How much do the UC's really weigh subject tests

TWSA50
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:19:11 +0000

If you took three, it is very likely the admissions office at the UCs you are applying to will only care to consider the top two. So if she did alright on one or two of them, she’ll probably be just fine in that category. And even then, there is so much criticism over these exams that the schools probably aren’t going to weight them as much as you might imagine (they are eventually going to be eliminated as a requirement, actually).

And what is defined as a good score and a bad score? At UCLA, the average for the best subject test is somewhere in the low-mid 700s and the other is in the mid 600s. That’s pretty much the most competitive it gets in the UCs, though neither one is “spectacular” in the minds of most posters on this site. Bear in mind, too, those scores are misleading by students taking exams in a foreign language that they are native speakers of or exams with really heavy curves.

If the goal is to help your daughter improve her chances, tell her to work on the regular SAT first.