You Asked: Does Anyone Take SAT Subject Tests in 2020?

Update: No More SAT Subject Tests

In January 2021, the College Board announced it will no longer offer SAT Subject Tests in the United States, effective immediately. ​Learn how the changes to the SAT Subject Tests will affect students.

Our original post on the SAT Subject Tests is below.

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​You have questions—we have the answers.
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One of the lesser known parts of the college admissions application puzzle are SAT Subject Tests. Because of the nebulous requirements for these college entrance exams at many schools, we often get asked what these tests are and if students need to worry about them for their applications.

Our answer: if you are applying to top-tier schools, most will want you to submit some combination of SAT Subject Tests, but only MIT still requires these tests to apply. For most other schools, the test scores can serve as an independent validation that your good grades in a subject were earned in a comprehensive course.

What Are SAT Subject Tests?

According to the College Board, SAT Subject Tests™ are “subject-based standardized tests that …examines your understanding of material you've been taught in school.” Their value for college admissions professionals is the ability to compare one student’s subject knowledge equally against another’s in another school, school system, or state. MIT has said this “equalizer” effect is why they continue to require them.
 
The hour-long tests are offered in 20 subjects (math, sciences, histories, English, and several foreign languages) and are comprised of tens of multiple-choice questions (each subject varies). Like the general SAT, each exam is scored from 200-800 based on a scaled score that takes into account the number of correct answers as well as the number of incorrect answers. Unanswered questions do not count against your score.
 
The College Board offers them along with the SAT in the same testing centers for six of the national test dates (all except March). Students can take up to three different tests in a day, with some limitations, and can change the tests they are going to take on a registered test day up until time to take the test, again with some limitations. Most students will plan to take them during the June test date because they have recently completed studying for Advanced Placement exams in mid-May and their subject knowledge is still fresh.

How Are They Different from AP Exams?

The College Board started offering the subject tests around the same time as the SAT, and for many years they were called the SAT II. The College Board also administers the Advanced Placement exams, which are a newer option and have risen in prominence in recent decades. Here are some similarities and differences in the exams:
 

• SAT Subject Tests are meant to test you only on the knowledge you should have covered in a high school class, so any student can take them. Advance Placement exams test you on entry-level college course materials taught in specialized classes that are only offered at some schools.

 

• SAT Subject Tests are college entrance exams used for deciding who is admitted to a school. AP exams are designed to advance a student’s knowledge ahead of college and to potentially accelerate their college advancement through course credit or placement in higher-level freshmen courses. Of course, these concepts are flexible over time. In recent years, AP test scores have also become more integral to candidate validation, i.e. reinforcing the grade a student received in an AP class where curve inflation might be rampant, and conversely, there are indications that schools might use SAT Subject Test scores to award credits or place students at higher-level courses. For instance, Indiana University Bloomington now awards 3-credit hours for freshman biology.

 

• Because they are short, multiple choice exams, the SAT Subject Tests test your factual knowledge and your ability to recall information and answer a large number of questions quickly. In fact, the completion percentage for SAT Subject Tests is fairly low. By contrast, AP exams, with their added time and open-ended essay questions, require analytical ability in addition to deep subject knowledge. AP exams are also tailored to a very proscribed framework of course material, whereas the SSTs can draw from a wider variety of material.

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• While both tests offer many of the same subject exams, they do not cover the exact same material, so students may need to see if they have gaps in their knowledge before taking an SAT Subject Test.

Use of SAT Subject Tests Is Declining

​There was a time in the not too distant past where a high school senior would be well aware of the SAT Subject Tests needed for their college choices because they were required by most schools as part of an application. This is no longer the case. As recently as 2016, they were still required for Ivy League schools such as Columbia, but those last restrictions have quickly faded, with the last big holdout Cal Tech folding in January 2020.
 
With the decrease in requirements, the number of students taking the subject tests has also declined. Only 220,000 students took one in 2018 compared to the 2.1 million students that took a regular SAT exam that year. The rise of AP courses has also diminished the allure of these tests for most students.

Who Should Take SAT Subject Tests?

So who should take SAT Subject Tests? Here are our five ideal subject test students.
 

• Anyone who is a serious applicant for a competitive program or school because your competition is taking them, and in cases like the Math II test, the bar is incredibly high, with more than 20 percent of student achieving a perfect score. Physics is not far behind at 14 percent.

 

• Anyone whose target schools have a “recommended” or “requested” guidance in their language about the tests. While almost everyone dropped their “requirement” for them, many schools still use admissions guidance language that says these tests are “highly recommended” or that they are not “required but are requested.” This allows the school to open the application door further, getting more applications and fees, while still having a threshold that few students achieve without these tests. We have some examples of that language from well-known schools below.

 

• Students who excel in a particular subject and expect to pursue that course of study after high school. If you are a math star and want to go into engineering, it will probably help your application if you submit a high Math II test score, especially if your high school is not considered competitive.

 

• Students who did not have access to or chose not to take Advance Placement courses in certain subjects. A good subject test score will demonstrate subject mastery as well as an AP score, especially if you could not take the AP course.

