What “Test Optional” Really Means for College Applications
Originally written March 2021
As with most industries in 2020, the college planning industry was altered in many ways. The most significant change in 2020 was the nationwide use of the following term:
Test Optional
What does "test optional" mean and how does this ultimately affect you and your child? I’ll dive into it in the blog below.
In order to properly educate you, the parent, on what "test optional" really means, we’ll need to first bring you back to a non-pandemic world. So we’ll dive all the way back to the year of 2019…
In the year 2019, Tom Brady was still a New England Patriot...and there were only a handful of truly "test optional" schools throughout the United States. The reason for this is, while there is a growing trend for schools to accept applicants without test scores, the vast majority--and nearly all of the top 25 schools in the country--recognize test scores as one of the few universal data points in college admissions. It is for this reason that we personally believe standardized testing will never be completely eliminated in the United States. In a subjective college admissions world, it is one of the few objective data points that exist. I’m not saying this is right nor wrong to place such emphasis on this data point, but we don’t see a better way, particularly when college admissions competition is so steep.
Now...in 2019 the schools offering "test optional admissions" meant they would take your test scores into account if submitted, but if not submitted, it would not count against you.
Before we get into why this definition is important, let’s look at the hierarchy of admissions in terms of characteristics of a high school student:
High school grades and the academic rigor of courses taken: This is far and away the most important characteristic in college admissions.
Standardized test scores: ACT or SAT scores
College essay
"Your story" aka extracurriculars, leadership opps, who you are, ability to display a well-thought out story in your application etc. etc.
Demonstrated interest, legacy & other qualities of similar nature
So, if you, the high school student, choose not to submit your standardized test scores, all it does is reduce the number of data points...and increase the importance of the remainder. Your specific college admissions file would look like this:
High school grades and the academic rigor of courses taken
College essay
Your story
Demonstrated interest, legacy etc.
Now that you have an understanding of test optional and how it works, let’s move forward to the life-changing year of 2020.
2020 and how it changed college admissions
I’ll cut right to the chase here. Standardized testing was canceled around the country. In some counties, it was canceled for up to a year straight. While some students drove 12+ hours to find testing sites, others simply succumbed to the inevitable: they weren’t going to be able to take the SAT or ACT.
Colleges adapted and, in an unprecedented announcement, 100% of colleges across The United States went temporarily test-optional.
Yes, even the most prestigious schools in the country (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford) all went test-optional for the first time ever. This provided some students, who may have otherwise performed below Ivy-League level on standardized testing, the opportunity to apply and, perhaps, get admitted.
Our recommendation in 2024 & beyond
Parents often ask us how to best help their child tackle standardized testing, particularly if they think their child might not score tremendously. Here’s our recommendation, in order: Have your child take both the ACT & SAT once, blind, or nearly blind: "Whatt!!!, You mean don’t have them study at all??" Yes, that is exactly what we mean. The majority of students have a strong preference for one test or the other. There is no need to study for, and take both. After their first rounds, compare scores and then go "all-in" on one of them.
After going all-in and after your child studies for, and takes the test minimum 2 times, reassess. Every year we have several students who, after putting in serious effort, decide standardized testing will hurt their application. And guess what? That’s fine! If you come to that conclusion and are fine only applying to test-optional schools, embrace it. You are done with standardized testing. Don’t submit your scores. Focus now on the other components of your application. If your top schools are all test-mandatory, keep working for the scores you need (and if you need tutoring, as always, Tigerway Prep is our recommendation).
Use Naviance or Niche.com (the scattergram feature) to assess where your test score falls with particular schools: For some students, taking the test twice might be enough if you’ve already passed the 75% mark for your dream school. For others, you may need to take it several times to get a score that puts you in the ballpark for admission at your top schools
We hope this overview of "test-optional" was helpful. It was a somewhat confusing topic pre-covid and a worldwide pandemic only exacerbated the confusion....and now, in 2024, we're still seeing ramifications as schools grapple with their testing policies (recently, several Ivy-league schools have decided to go back to test mandatory for the next admissions cycle. It's an ever-evolving component to college admissions!)
If you have any additional questions on the topic, feel free to reach out!
And if you think your child could benefit from a streamlined college planning process, one that includes standardized test organization, college essay planning, school list development, finding the right fit college for your child and much more click here to see if and how we can help (or pass the link along to your fellow parent that might be able to use it)!
To your college planning success,
Jack Delehey
Founder, CollegeConsulting.us
P.S. - Have a high-performing high schooler w/ a 3.7 GPA or higher? We'll help get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges...and if we don't get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges, you don't pay us a penny. Seriously! You can learn more about our world renowned all-inclusive, start-to-finish college coaching here and to see if your family qualifies for an introductory call.
P.P.S - Our most common question is "When should we start?!" The answer is, if you truly care about giving your high schooler the best chance of college planning success, you should start NOW. 9th grade is not too early to start! 10th grade is certainly not too early to start! And 11th grade is far, far too late! (supporting data here to show just how much of an advantage you give your child by starting the process early).
