To Submit or Not To Submit - Test-Optional Admissions Guidance

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora

Overview of test-optional college admissions and how applicants should interpret SAT and ACT policies during 2020 and the COVID-19 period. Covers key decisions such as whether to submit scores, how colleges still use standardized testing to predict student success, and what “test optional” does not mean. Includes statistics on how many students submit SAT/ACT at specific schools, discusses regional variation, and notes how test-blind practices remain rare with examples from COVID-related experiments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages45

Reading Time1 h 53 min

AccessFree to download

Test Optional extravaganza

What to do with SAT and ACT scores

Thinking about quartiles and GPA

Test Optional Does Not Mean Test Blind

How colleges still consider test results

Data on score submission rates

Test Blind is still very rare

COVID-related test-blind experiments

To Submit or Not To Submit, that is the question Jed Applerouth PhD Educational Psychology Key topics • Test Optional extravaganza • What to do with SAT and ACT scores • Thinking about quartiles, GPA, the whole application • What to do with SAT Subject Tests applerouth 2 Test Optional = Multiple Choices for Students ACT or SAT… Required for Admission Required for Scholarship Early without Scores Pick a Lane Defer and Then Send 3 applerouth 3 1665 + 4-year colleges and Universities are now test optional for 2020 applerouth 4 COVID 19 fuels the Test Optional movement • Among U.S. News and World Report’s top 100 ranked liberal arts colleges, 95%+ have now gone testoptional for fall 2021 admissions • 60%+ of top Research Universities are now test optional for this admissions cycle • 60+ of the top 100 national universities are now test optional for this admissions cycle . • More than two-thirds of 4-year colleges and universities in the US will not require testing in 2020 [https://www.fairtest.org/more-half-all-us-fouryears-colleges-and-universiti](https://www.fairtest.org/more-half-all-us-fouryears-colleges-and-universiti) applerouth 5 Test Optional Does Not Mean Test Blind • At most colleges that practice test optional admissions, the majority of admitted students still submit test scores – and strong ones, at that • Colleges still consider results from standardized tests among the factors that help predict student success in college • With P/F and All As abounding this spring, strong test results can help students stand out applerouth 6 Test Optional does not mean test blind. Majority submit scores | School | % submitting SAT | % submitting ACT | | --- | --- | --- | | Wake Forest | 38% | 54% | | American | 49% | 39% | | George Mason | 70% | 13% | | Worcester Poly | 80% | 30% | | Brandeis | 44% | 44% | | Smith | 50% | 36% | | Wesleyan | 49% | 57% | | St. Johns, MD | 81% | 17% | | Bowdoin | 53% | 52% | | Bates | 41% | 37% | Bill Hiss’s Defining Access Study found that roughly 25% of students do not submit scores from his sample of 28 colleges and Universities . applerouth 7 In a pandemic year, submitters will be down • Rick Clark, GA Tech, said their office had received some 70% of applications without a test score • The Chronicle of Higher Ed reports that a study of 42,000 applications at 57 test-optional schools found that 45% of students have submitted test scores this year. • This will not be a normal year with 10-20% of students not submitting scores . • Different geographic regions will have different rates of score submission applerouth 8 Test Blind is still very rare • Very few schools do not consider testing for admissions . • Sarah Lawrence went test blind from 2007-2012 and then returned to test-optional • Refusing to look at any test scores can deprive an admissions office of important information for certain students applerouth 9 Test Blind experiments resulting from COVID | 1 year Test Blind | 2 year Test Blind | Permanent Test Blind | | --- | --- | --- | | California State University system | Cal. Tech | Loyola U. New Orleans | | City University of New York system | | Northern Ill. U | | Dickinson College | | Northern Mich. U | | Idaho public universities | | Catholic University | | Reed College | | | | Saint Xavier University | | | | University of California system (back in place) | | | | Washington St. University | | | applerouth 10

FAQs

Does “test optional” mean students can skip SAT/ACT scores entirely?

No. Many applicants at test-optional colleges still submit scores, and colleges often use standardized tests as one factor for predicting student success.

How do score submission rates vary among test-optional schools?

Submission rates differ widely by school and by test type, with some schools showing much higher SAT or ACT submission than others. Data in the deck lists examples with corresponding percentages.

Is “test blind” common among U.S. colleges?

Test blind remains rare. The deck notes that very few schools refuse to consider testing and cites examples like Sarah Lawrence’s temporary shift and COVID-related experiments at certain institutions.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora