In the US, you do not need to take the SAT Subject Tests for most college admissions. But in some colleges, this type of test is required for some specific programs. Several other colleges and universities recommend such tests.

Every year several colleges drop the requirement for these tests. The prevalence of the pandemic has sped up this process. As a result, very few students need to submit SAT Subject Test scores, along with their college applications.

Many schools continue to recommend the test. The scores of the test can strengthen the applications of college students. Such tests can help homeschooled students prove their worth since they do not have traditional academic records or class ranks to show their college readiness.

These tests are useful for getting credit or course placement. For instance, you can fulfill your competency requirement for social science if you score 560 or more on the American History test.

You should get all the details from the website of the particular college that you wish to join. Sometimes these subject tests can be substituted by the ACT exam with Writing. Moreover, you may find that the testing requirements are different for homeschooled students.

You can visit the College Board site to know the schools for which these tests are necessary for getting admissions. Some colleges follow a test-flexible policy and consider these subject tests, AP, or IB in place of the ACT and SAT exams.

Requirements of the SAT Subject Tests in Some Colleges

• Brown University (2025 onwards not recommended)
             
• Cooper Union (results of the test taken by engineering applicants for science and math subjects are needed)
             
• Cornell University (the results of the test are not necessary for admission cycles of 2020, 2021 for engineering students)
             
• New York University (three of these tests are necessary, students can take the ACT, AP, IB, or SAT instead of them)
             
• Dartmouth College (optional, if students want to submit the test results, they can do so)
             
• Harvard University (recommends two tests)
             
• Notre Dame (Indiana) (three of these tests required for homeschooled students)
             
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2021 onward not required)
             
• Duke University (these tests are not necessary)
             
• Princeton University (tests are not required but recommended)
             
• Harvey Mudd College (2021 onward not required)
             
• George Washington University (tests are required only for B.A./M.D. program)
             
• Carnegie Mellon University (2021 onwards dropped)
             
• California Institute of Technology (2021 onwards dropped)
  
  

Conclusion

The number of schools and universities that require these tests is decreasing every year. More and more colleges are giving up these tests because of the pandemic. Even though these subject tests are not compulsory, the college applications of students who score well on them are more impressive than other students. These tests have special significance for the students who have acquired their education through homeschooling to demonstrate that they are ready for college.

One drawback of these tests is that they are expensive. Students need to take several tests and send the scores to nearly a dozen colleges. They have to pay many hundreds of dollars for this.