SAT Subject Tests

[DrGoogle]

"Academic record" does NOT include standardized test scores. NOT to the admissions committees. The academic records is solely what is provided by the HS . SAT scores, Subject test scores and ACT scores are the STANDARDIZED TEST scores the survey refers to and are provided to the colleges by the Collegeboard.

"the College Board’s annual survey of colleges and universities does ask them to rank admissions criteria. No surprise: high school academic record is consistently rated “very important,” as are standardized test scores (Harvard contends they’re only “important”). '

subject test scores, SAT scores and ACT scores are ALL "standardized test scores'

Do you know what you are arguing? Your posts seem to be contradicting. I'm done BSing with you.

[menloparkmom]

"I have checked some of the colleges for engineering and it specifically states one Math subject test whether it's 1 or 2 and one science."

Lots of students are accepted at colleges that do offer engineering and many other majors and many of those students change majors because they find engineering too hard. Admissions officers know that. That may not apply to you DD.
I too have lots of experience researching colleges.

[DrGoogle]

"I have checked some of the colleges for engineering and it specifically states one Math subject test whether it's 1 or 2 and one science."

Lots of students are accepted at colleges that do offer engineering and many other majors and many of those students change majors because they find engineering too hard. Admissions officers know that. That may not apply to you DD.
I too have lots of experience researching colleges.

But not on the college websites of several schools I checked. Yes, college students do change major but when you apply to engineering( for UCLA and MIT), your science/math subject tests are considered particularly UCLA. I believe from memory, they add up the SAT subject tests from Science and Math scores.

[menloparkmom]

"as are standardized test scores . "
what part of this phrase do you not understand? It means that standardized tests scores are not part of the high school academic record.
duh.......

[DrGoogle]

ok, I skimmed through your posts.

[menloparkmom]

try reading them a little more carefully next time.........

[DrGoogle]

Yeah, next time I make sure to put on my glasses.

[momofthreeboys]

...and you can count on your hands and toes the college that require SATII scores....and you can count on one hand the engineering schools that require SATIIs.

[DrGoogle]

Here is from a 2012 parent reporting on UCLA engineering and SAT subject tests.
Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - Original

[Lakemom]

drmom123, for engineering they want a science and a math. So Physics, Chem, bio and Math.

Dr Google and you other moms are so fast, a whole page went by from where I read drmom.

[mathmom]

Most colleges have a footnote somewhere saying that two math SAT subject tests does not count as two tests. There are some colleges where you don't have to decide on engineering when you apply, at most of those colleges you could take no math or science subject tests, but it is true that most engineering schools have more specific requirements. (Generally Math 2 and Chemistry or Physics.)

Both my kids chose to go the well-rounded route and both had applied to at least one college that required 3 tests. S1 had math 2, physics and US History. S2 had Lit, US History and Biology.

My older son had 3 800s on subject tests - one sitting. Did it help him? I'm sure it did, he got into Harvard, CMU and got nice merit offers at two safeties. But of course if he'd only applied to the four colleges that didn't accept him, I could argue it didn't help him at all. That would be silly. Having seen his whole application though, I'm pretty sure it was his one-sidedness and some less than stellar essays on supplements that probably did him in.

[drmom123]

I think what is tricky is when your kid is really not an Engineer-kind of kid (but does much better in the math/science subjects) and the humanities just aren't going so well (on the SAT front...the classes are fine). I think at some point you just have to wait it out and see what happens. But, Mathmom has a good point....you have to apply to enough schools with a range of acceptances, so the kid has choices by April/May...(there are no 800's in our future, for that I am pretty sure!)

[mathmom]

I don't think there's any problem for a kid who says he thinks he might go into history to submit a math and science subject test.

[MEDFUTURE]

Is 720 in Biology a good score?

[twogirls]

I think anything over a 700 is amazing. Freshman year my daughter took the SAT bio test and got a 750. Although she did not study for the SAT, she studied VERY hard all year for the class and remembered the information. My friend does admissions interviews for an IVY league and told me " wow you can actually submit that score because anything over 700 is considered great." So yes, your score is good!!