 
 

• Students who have been home schooled should definitely consider taking subject tests in the core subjects to demonstrate competency to admissions officers. Many schools will request that home school students do this before offering admission.

Sample of School Requirements

​The last holdouts requiring all applicants submit SAT Subject Test scores were MIT, CalTech, Harvey Mudd, and the Webb Institute (a specialized engineering school that does some incredible stuff — check them out). Webb dropped its requirement a few years ago, and Harvey Mudd and CalTech will drop it for 2021 fall freshmen, leaving just MIT. But many schools indicate you should at least consider submitting subject test scores.
 
We recommend that you check each of your target schools’ requirements. It is usually included on the application checklist page for freshmen. Here is a small sample of what schools say about their SAT Subject Test requirements on their admissions pages. Make sure you do this in the spring of your junior year so you can get ready for summer or fall test dates if necessary.

University of Maryland	"SAT Subject Tests are not required; applicants who do not take Subject Tests are not disadvantaged in the admissions process." ​​
University of Virginia	"SAT Subject Tests are optional."
Penn State	"[W]e do not require SAT Subject Tests."
​Georgetown	"Georgetown does not require, but strongly recommends submission of three subject tests. To complete this recommendation, candidates may submit SAT Subject test scores or Advanced Placement (AP) test scores or a combination of them…While subject tests scores are an important element of our application review, these tests should not create a barrier for applicants. Standardized tests represent only one factor in our holistic admissions process. The Committee on Admissions considers all facets of student achievement, both inside and outside of the classroom, and within the context of each applicant’s experience and environment." (Emphasis Added)
Vanderbilt	“SAT Subject Tests are optional. If official scores are sent to Vanderbilt, they may be considered during the application review process. For students who enroll at Vanderbilt, some SAT Subject Test scores can be used to meet language proficiency requirements in the College of Arts and Science, and to meet mathematics requirements for some majors in Peabody College.”
Stanford	“SAT Subject Tests are optional. Because SAT Subject Test scores can highlight your areas of strength, we welcome the self-reporting of these results in your application. If you have taken a subject test more than once, you may report your highest score.”
Princeton	“We recommend, but do not require, the submission of two SAT Subject Tests, which often assist us in the evaluation process. We have no preference for the specific SAT Subject Tests applicants might choose to take. However, if you apply for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree, we recommend that you take mathematics Level I or II, and either physics or chemistry.”
Harvard	“While we recommend that you submit two SAT Subject Tests, you may apply without them if the cost of the tests represents a financial hardship or if you prefer to have your application considered without them.”

Who Needs to Prep for Subject Tests?

In our experience, students in regular or honors courses will greatly benefit from additional prep for an SAT Subject Test. While students in AP courses will see some overlap of material between the tests, we find this is almost never the case for students in other courses. While strategies will differ among the subjects, every student taking a competitive exam should definitely consider additional preparation before taking a subject test.

When Should You Prep for Subject Tests?

For students taking a science (biology, chemistry, physics) or history (United States or World) test, we recommend you take the June exams. This gives you a chance to get through AP exams and utilize any knowledge gained there before forgetting it over the summer.

For other exams, it is really just important that you complete them before applications are due in the middle of senior year. For Math II, students should have completed Algebra II and be comfortable with the concepts covered in Pre-Calculus before taking the exam.

​Students focused on foreign languages should also be aware that language-with-listening exams are offered just once a year and that administration is switching from November to May for 2021. This means that there will be tests in November 2020 and May 2021, but not November 2021. Current Sophomores should factor this into their plans if foreign language is a future focus of study.

Diagnostic Tests Available

​Are you interested in taking an SAT Subject Test but unsure about how you will do? We offer diagnostic tests for all the major subjects every Saturday morning. After the test, we will review your performance and provide a recommendation for whether you should proceed with testing, and if so, which areas to focus on for improvement. Contact us today to get scheduled.

SAT Subject Tests at a Glance

​Tests Offered: Math I & II, Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics, Literature, U.S. History, World History, Spanish, Spanish with Listening, French, French with Listening, Chinese with Listening, Italian, German, German with Listening, Modern Hebrew, Latin, Japanese with Listening, Korean with Listening
 
Upcoming dates: The next SAT Subject Test dates are May 2 (register by April 3) and June 6, 2020. AP exams run May 4-15, so the early subject test date may conflict for many students. Tests are offered on national SAT test dates in August, October, November, December, May, and June, but different tests are offered each testing day
 
Fees: Fees are $22 to register for a test day and another $26 per test you take that day. Add $26 if one of those tests are a language-with-listening exam.
 
Score Report/Canceling: Students can opt to cancel their scores at the conclusion of the test or before the following Thursday if they feel they did not perform well. If you do this, no one, not even you, will know the score. If you chose this option, be aware that it will cancel the scores of every test you took that sitting, so use this option only if absolutely necessary. We recommend that students manually order their score reports for the schools they are applying to once they have confirmed the test score is acceptable for submission.
 
Have a question you need answered? Call or email us; we’re always happy to help.