How many subject tests can I send without seeming like a robot?

butterfreesnd
Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:05:56 +0000

Hey guys! As you may have guessed, I want to apply to Stanford, but I am having some trouble sorting out what subject tests to send. Let me give you the low down on my situation:

Applying as undecided, but everything in my app trends towards humanities/social sciences, and that is probably where I will end up.

I took 6 SAT Subject tests with the following scores:

US History: 800
Literature: 780
Biology E: 740
World History: 740
Spanish (taken twice): 650, then 720

I’m planning on sending in US and Lit no matter what, I just am not sure whether to send in more, and if so, how many more and which ones.

I’m really proud of the Bio E score, because I have never taken an advanced biology course in my life (no AP bio, no honors bio), and I used a combination of self-studying and dumb luck/strategy to get my score. I also think it shows that I am not strictly humanities, that I am ok in other areas, even if I chose not to explore those in depth. BUT… I think my world history score is more in line with the humanities skew I am showing. Also self-studied this one (John Green’s crash course videos FTW), but I don’t consider it as big of an accomplishment. I’m leaning towards not sending Spanish, although I don’t have any problems with the score. I’m really just afraid of sending too many, and Stanford dismissing me as a test-taking robot.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.