I am looking to apply to some very nice colleges in the future, and I was wondering if this score would be good enough?
It’s a good score. Few colleges require Subject Tests, and even for those that do, it is but one part of the application. If you get rejected from a school, it is unlikely that you would have been accepted if the 720 were a 760.
Better than me unfortunately lol. But like the above poster said, it’s almost certainly not going to be the difference between acceptance and rejection to any school. Definitely don’t worry about it, a few points lost on one minor test isn’t going to matter much in the long run.
@thebly, That score is good enough. When we toured Vanderbilt last year, they said 720 and above was what they were looking for in subject tests.
Subject test scores are not evaluated by the score but by the percentile. Are you in the 99% with that score? Or the 80%? Because the subject tests are self-selective the group of kids who take them are usually strong in that particular subject. You see this most with Math 2. So take a look at your percentile.
720 is about 75%-tile
@CValle Almost every other piece of advice I have seen on this site is opposite to what you said.
^That’s my understanding as well, that while certain subject tests like math 2 have low percentiles for high scores due to the pool of takers, colleges look at the score number but not the percentile.
My score for that year was like 80th percentile
Feel free to quote your source, but every AO I have spoken to has said the opposite. To them, a 750 is a 750 is a 750.
A couple of things to remember. First, AOs will spend 10-12 minutes reading an application, while an applicant will spends dozens of hours crafting the perfect application. While an applicant will often ask here “What will an AO think of XXX?”, the reality is that an AO will not have time to “think” about a triviality. Similarly in that 10 minute time period, an AO is not going to waste minutes cross referencing percentile charts. Yes, s/he intuitively may know at an 800 in M2 has a relatively low percentile, but possibly does not remember the exact percentile.
Second, it is important to understand that for several subjects, the percentiles are depressed because so few colleges request Subject Tests, that the ones that do are the ultra selective ones. As a result, it is the high achieving kids taking the tests and every AO knows that.
I may be off base, but for me, 700-750 is a neutral data point that confirms an already excellent record. Less than 700 might be worth another try. More than 750 means that you probably should move on to something else unless it’s Math II and you’re trying for MIT, Caltech, or Harvey Mudd. Then it “might” be worth retesting for a 780-800.
skieurope is right. AOs move very quickly and they are unlikely to be checking SAT subject test percentiles in the time it takes to read your application.
That score is amazing and top schools want scores just like yours. However, if you feel you can do better try study and take the test again to get the best possible score. The better score the better you look
If you are going to spend time studying for subject tests, I would study something else for purposes of scoring 700+ on another subject test or two rather than trying to raise your World History from a 720 to a 760. (Ok, make th3 “700 Club” joke.)