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Jane was a Chinese-American student who attended a highly competitive public high school near Los Angeles and, although a second generation U.S. citizen, was reasonably proficient in the Chinese language. Sound familiar?
Now Jane wanted to know which SAT Subject Tests she should take. More specifically, she wanted to know whether she should take the SAT Subject Test in Chinese.
Because Jane had grown up in a Chinese-speaking household, she was reasonably confident that she would be able to score very highly on the Chinese test. In fact, she was pretty sure she could secure a perfect 800. However, she was wary of how top-tier colleges would view her choice of exam. Since admissions officers would be familiar with her background and ethnicity, she thought she might be penalized for taking an “easy” exam.
Taking all these factors into consideration, should Jane have taken the Chinese subject test?
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First of all, is the Chinese Subject Test really considered an “easy” test? Yes.
Not all SAT scores are created equal. Every SAT score is accompanied by a second number: the percentile rank. Now the percentile rank for an 800 on the Chinese SAT is 62%, while the percentile rank for an 800 on the Spanish SAT is 94%.
What does this mean? This means that the student who aced the Spanish test did better than 94% of all students who took the test—a real achievement. However, the student who aced the Chinese SAT only did better than 62% of all students who took the test.
That is, more than two out of every five students who took the Chinese SAT also got an 800! Obviously, the Spanish test score is a much more significant achievement.
What accounts for this huge difference in percentile rank? The simple fact—well known to college admissions officers—that the overwhelming majority of students who take the Chinese SAT are ethnic Chinese, and most of them will have been raised in households where at least some Chinese was spoken.
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With that information in hand, we can better evaluate Jane’s situation.
But we still need to distinguish again between private and public school admissions. We should also factor in Jane’s choice of major. Let’s consider the UCs first.
Remember that the UCs no longer require SAT Subject Tests. Therefore, an 800 on the Chinese test would be something over and beyond what is necessary to apply to the UCs. It would generally help Jane in the UC application process.
However, Jane really wanted to get into UCLA, one of the most competitive UCs, and she wanted to get into one of the most competitive schools at UCLA: the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Now although the UCs don’t require the SAT Subject Tests, they still recommend it. And to be sure, students looking to get into one of the most competitive UCs should be following these recommendations!
For Jane to really give the UCLA School of Engineering her best shot, she needed to secure two strong SAT Subject Tests not including the Chinese test. An 800 on Chinese would be great as a third test—but for her primary two tests, we recommended that she stick with Math 2 and one of the science tests.
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Now let’s turn to Jane’s private school aspirations.
As we explained earlier, each private school has its own specific requirements for standardized test scores. However, we can make some broad generalizations with regards to Jane’s situation. Although an 800 on the Chinese SAT was not going to be considered as much of an achievement as an 800 on almost any other Subject Test, the score wouldn’t be entirely meaningless. Getting a great score on a standardized test score never hurts!
In fact, if Jane wanted to study International Relations or East Asian Studies, her demonstrated proficiency in the Chinese language could have added strength to her application. However, in order to remain competitive at the most selective private universities, Jane needed to take at least two further SAT Subject Tests in core academic areas. That way her 800 in Chinese wouldn’t be competing against another student’s 800 in, say, Chemistry.
As for which two core Subject Tests Jane should take, she needed to do some research to figure this out.
The Engineering Department at Princeton, for example, recommends students take either Math 1 or Math 2 and either Physics or Chemistry.
The UCs, on the other hand, did not accept Math 1 even when they required two SAT Subject Tests.
After I spelled all of this information out for Jane, I had her take a diagnostic test in Chinese. Jane scored a 720—a good starting score, but several weeks’ work away from an 800. So Jane decided not to waste her time preparing for the Chinese test, but focused instead on the Math 2 and the Chemistry tests.
Scores of 750+ on both of these tests were strong enough to get her into UCLA and Cornell.
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In this post, I tried to dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding standardized tests.
Of course the SATs and the ACT are important tests: strong performances are necessary for students to be realistic candidates at the most selective schools, and they can really help students looking to secure entrance to a top-notch public school or any other private school.
However, students mustn’t overestimate the importance of the SAT. And they shouldn’t pin unrealistic hopes on an excellent score, or exhaust themselves retaking the test over and over for negligible score increases. Students should simply start preparing early—and they should always prepare smartly. Doing this will ensure that they test at potential when it matters.
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Danny is the CEO of FLEX College Prep. Danny’s core focus is on helping young people get the best advice, and be the best students they can be. His team of professionals are also personal coaches, and great people, driven by the same passion for helping people.