<p>So, I’m taking the subject tests on Saturday (US History and Literature). According to the practice tests that I’ve taken, I won’t be scoring very high: probably below 700 in both categories. My SAT was 2260, so obviously those scores would be somewhat sub-par.</p>
<p>Anyway, in anticipation of bad scores, I’m trying to pick some colleges that don’t require (or, really, recommend) subject tests.</p>
<p>Right now I have:
Uchicago
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Hamilton</p>
<p>Are there any others? I’m not very picky - just a well-respected college or university that doesn’t require those subject tests.</p>
<p>Those are very selective schools, and none of them put SAT/ACT scores at the top of their entrance criteria. A safety is a school you are certain to be admitted to, so there’s no way to classify any of those as safeties. UChicago, for instance, lists 5 criteria as “very important” for admission: rigor of academic record, recommendations, essays, special talent/ability, and personal traits/character.</p>
<p>Hamilton has the highest admit rate (27% - the rest are around 16%), and it lists rigor, GPA, and class rank as “very important”, so those are the stats that need to be evaluated for chances at Hamilton, not test scores.</p>
<p>What major? Any need for aid (merit or need-based)? Urban/suburban/rural? (You have a wide mix in the schools you already listed and I assume those aren’t your safeties.)</p>
<p>Few schools in the eastern US that would be safeties require SAT II tests.</p>
<p>Ah! I’m sorry, I believe that I misused the “safety” term. I simply meant a school to which I stand a reasonable chance of gaining acceptance (basically, anything that isn’t a big reach; for example, I think Uchicago is a really big reach for me).</p>
<p>I came up with:
Colorado College
Reed College
and (thanks M’s Mom!) Grinnell</p>
<p>I’m actually a little confused when a school “recommends” subject tests. I was told that it’s an unofficial way of requiring them. Is that true? Because I’d also like to apply to Davidson and Carleton, but if it’d just be a waste of time, I don’t think I should.</p>
<p>I’d also mention that I have just about no idea what I want to pursue as far as a major; all I know is that it won’t involve math or science. </p>
<p>*Oh, and thanks e’s dad for that list. It was really helpful and it’s more convenient than searching those schools individually.</p>
<p>Ah! I’m sorry, I believe that I misused the “safety” term. I simply meant a school to which I stand a reasonable chance of gaining acceptance (basically, anything that isn’t a big reach; for example, I think Uchicago is a really big reach for me).</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re looking for match schools.</p>
<p>What is/are your financial safety schools? </p>
<p>Will your parents pay $55k+ per year for any school?</p>
<p>OP, those are matches to reaches. Both DDs had similar stats to yours and were waitlisted at Reed and Carleton (according to Vonlost stats only count 20% in Reed admissions). Do you have a safety for which you are assured of entry, can afford and are willing to attend?</p>
<p>For an actual safety, I have the university of Florida; it’ll be almost free for me to go, and I’d be quite shocked if I didn’t get in. I might also apply to New College of Florida because it’ll also be quite cheap to me.</p>
<p>So those are my financial safeties. I used the Financial Aid calculator for these schools, and the most it estimates that I’ll pay (based on last year’s family income) is $8,000 dollars, and that’s something I’ll gladly take out on loan if it means I can go to a great college.</p>
<p>Alembic, I checked your GPA and ECs on another thread and with your scores and accomplishments I think you could get good merit aid at Whitman College. Considering you listed Bowdoin, Middlebury and Hamilton as schools you’re interested in, I think you might really like Whitman. It’s less selective than those three, I suspect mainly because of it’s location in the non-urban west, but has rigorous academics and a very active outdoor program (skiing an hour away). The town of Walla Walla is charming. The student body is very engaged and friendly. Subject tests are not required.</p>
<p>I was definitely thinking wake forest. I’m not sure I’d fit in there, though; I’m not generally attracted to large schools. However, I do like their location and they have great academics. So I’m not sure.</p>
<p>I took the subject tests today and felt stronger than I expected, which was nice. 50+ hours studying in the past two weeks might just pan out! Haha.</p>
<p>I think Whitman is too selective to be a safety, but I think they could be a good match.</p>
<p>Oh, and what exactly constitutes a safety? Obviously cost, but I don’t really consider myself “guaranteed admission” to any school; it just seems like anything is possible, so I’m not (at this point) counting on admission anywhere.</p>
<p>The conventional wisdom is that a safety is a school that you know you can get into, that you can afford and that you’re willing to attend. It can be tricky to find a school that meets all 3 criteria. We were looking most seriously at small LACs, so we were concerned with these things: academic reputation; majors; social fit; availability of meaningful extra curricular activities (for him, that included club sports); and availability of financial aid (merit and need-based). Each school lists the middle 25% -50% range for SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of it’s attending students, the higher my son’s GPA and SAT scores were in relation to the 75th percentile of attending students’ scores for that school, the more confident we become that he would likely be accepted. The possibility of receiving merit aid also rose. There are no guarantees, but there are probabilities that can be assessed. </p>
<p>The tricky part of what I increasingly saw as a game, although not a fun one, was to find the schools that had the right criteria and where he would have a decent shot at good aid, need-based and/or merit. He identified the schools that met his criteria where he was in the 25th percentile, made sure they offered merit aid and put them in his “likely to be accepted” category. Many small LACs are tired of being used as safety schools by applicants with high stats so if they don’t detect real interest they are less inclined to respond favorably. Demonstrated interest can be crucial. Visit if possible, email the admins with questions, and absolutely interview on campus or with a local alumnus. It will mean casting a wider net, but the probability is that one or more of these schools will accept you and give you the kind of financial aid you need.</p>
<p>We also included the state publics as financial back-ups and highly selective privates as reaches. Casting a wide net helped us because there was a huge difference in the financial aid offered by private institutions, no matter what they say about their financial aid policies. S was accepted to 3 reaches that gave no merit aid, only need based aid, and it was simply not enough to get through school with little or no debt. However he was accepted to all his “likely” schools with a variety of good financial aid packages. He ended up at a great school that he loves and we can afford.</p>
<p>I could recommend schools but then I’d surely leave out a ton of others as there are many, many schools that don’t require SAT subject tests. Instead I’d look at this question the other way around. Find schools that have the qualities you value in your current list but have higher admissions rates. Then check their websites for testing requirements. A good place to start is the Fiske Guide to colleges which lists admissions overlaps for each school. For instance, according to Fiske applicants to both Bates and Colby often apply to Bowdoin, Middlebury and Hamilton. Connecticut College and Trinity overlap to a lesser extent. The Naviance overlaps button will give you the same information for applicants from your school.</p>