HELP ME!!! Do I tell colleges this...or not?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Okay, so I’m in need of some help.

I’ve wanted to go to a really good school for a long time. I’m applying mostly to Ivies and the equivalent (Stanford, UChicago, ect.) and have the grades and SAT I scores for it. I’ve worked my ass off all of high school for this…and now it’s time to submit my applications. I don’t want this to turn into a chance me thread, so I won’t go into details.
There is one thing I don’t know what to do about- my SAT II scores are bad. Like, really bad.

I’m a slow test taker and I really DO NOT feel like they reflect my ability to succeed in a classroom. Where my SAT I out of 1600 is a 1500, my two highest SAT IIs (in Math I and Lit/Eng or whatever) are both 690.
I took Math II and got a 540, (I just couldn’t finish the test, no matter how much I prepared) and French with listening sort of as a joke and got a flat 500, which is just awful.

Some schools like Columbia don’t require or recommend that you to submit subject tests…so I’m not going to. But the other ones are so specifically worded, that I have NO IDEA what I should do.

Some places, like Stanford, say that SAT Subject tests are “optional” and can “show areas of academic strength.” Since I don’t feel like two 690s really show off a strength, I was thinking I wouldn’t submit to those types of schools.

But what about schools like Penn (dream school) that say that “students will not be at a disadvantage if they do not take SAT Subject Tests.”
I did take them…so will I be punished somehow if I took them and don’t send them. Should I sumbit two 690s, or am I better off with nothing?
Harvard says that you can choose not to sumbit them if you would “prefer that your applicaiton be considered without them.”
I know score choice is weird for different schools, but most let you choose what SAT II scores to send. If I choose to send none, can schools see that I am witholding those scores?
How bad are they really?
HELP.

Has anyone gotten in with low SAT II scores but a high SAT? Or gotten in without SAT II scores at all? I also took the ACT, but my SAT I is higher and I want to send that.

HELP PLEASE I’M FREAKING OUT.

2

I would not send those to the schools that you have mentioned unless they require them. If they do require them, then you really must send them.

Also, as an aside, I hope that you have some safeties and matches on your list.

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@suzy100 Thanks for the reply. I’ve already applied to a few safeties and have a large selection of match schools on my application list as well- they just don’t ask for subject tests so I didn’t think it was relevant to mention. I’ve been accepted with a huge scholarship to Loyola of Chicago, so if I somehow don’t get in anywhere else I’d be thrilled to attend in the fall.

4

OK, then you are in great shape. Good luck!

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690 in Math I and Lit are not bad scores. Curiously, that was the 69% mark in 2015. Not likely to hurt you; not likely to help you. I would agree that if you do not need to send them, probably best not to. Congrats on Loyola of Chicago. You’re set no matter what else happens.