously, I think there are many kids out there for a variety of reasons who don’t even know about them. Those are the kids who are getting a pass. If you are on CC asking if you need to take them, you are savvy enough to be in the pile of kids who have to take them. If it’s a pain to get to one, just make sure you’ve studied so you don’t have to take them twice. If you need a fee waiver, get one.
Lots of schools don’t offer the SAT IIs at their school. That isn’t a good reason to skip it. I’d say if they are offered within a 3 hour drive and you aren’t really low income, do it.
Be strategic about which ones to take, though. I’ve seen a lot of kids crash on bio —maybe because so many kids take it, and also many have had AP bio. For STEM kids, it seems like Math II is the easiest to study for and get a very high score. Math I is a waste of time, schools round rather see Math II. My kids are lifelong readers, and found Lit pretty easy with minimal prep. My kid who likes history actually enjoyed studying for World History.
Also, not every subject is offered every date, so be sure to check that.
Some schools use SAT subject exams for college credit. GaTech gives credit for college chemistry for instance if a student does well on the Chemistry Subject Exam. Other schools use SAT subject exams to pick scholarship winners, apparently, such as Case Western Reserve University. The subject exam is required by mostly east coast colleges, but since kids that apply to Brown also apply to Harvard, you are competing with students who have taken at least two subject exams. Math 2 and physics are the two easiest exams to score an 800, if you are strong in math and physics. (I think half the test takes in physics score a perfect 800, the test is quite easy if you have had one physics class ) Try the practice exams on line to see if you the material is familiar. They are very easy tests for a well prepared candidate and might as well take them. Then if you end up applying later to schools that require them, you are covered.
“Easy” is relative to the student. Certainly the student should try a couple of practice tests to gauge where he stands
Not even close. 13%.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/sat/pdf/sat-subject-tests-percentile-ranks.pdf