This topic has been discussed many times before including:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2027962-sat-subject-tests-are-not-truly-optional-for-middle-upper-middle-class-applicants-at-elite-colleges-p1.html
While Subject Tests are “recommended,” my belief is the reason many schools have switched to “recommended” is that some applicants from a lower socioeconomic status (SES) can’t afford more tests and/or the applicants attend a HS where no students apply to colleges where Subject Tests are requested, and therefore, may not have received the best advice from a GC.
If that does not apply to you, I am of the opinion that colleges at the top tier who request Subject Tests are expecting them from all other applicants. Although everyone will have a story about someone who was admitted without Subject Tests, my view in these cases is that there was probably more to the story (e.g. seriously hooked or lower SES).
For the schools that the Subject Tests are “recommended,” particularly those with very low acceptance rates, I am at a loss why an applicant would not want to submit as strong an application as possible. Now if the OP took Subjects Tests and had scores that were not ideal, then maybe we can have a discussion about the best course of action. But it seems to me that the OP does not even want to attempt Subject Tests.
Subject Tests are “recommended” at Georgetown. From their websight “It is strongly recommended that all candidates, whether they have taken the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT, submit three SAT Subject Tests scores.”
https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation
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That’s a different issue: Georgetown is one of the few schools that requires all scores from all testings to be sent.
Yes, but I would make the comment that at some point, the applicant needs to own the process. Some applicants might be the first person in the family to apply to colleges and be struggling to figure out how to find information. Those are the ones that colleges are targeting by making the tests optional, not the student that knows that s/he should take the Subject Tests but would rather not.