In my last post I talked about the question of what SAT Subject Tests you should take. But before we have to worry about that, the real question is do you even need to take the SAT Subject Tests?
The answer for most people is NO. There are only about 160 colleges in the US that consider the SAT Subject Tests at all. However, the number of colleges that require them is only about 100. Here is a list of colleges broken down by whether they require, recommend or will consider SAT Subject Tests. This list also provides information on how many Subject Tests are required at each institution.
You will note that most of the colleges requiring or recommending SAT Subject Tests are the most selective colleges. If you are not looking at this type of college, you probably don’t need to worry about Subject Tests.
I will tell you that my personal recommendation is that if a college recommends anything in the admissions process, it is probably a good idea to do whatever is recommended. This includes those colleges that recommend the SAT Subject Tests. If possible, try to submit the Subject Tests to those colleges.
Finally, note that many of the colleges that require SAT Subject Tests will waive that requirement if the student has taken the ACT rather than the SAT.
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