Yes, I understand your perspective and I read the article - but take, for example, a BU - the average ACT is 34 yet only 42% of the class of 25 submitted scores.
That 42% also includes URMs. The other 58% will also include URMs.
The OP has decided to submit - and I respect that. My daughter submitted her 32 to schools I did not think she should have - but she was proud of her score, and there’s nothing wrong wth that. She got turned down at Rice and UNC OOOS and WL at Emory and William and Mary with that 32 - coming off the WL at neither. And frankly, had she not submitted the 32, the decisions likely would have been the same.
Short of AU, the OP will be at the 25% or below at each and every school. If everyone feels that’s ok for a URM student, and perhaps it is, then it’s basically telling anyone who is not a URM that they shouldn’t submit it. The fact that at top schools - like Wesleyan and BU - such a huge percentage of the class is applying TO is interesting and it does show you the schools are willing to look at the candidates portfolio in total. On the other hand, if 58% of the entering class at BU went in TO, why is that a bad strategy to apply if you are below the average. Again, many URMs would be in that group as well as non-URMs - and it’s clear, outside the test scores, the students portfolio is very good. in school work and exceptional outside the classroom.
Most social science programs today have a research and quantitative component - very different than when I had a social science major. And the math score will matter.
Anyway, the OP has decided to submit tests and that’s wonderful - it’s a choice he made. You all seem to agree - and that’s fair. Perhaps my perspective is off. And it’s only the OPs that matters - and congrats to him for making the choice.
The good news is - he really wants to be in DC or NY and if the $$ work out, American (but you have to demonstrate interest) and Fordham are highly likely. With AU, the Frederick Douglas scholarship, given his contributions outside of school, is a possibility. I mean, several students are going to win - so why not Benjamin??