Pumplemousse

Now, when I spoke to my regional admissions officer at Junior Day, I was told the SAT subject tests are "highly recommended." What say you guys? Do most people applying/accepted/attending take them? I am definitely not not not a math person, but I heard the Math 2 test is most recommended...

mattmom

As a parent I have to ask: Why would you seek a second opinion on a public Internet board, even a reasonably reliable one like this, when you have already gotten the information you need from what is presumably the most authoritative source, the admissions office itself? Might be useful to take a look at the school Web site to see if you can gain further insight.

The only logical thing I can suggest is that you do a search on CC to find some recent discussions of precisely this question--that of what "highly recommended" means vis-a-vis SATII's. I seem to recall having seen discussions of this topic--it is relevant to quite a lot of schools.

happygilmore

My counselor told me that when highly selective schools like Davidson say "highly recommended" they generally mean required. But then again, I know a lot of people who didn't take the Math II exam and did just fine with the whole college process. mattmom brings up a good point--look around for other discussions on this topic, talk to your counselor, etc.

Zetesis

We were at an information session last fall; Chris Gruber basically said that "recommended" means "required."

(I don't know why they just don't say required.)

Pumplemousse

Ah, okay. I looked into the subject tests after posting. Im thinking Biology and Spanish are possibilities Not digging the math, however. Must play up strengths

TheGrabler

I would take math, personally, if you think your math record is weak. I'm pretty bad at math myself (mostly B's in the subject throughout high school) and I took the math IC and I did decently. It helps to take a subject test in a subject that might be lacking on your transcript to show that you're capable of performing in that area, because a liberal arts school will wanna see that.

The whole notion that you should play up your strengths and forget about your weaknesses is pretty overblown, in my opinion. Although you should showcase things you are good at, it also is important to convey that you are competent and curious in all areas of study (especially since it seems like you want to go to a liberal arts college). I was accepted by Davidson even with my less than stellar math grades, so i'd give it go if I were you. Unless of course you do really well in math--in that case, do whatever you please! Good luck with everything

Pumplemousse

Hmm, I will have to look into it then. I do good in math in school because I work for my grades, I just goof and blunder through the standardized tests haha. Im in the equivalent of pre-calc right now, so I will look into when the math subjects tests should be taken.

Thanks

amplifiar842

Lots of girls on my hall actually didn't take SAT IIs. That said, these same girls (for the most part) got in Early Decision (which is much easier than regular decision).

It's NOT required.

You SHOULD, however, take them.

Yes, it's a good idea if you can take a math/science (math II, especially, but ONLY if you're good at math, because it is hard) AND a language/literature/history/other right-brain etc.

It's not that big a deal. You can do up to three in one day.

I'm a strange child. I took five. But that's mostly because I bombed math II.

My SAT IIs for those of you that INSIST on comparing stats (I promise, that's a worthless way of going about it all) were high 500s to low 700s. Obviously they "officially" only look at your highest two or three.

Keep in mind, when they say "highly recommended" they mean it in the sense that it makes you a more competitive candidate. If it's not your first choice and it's the ONLY school that makes you take 'em...maybe it's not worth your time. But I would recommend it.