#test-optional

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Over 80 colleges and universities have announced some sort of test-optional policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some schools have decided to permanently move to test-optional while others are temporarily going test-optional for the 2020-2021 application season. Also, many schools will still require testing as long as testing will be offered.

In order to learn which schools are going test-optional, check out the list at Fairtest.org.

Test-optional can be a great option for many students and we wish that all schools would stop requiring testing. However, before you decide to go test-optional, please make sure you understand the full testing policy of each school on your college list. They may have specific criteria that they require for test-optional students. Some schools will require additional essays or other requirements when you go test-optional.

Also, some college and private scholarships will still require test scores. Make sure that you are researching the scholarship requirements of each college on your college list as well as what private scholarships are going to want from you.

If you are not submitting test scores, then colleges will place more emphasis on other parts of your application. There will be more focus on your grades, the rigor of your courses, your letters of recommendation, your essays, etc. Cornell University recently posted a good explanation of the evaluation process for test-optional applicants.

We are here to help if you have questions about going test-optional and how to proceed. You can connect with us at thebestu.net.

College Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Today in You Get What You Measure: Going ‘test-optional’ lets colleges reject more applicants, increase selectivity

Allowing students to choose whether to submit SAT and ACT scores boosts U.S. News & World Report rankings two ways: 1) Only those with the highest scores will submit them, raising the institution’s average score; 2) More students will apply, decreasing the percentage accepted and increasing the selectivity ranking. Clever.   When George Washington University announced last month that it was…

A recent article from NPR provides evidence that standardized test scores are NOT an accurate indicator of potential student success in college.

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/18/277059528/college-applicants-sweat-the-sats-perhaps-they-shouldn-t

Marlboro is test-optional. Check out our website for more information!

The University of Rochester has announced that starting immediately they will be using a "test flexible approach" in undergraduate admissions.