Hello, I currently have an old SAT score of 1890 (630 M, 630 CR, 630 W), a new SAT score of 1330 (680 M, 650 W), and a unweighted GPA of 3.9 at my high school. My goals for admission are liberal arts schools in the Northeast (specifically Holy Cross, Trinity, Connecticut College, Colgate, Colby and Bates). I noticed on their requirements that all these schools (or the majority of them) “consider” SAT subject tests for admissions. Does this mean that these schools almost require SAT 2s in order to be competitive? Especially with my subpar SAT 1 scores?
With that given, I am considering studying for the Biology E/M (still haven’t decided which one) and the US History. Since I have not studied at an American high school (I go to an international school in the Philippines, but am an American citizen), I have basically no knowledge of American history since I have grown up taking World History. Since taking the World History SAT exam isn’t an option because I am going for ED in November, would it be manageable to study for the US History Exams from scratch?
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
Did you do any focused study or preparation for the SAT I? Your scores are pretty consistent across both formats so I would guess that a third attempt wouldn’t result in a meaningful improvement, unless you took them without much prior study/practice tests.
The reason that I ask is that I think that you’d probably gain more of an advantage in an improvement in the SAT I or attempting the ACT than in taking the subject tests. If you think that some focused prep in either would result in better scores, I’d favor that strategy over the SAT II subject tests.
If a college requires or recommends taking SAT II, then yes, you need to take them. If they are “considered,” then they are weighed less heavily. And unless you score at least a 700, they are not likely to help.
The US History test is challenging. A lot of the material is very specific and detail-oriented. If you do want to try, I recommend that you start with the APUSH book by Larry Krieger and supplement with youtube APUSH videos by Adam Norris and others.
If you want to pursue the SAT subject tests, you might be better served by attempting the literature SAT II (hard but less fact/content driven) or a foreign language, instead of US History.
Hope this helps!
I don’t know too much about those schools and whether they require subject tests, so I’m not going to comment on that, but I would recommend just taking them.
If you haven’t taken US History, it might not be a good idea to take the test. Yes, you could self-study, but it’s not worth your time. People tend to do better on Biology M, but if you are more interested in ecology, go for it. Have you considered taking Literature or a foreign language?
@mamaedefamilia I did study for the Old SAT last summer, but put in very little prep for studying the New SAT. But I feel studying for US History seems too much for me. Just looking at the content of the Barron’s prep book for US History already makes me feel that I am way in over my head. @ducktap I am fluent in Filipino but unfortunately that is not offered 
I could have a go at the literature subject test, but I really hated studying for the Critical Reading portions of the SAT 1. But I will definitely look into the Literature subject test. Thanks for the input guys!
Have you tried the ACT? Take a practice test and see if it looks better than the SAT I.