So… You missed it, I think. “Recommended” still means you should do it. The student who looks like you in profile AND brings high subject test scores will likely get the nod.
No, I get what you mean, and I believe it’s correct for one to stand out among thousands (if not tens of thousands) of other applicants. But there are students whose school’s curriculum was not a good college preparatory one or their family’s household income did not allocate a space for a standardized testing. At the end, admissions is so complex that SAT Subject Tests will never be the key to the door.
@BeCambridge, I do not see this as being a big deal. I am a Yale freshman, but if I were a year younger and instead applying this year, I would still submit my SAT subject test scores. Anyone who took them and did well will submit. Agree with @intparent that “recommended” = do it.
It is a big deal if the student excelled in his school’s classes while he or she got a 650 on the SAT II math. Do you really think Yale wants to see that?
I agree with the common recommendation to take the SAT Subject Tests. But it is certainly not for everyone.
If you don’t submit it, Yale has no way to know if your school has prepared you well. If another student submits an 800 subject test, Yale will have more confidence in that student’s preparation.
I agree with this (I dont have any opposition). I just want to add that context is very important. You know, Yale could easily in minutes put a list of all students who didn’t submit their SAT Subject Tests and just decide, “Hey, these kids are definitely dubious.” But it doesn’t work that way. Students are evaluated on the basis of their own applications and what they have submitted, not what they haven’t. To this day people still cannot believe Matt McGann of MIT (and other AOs) who only checks test scores to see if students can do the job.
After all, if the kid from a southern state from a school whose majority do not go to college (I don’t even know if they can define the SAT or ACT in first place) got into Harvard, is there a better example???
They surely took the SAT, and they may have been hooked (athlete, URM, etc). You will be competing against international students with the full package of top qualifications. A student with perfect SATs and perfect grades and amazing recs and supurb ECs might get accepted without the subject test scores. But weakness anywhere and no subject test scores will result in moving down the list of who they want to admit. It is holistic to a point – but the student with a great app who also did well on the recommended items has an edge.
I think there’s too much speculation going on here. I recruit for Yale. Literally, I’m on the front lines for Yale. Yesterday I was in front of 30 kids. My materials plainly state “SAT1 or ACT plus writing” There’s no wink-wink “but we recommend SAT2s” going on. Nada. No where.
The requirement is gone. I’m sure if a student does particularly well, he/she is welcome to submit a SAT2 score as extra enhancement – similar to someone submitting good AP scores for tests taken as a Junior or Sophomore.
But the reality is that Yale no longer requires the SAT2s from anyone and feels fully capable of evaluating and admitting kids – no need to try to read into this.
I think the big advantage is for that very bright, URM kid from a school that doesn’t have counselors who have ever heard of the SAT2. This kid can still apply and be considered.
Yes, the target students are first generation, low income, or otherwise disadvantaged students who may not know about the SAT subject tests until it is too late to take them. (On the other hand, the other “extra” items like recommendations, interview, and CSS Profile can still be hurdles for such students.)
I agree, the students can still submit them if they took them and feel it reflects who they are, but if they’re low income, or first generation, and don’t even know subject tests exist, it’s one less hurdle that appears seemingly out of nowhere. In short, Yale doesn’t want to exclude lower income kids but doesn’t prevent upper middle class students from showcasing their academic strengths. Win-win.
FWIW- my daughter did not ace her SAT2. She took 3 and submitted 2 and they were ok but not stellar. She was so burnt out from taking tests that she only took them once. Only one of her scores was over 700. She was accepted and is now attending. I am glad they dropped them. It was truly a waste of her time, stress and money. They will look at your SAT and GPA but at some point they will sort you by more than just being a stellar student. They want a stellar person as well and this will allow them to look at that part of you sooner over later.
WAY back in the day, when I had just submitting my app, Yale contacted me suggesting I take the January sitting of the College Board “Achievement Tests” (this was the tests’ name before “SAT2” or “Subject Tests”). Testing back then was rudimentary, it seems. I took the ACT once – no real prep other than some stuff in-school. And then, at Yale’s behest, I took these tests. I think I didn’t even send the free score to any of the other Ivies I had applied.
I suppose if I tanked, they could have rejected me. Frankly, the less testing the better. IMHO.