Test Optional Admissions

Admissions Sense: Navigating The Test Optional Landscape

Confused by all the info out there about test optional admissions? Not to worry! Here’s what we at The Best U think you need to know:

What’s the status of test optional admissions?

• Pre-pandemic admissions saw a long growing trend of colleges adopting test optional policies in recognition that standardized testing is a weak predictor of college success. Large public universities, Ivies, and some of the most selective liberal arts colleges were the holdouts on this long shift, led mainly by liberal arts institutions for well over two decades.
• With massive pandemic disruption to the availability of SAT and ACT testing, a new wave of colleges adopted test optional admissions policies. Most of these institutions have retained their policies for at least the 2021-2022 application year, and some have indicated extensions through 2023.
• This coincides with an ongoing call for colleges to examine the ways that testing creates racial and social-economic barriers to equity in admissions. The University of California system, one of the country’s largest, has eliminated any SAT or ACT scores from their process through at least 2023 because of public organizing around this issue.

How did all this impact college admissions?

• As a result of the expanded adoption of test optional policies, students responded in two ways:
• Many seized the opportunity to apply to colleges they may have perceived as out of reach based on the typical test scores of admitted applicants.
• Additionally, students, feeling unsure of their chances and best fits, applied to more colleges, on average, than they have in the past.
• Both of these factors contributed to the most highly selective colleges seeing a massive increase in applications in 2021, driving acceptance rates at these institutions to unprecedented lows.

What does the admissions data tell us about how this impacted students?

• Some institutions that adopted new test optional policies for the class of 2021 admitted students who opted to submit test scores at slightly higher rates than their peers who applied without test scores.
• This trend was magnified in programs such as business, engineering and some other STEM fields that have traditionally relied heavily on scores as a quantitative assessment of academic strength.

In 2021, a few important changes to the SAT & ACT offerings have been announced that will impact upcoming classes:

• The College Board, which administers the SAT, eliminated the SAT Essay altogether as virtually no colleges were considering it.
• They also discontinued the offering of SAT Subject Tests (formerly known as SAT IIs), which had fallen out of favor at the vast majority of colleges. Presumably the College Board seeks to bolster the relevance of AP exams which they also administer.
• The ACT recently announced that they will offer students the ability to “super score” or share only their best scores from each section with colleges. The significance of this will depend greatly on whether colleges change their policies to review only these super scores.

What do students and families need to know?

• Know that even test optional colleges may still require scores to evaluate a student’s course placement, or consider eligibility for merit scholarships and honors programs. For this reason, it makes sense for most students to take the SAT or ACT when available, and have the ability to decide what to do with their scores.
• As colleges consider applications without exam scores, know that more weight and attention will be paid to all aspects of the application, including:
• Particular attention will be paid to 11th and 12th grade course selection and grades. The senior fall program and performance will be especially important.
• Test optional schools may more closely consider the quality of the writing, recommendations, and the depth and development of activities and interests outside of the school day.
• Review the fine print on the specific policies at the institutions you apply to. Policies can include:
• Test Optional: students may opt to send scores or not and have their application considered complete.
• Test Flexible: the college requires scores, but offers a range of options for which exams can be submitted. This may include SAT, ACT, AP or IB exam scores.
• Test Blind: No scores will be considered as part of a student’s application.
• Examine the middle 50% range of accepted applicant scores at the college: generally, if your scores fall within or above this range, it may be an advantage to your application to submit them to colleges that offer the option.
• If a student is applying to a business or STEM program, carefully examine the average accepted scores. Know that admissions offices may favor applicants who submit scores, and will be particularly attentive to math scores.
• Know that you can make an individual decision for each college about whether you will report your scores. If you are submitting scores to some institutions and not others, be mindful that including the scores in the testing section of the Common Application will be visible to all application readers.

While the test optional landscape can be confusing, students and families who are attentive to the nuances of the individual student, college, and program will be well-positioned to make informed decisions that leverage these policies in the best interest of your goals.

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