To Test or Not To Test? That Is the Question.

Sorry Shakespeare, but you didn’t apply to college during a pandemic and we have priorities!

A quick pre-pandemic recap of standardized tests

The SAT and ACT were designed to predict how a student would do in their first year of college. It was sold as a (profitable) way to “level the playing field” between applicants from a wide range of high schools. Over the years research demonstrated scores more often correlate with socioeconomic status and level of parental education than actual student potential. In fact, in pre-pandemic 2019 more than 1,000 American colleges were already test-optional. That’s about half of all four-year schools in the USA. But you would not know that if you only focused on “top-ranked” colleges and universities.

The Game Changer

The 2020–21 college application season was a wild ride. In an already frenzied application process, test-optional became the norm almost overnight. It created both opportunity and immense stress. Opportunity because suddenly elite colleges were in reach for thousands of students whose test scores didn’t match their high GPAs. Stress because without test scores there was even less predictability for who would get in. It also demonstrated a lack of trust in the admission process — was “optional” REALLY acceptable or did students who had scores also have better odds? Despite assurances from Deans everywhere, some families were traveling hours and across state lines to find an open test site. Who wanted to take a chance?

In the end, there were many surprises that left college counselors like myself and applicants scratching their heads. How does a student with a GPA of 4.8, who plays a varsity sport, has a list of extracurriculars, and started a green business get waitlisted by a University of California school that usually has a 65% acceptance rate and get accepted by a UC with a 29% acceptance rate? I had another student with a 4.3 get into none of the four UCs he applied to and he wasn’t alone. Normally there is a guarantee that being in the top 9% of your high school class guarantees admission to at least ONE University of California campus. This year they suspended that rule as applications shot up by 18%. Fortunately, all my students applied to a variety of schools and all had choices, but they certainly weren’t the ones I would have predicted.

What we know data-wise at this point

I am itching to see the data about what percentage of students with test scores were admitted versus those without. I do believe colleges had honest intentions in not favoring one over the other. But will the data show that? The other question is whether or not schools will release that data. Anecdotally, Jeff Salingo a higher-ed admissions expert reported what he is hearing from his sources. These are a few of his notes from his latest newsletter you can find here:

[Jeff Salingo text in italics]

By the numbers: In general, my discussions with deans at about a dozen selective colleges over the last few weeks found that about half of their applicant pools applied without test scores.

• In every case I heard so far, students with test scores got accepted more often. In some cases, the admit rate was twice as high for students with test scores vs. those without.
• Emory: Admit rate 17% (with tests) vs. 8.6% (without tests)
• Colgate: 25% (w/tests) vs. 12% (w/o tests)
• Georgia Tech: 22% (w/tests) vs. 10% (w/o tests)
• Vanderbilt: 7.2% (w/tests) vs. 6% (w/o tests)

Bottom line: For students from the Class of 2022 who are applying to schools without a long history of test-optional admissions, it’s best to have a test score if it will help your overall case.

Next steps

While most selective colleges are still test-optional for 2021–2022 this small bit of data makes me believe that for better or worse testing isn’t dead yet. There could be logical explanations such as kids who submitted test scores are more likely to be the kids taking the ultra-competitive curriculum that gave them the edge anyway. Likely we will never know. (It does make the nerd in me consider pursuing my Ph.D. just to write a thesis about it. Did I mention I get really into this stuff?!) Regardless, I will advise my students to take a standardized test(s) and selectively submit scores if they meet or exceed the previous year’s freshman class published stats. If not, we take our chances and gamble on the “test-optional” odds.

As a friendly reminder, there are more than 2,000 four-year colleges and universities in the US alone. Whether you have a 4.8 GPA, something in the 2s range, or somewhere in between there ARE options well beyond the rankings lists. If you need help with your college search drop me a line. Let’s find the path that leads you to the person you are meant to be!