Understanding Test Optional and Test Blind Admissions (Part 1 of 2)
Welcome! Reviewing some of the questions we have been receiving, many potential college applicants are asking about a recent trend in college applications related to standardized testing.
Many colleges and universities are going test optional or “test blind” when it comes to standardized testing. This trend is leaving many confused with whether to take the SAT and ACTs and if they do, whether to have the scores submitted to colleges and universities, or how they will even be viewed.
The bottom line is: there is not a lot of empirical data here, and many colleges and universities are still trying to figure out how to actually evaluate an applicant without the SAT/ACT. The most important thing you can do as a parent/applicant is to know when YOU should submit the SAT/ACT and when YOU should not.
To help, we will try to provide an overview on what this trend is and how it impacts your college applications.
Part 1: What are test-optional and test blind colleges?
Let’s start with the basics. When a school says that it is “test optional,” it means that the college or university does not require the SAT or ACT for the purposes of admission, but you can submit the SAT or ACT if you choose as a part of your application.
From an admissions standpoint, a student who chooses to submit the SAT or ACT will have it considered as a part of their total application.
A “test blind” university is a college that will not accept the SAT or ACT, and even if they do, it will not be considered as a part of the application process. At this point, there are very few colleges that are truly test blind. Outside of the University of California system, most colleges that have some optionality for standardized testing will be test-optional.
Beyond that distinction, there is specific nuance in the admissions process, specifically for test optional universities. “True” testing optional universities will not require the SAT or ACT for admission to any program or scholarship consideration. But not all colleges follow this model, so it is important to do your research before applying. For example, a university may be test optional, but require the SAT if you apply to a specific program or major (e.g., nursing program).
With the basics out of the way, let’s dive into the questions that matter.
Part 2: Is this trend here to stay?
First, a brief history. The trend in making standardized testing optional began about 20 years ago. There are several criticisms of standardized testing, namely:
The exams are not accurate measures of intelligence or predictors of collegiate success - they only measure how well you take the exam
The exams are biased - they are racist/classist/sexist
They do not measure academic progress
Some colleges and universities began to make a decision to pivot away from standardized testing, particularly those that were focused on diversity as a goal. In these situations, the other aspects of the student’s application would be more heavily weighted (e.g., extracurriculars, volunteer hours, etc.) if a student chose not to submit a standardized test score.
This trend was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where students were not able to take standardized exams in the same way. To accommodate the change, many colleges and universities went test optional.
Since that time, many colleges have continued to be test optional, and many are remaining that way for the foreseeable future.
Will colleges and universities continue to be test optional? Although no one knows for sure, our prediction is that many colleges and universities will being requiring the SAT and ACT again relatively soon. This is for several reasons, but the most important is due to the impact on the admissions review process.
Part 3: How do admissions treat standardized testing at test optional universities?
The simple answer: there is a lot of confusion and inconsistency in this space.
When a student submits an application, all of the data can be categorized into two buckets: quantitative data and qualitative data. In admissions, the quantitative is what gets you considered/not considered, and the qualitative and quantitative are what separate you from other applicants.
In layman’s terms, the numbers are what get you in the door. If you have a low GPA and test scores, your personal statement will almost never get you admitted alone. Traditionally, the numbers have been:
GPA / Class Rank
SAT/ACT Scores
Other Standardized Test Scores (e.g., AP Scores)
If you suddenly remove the SAT/ACT scores, it becomes harder to separate students. Imagine three students applying to college.
Student A has a 4.0 and a 1200 on the SAT
Student B has a 3.7 and a 1500 on the SAT
Student C has a 4.0 and a 1450 on the SAT
If you can see both the GPA and the SAT, you can see that Student C is probably your strongest overall student from an application standpoint. It is much easier to compare the relative strength of the applicants.
But let’s go to a test optional environment, and say that none of the students submit an SAT score. Now you have two students with 4.0 GPAs and one student with a 3.7. In that case, the 3.7 looks the weakest in comparison, but how do you separate the 4.0 GPA applicants? You would have to rely almost exclusively on the extracurriculars and qualitative aspects of the application to determine who is stronger.
That may not be as bad, but let’s go to the situation most test optional universities are facing:
Student A has a 4.0, no SAT score submitted
Student B has a 3.7, 1500 SAT score submitted
Student C has a 4.0, 1450 SAT score submitted
Now you have a challenge. How much weight do you put into the SAT scores for those who submitted it? Do you let the fact that student A did not submit an SAT score color your views because Students B and C did? Is Student B now a stronger applicant than student A because of the 1500 SAT?
This is the question that colleges are struggling with, and it is not a COVID specific issue. Even colleges that went test-optional prior to COVID have not been able to create standardized procedures or best practices that other universities can follow.
Although this may be a lot of information, the important takeaway for you is that you need to focus on what you can control and understand the best strategy you can deploy in a time of uncertainty.
In our next post, we will focus on what you can do to navigate the uncertainty and use the test optional policy to your advantage.