Importance of SAT Subject Tests

Put yourself in the place of an admissions officer. It is your job to select the most qualified students, and to deny many qualified students as well. To best illustrate this example, let's say you are evaluating two students, John and Mary. John and Mary have comparable GPAs, SATs, and Extracurricular Activities. As you peruse John's and Mary's applications, you notice that both students earned A's in all science and math courses, but John scored significantly lower on his SAT Math and Science Subject Tests. As a knowledgeable admissions officer, you start to question the rigor of John's classes, and consequently admit Mary.

Important Information:
December 6th is the last date to take the SAT or SAT Subject Tests and still be able to submit your test scores to University of California schools.
When should you start planning for college?
If you are serious about landing a coveted offer from a highly selective college, you should start to seriously plan in 9th grade. By selective I am not only talking about Harvard and Stanford; I am talking about UCSB and Cal Poly- the safety schools of the last millennium.

What are colleges looking for?
While there is no formula that will guarantee you a spot at highly selective institutions, Colleges look for students who demonstrate Initiative and Passion. What does this mean? Find an activity that you enjoy and develop it over your four years of high school. Signing up for every club available at school, playing two varsity sports, and volunteering at Habitat for Humanity is great; however, you become indistinguishable from other applicants. The student who plays four years of golf at his high school, and establishes an annual charity golf tournament to raise money to purchase golf equipment for underprivileged children is on the right track.