Applying to a Test-Optional College Guide | CollegeData

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College Admissions. If you want to get accepted into your dream school, you need to earn great test scores. So what does this mean for you? Just like fashion, there are trends in higher education as well. Trust us. Trends in test-optional schools are way better than But 96 out of the best schools in the entire country is a significant number, especially when you take into account that, just a few years ago, a small fraction of those schools had test optional admissions. The main motivator in the recent shift toward test optional admissions is the coronavirus pandemic.

But ACT, Inc. Many prestigious schools, such as the University of Chicago, George Mason University, and American University had already gone test optional. Based on recent research , these schools and others like them! Is it just high school grades? Is it grades and test scores? In fact, while a significant number of schools have recently gone test optional or test blind! We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world’s best admissions consulting service.

We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We’ve overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. There are a lot of terms to know when it comes to understanding a college’s testing policy. We’ll go over the important vocab below. Test optional means that you get to decide whether you submit your SAT or ACT scores as a part of your application for admission.

However, keep in mind that test optional policies can vary in meaning based on the goals of the schools that are implementing them. Test flexible schools let you decide whether to submit test scores, and if you do decide to submit test scores, you get to choose which exams to submit. You now know that the majority of the top schools in the US are currently test optional. But what does that mean for your college admissions process?

Doing this can help you decide whether to submit your test scores to test optional schools and aid you in setting goal scores for your exams. Many test optional policies come with some fine print–and you definitely need to get the full story before you decide to opt out of taking the SAT or ACT for college admissions. Putting all your eggs in one test-optional basket can be risky! Even though test optional policies are more common now than ever before, the majority of colleges and universities in the US still require standardized test scores as part of their admissions policies.

While many of the top schools in the US are currently test optional, these schools are also reach schools for most college applicants. This means that taking the SAT or ACT is the smartest choice you can make as you approach the college admissions process.

If you end up not needing your test scores, great! SAT guide that can help you jumpstart your prep process. Taking the ACT? No problem. We’ve written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.

See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. Why Schools Have Gone Test-Optional The main motivator in the recent shift toward test optional admissions is the coronavirus pandemic.

Want to build the best possible college application? Princeton University. Columbia University. Harvard University. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yale University. Stanford University.

University of Chicago. University of Pennsylvania. California Institute of Technology. Duke University. Johns Hopkins University. Northwestern University. Dartmouth College. Brown University. Vanderbilt University. Washington University in St.

Cornell University. Rice University. University of Notre Dame. University of California–Los Angeles. Emory University. University of California–Berkeley. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Carnegie Mellon University. University of Virginia. University of Southern California. New York University.

Tufts University. University of California–Santa Barbara. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Wake Forest University. University of California–San Diego. University of Rochester. Boston College. University of California–Irvine. University of California–Davis. University of Texas at Austin. William and Mary. Boston University. Brandeis University. Case Western Reserve University. Tulane University. University of Wisconsin–Madison.

University of Illinois– Urbana-Champaign.

What Colleges and Universities Will Be Test-Optional in ? – Spark Admissions – Discover your chances at hundreds of schools

 
More than 1, U.S. colleges are test-optional, meaning the college doesn’t require test scores, at least not from most students. Because many SAT and ACT. Complete List of Colleges That Are Test-Optional in ; University of Akron; Albion College; Alma College ; American University; Barry.

One moment, please – What’s Next?

First things first, what does it mean to be test optional? If you submit them, they’ll be reviewed as part of your application, but if you don’t, you won’t be at any disadvantage compared to applicants who did submit test scores. How is that possible? If you don’t submit test scores, test optional schools will simply make each of your other application components such as GPA, class rank, extracurriculars, etc.

For example, a person who submits test scores to a school would have their application evaluated in say, six categories, and one who didn’t would have their application evaluated in five categories, each worth a bit more than the six categories of the first student.

How does “test optional” differ from other testing policies? Below are brief overviews of four other common testing policies. This is the most common policy, and for a long time it was the only policy colleges had for standardized tests: you must submit ACT or SAT scores if you want your application to be considered. If you don’t submit scores from either of these exams, your application will be considered incomplete, and it won’t be reviewed. The number of test blind schools is growing; however, it’s still quite a rare policy.

As you can see, of all the testing policies, test optional is the most flexible. As recently as a few years ago, test optional schools were fairly rare.

