Should DS take more SAT subject tests?

[nextstepcollege]

@gardenstategal

Typically, "recommended " means required unless you have a compelling reason for not submitting. (And this may relate to being in a targeted population.) So yes, they probably want them. Can you not submit? Sure. I would say this is a strategy that might work if your kid is in the relatively small group that simply need nothing wrong with their applications (like children a major donors or highly recruited athletes. ) That group is “in” as long as they don’t trigger a no from admissions and, unfortunately, isn’t most of us.

There are schools that don’t require subject tests with the ACT so that path is an option at those but you will need to go through your list school by school to see if/where that applies. The ACT is, imo, an easier test to improve on if you invest the time in figuring out how to work quickly. So if your S did not prep a lot, pulling that score up for those schools is possible and could help. But if he’s burnt out and not up for that, I would simply adjust expectations accordingly. He will certainly have good options with what he has, including his music, just perhaps not a pile of tippy tops. At some level, he’s telling you he really doesn’t feel like killing himself to feed that kind of ambition. Nothing wrong with that so long as he’s not delusional about it.

Thank you! I am super proud of how well he has done throughout this process and, to be honest, never cared or encouraged him to apply to the Ivy League schools. He did want to visit Cornell, so we took him there. I just want him to have options and really envision him thriving at a small liberal arts college. His Dad pushed him to apply to the Ivies. I continually questioned DS while he was working on his applications and supplements this summer, reassuring him that it was entirely okay if this was not what he wanted to do. He told me: “Mom, I want to at least try and give it all I can. I’d rather try and fail, then not try at all”. He has done that, and then some, but he’s definitely reached the burnt out phase. I’m trying to listen to those subtle unspoken cues. Right now, those cues are telling me he’s had enough. That said, I’m very grateful to the candid responses from everyone, because I intend to share it with him and let him make the final decision. His Lit score is really bad and would likely hurt his applications (less than 600). So, he will need to decide if he wants to retake, and chose different subject tests, possibly improve his ACT, or simply be done.