However, there has been a major shift in the trend, and now roughly 1, colleges in the United States are test optional. What’s been the cause for this change? There are two major factors. The first is that colleges don’t want low test scores to hinder applicants who otherwise have strong applications and would be an asset to their school.

Colleges are making an effort to attract more diverse applicants, and they don’t want potential students to be held back by circumstances beyond their control. Research has shown that students from more affluent backgrounds consistently have higher SAT and ACT scores, so many schools are dropping the standardized test requirement so students from more disadvantaged backgrounds aren’t put at a further disadvantage during the college admissions process. The pandemic also accelerated this trend.

In , when many test centers closed, it became difficult or impossible for many students to take standardized tests. Therefore, many schools that previously required test scores became test optional. Most of these schools are only temporarily test optional, but a fair number of them have decided to make the change permanent after seeing how well it worked. Overall, as schools put more emphasis on admitting a broader range of students, we expect even more schools to become test optional to give applicants as many options and opportunities as possible.

So test optional seems like a nice idea, but is it really fair? If a test optional school is reviewing two similar candidates, and one has awesome test scores and the other hasn’t submitted any scores at all, they’ll choose the student with the great test scores, right? Incredulous you may be, but test optional schools really are able to fairly judge applications! It’s actually not that different from what they’ve already been doing.

Colleges are used to applicants with a wide variety of high schools, backgrounds, and experiences. They’ve had decades to hone their methods of fairly evaluating, say, a student who went to a school with a lot of AP courses, extracurriculars, and mentorship, against others who didn’t have such opportunities.

As we mentioned above, the way schools do this is by making the other components of your application worth more to make up for the test scores. However, if those areas are strong, you have just as good a shot at getting accepted as a student with a similarly strong application who did submit test scores. Is the process perfect? No, but it never can be when you have a group of people evaluating other people.

But it’s pretty close, and you can trust test optional schools when they say not submitting test scores won’t put you at a disadvantage. So what should your final decision be if you’re applying to test optional schools?

Should you submit standardized test scores or not? Your test scores might be higher than you expect, and even if they’re not, if you’re applying to a test optional school, you’re under no requirement to submit them. Taking a standardized test gives you the most options for your college applications. Second, remember what “test optional” means.

When a school says they are test optional, it means they don’t require SAT or ACT scores but will still review them if you submit them. What this all means for you is that, even for test optional schools, strong SAT or ACT scores will absolutely still help your college applications. Not submitting test scores won’t hurt your application, as these schools have stated, but it also means you lose out on a potential chance to make your application stronger. So, how to decide? Washington University in St.

Cornell University. Rice University. University of Notre Dame. University of California–Los Angeles. Emory University. University of California–Berkeley. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Carnegie Mellon University. University of Virginia. University of Southern California.

New York University. Tufts University. University of California–Santa Barbara. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Wake Forest University. University of California–San Diego.

University of Rochester. Boston College. University of California–Irvine. University of California–Davis. University of Texas at Austin. William and Mary. Boston University. Brandeis University. Case Western Reserve University. Tulane University. University of Wisconsin–Madison.

University of Illinois– Urbana-Champaign. Lehigh University. Northeastern University. Ohio State University–Columbus. Pepperdine University. Purdue University–West Lafayette. Villanova University. Rensselaer Polytechnic University. Santa Clara University. University of Miami. Syracuse University. University of Maryland–College Park. University of Pittsburgh–Pittsburgh Campus. University of Washington. George Washington University. Permanently test optional with some exceptions.

Pennsylvania State University–University Park. Rutgers University–New Brunswick. University of Connecticut. Worcester Polytechnic University. Fordham University. University of Indiana–Bloomington. Southern Methodist University. University of Massachusetts–Amherst. University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Yeshiva University. Baylor University. Test optional through Fall with some exceptions.

Clemson University. Loyola Marymount University. Virginia Tech. American University. Brigham Young University–Provo. Test optional for Spring through Winter with some exceptions. Gonzaga University. North Carolina State University. Colorado School of Mines. Elon University. Test optional indefinitely with some exceptions.

Howard University. Marquette University. Michigan State University. Stevens Institute of Technology. Texas Christian University. University of California–Riverside. University of Iowa. University of California–Merced. University of Delaware. University of Denver. University of San Diego. University of Colorado Boulder.