The Ins, Outs of Applying to Test-Optional Colleges

Olivia Rossetti was hoping to apply to colleges with strong English and social science programs, flexible curricula and admissions policies that considered her as a whole person.

When the Brookfield, Massachusetts, student visited Smith College, she was glad to find campuswide support for a test-optional admissions policy and the belief that standardized exams do not necessarily reflect a student's abilities. "I felt validated," the Smith junior says.

Welcome to the world of test-optional admissions, where applicants -- not colleges -- decide whether to supply schools with their SAT or ACT scores. Bowdoin College in Maine went test-optional in 1969, which at first created only a trickle of interest among other institutions. But now the floodgates have opened.

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"Hundreds of top-notch colleges are willing to view applicants as more than a test score," says Bob Schaeffer, public education director at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, better known as FairTest.

Research has confirmed what many schools have long suspected: Test scores do not always predict which students will excel after reaching campus. A 2014 report from two former Bates College admissions officials, William Hiss and Valerie Franks, analyzed student performance data from 33 test-optional schools and showed a difference of just five-hundredths of a point in GPA and six-tenths of one percent in graduation rates between nonsubmitters and submitters.

In the past year, more than 30 schools have dropped their testing requirements, more than in any previous year, FairTest has noted. Among them: George Washington University in D.C., Drake University in Iowa and the University of Puget Sound in Washington.

Another reason schools cited for ditching the test requirements: They can help boost racial and socioeconomic diversity on campus, a point also noted in the Hiss and Franks study.

[Get tips and advice on preparing for the SAT and ACT.]

DePaul University in Chicago went test-optional in 2012 with the aim of drawing in more applications from bright Chicago Public Schools students and others whose test scores don't necessarily reflect their potential. It worked. And when associate vice president for enrollment management Jon Boeckenstedt crunched the numbers, he found "CPS graduates with lower test scores did just as well here as CPS graduates with higher test scores."

Applicants mulling over this route can begin by checking the FairTest database, fairtest.org, for its list of some 840 accredited bachelor-degree-granting schools that are test-optional. Some only allow this choice to students who meet certain GPA or related requirements. The list includes a handful of "test-flexible" schools that allow applicants to submit other results like Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate subject test scores in place of the SAT and ACT.

How can you decide whether to send in scores? Generally, you may want to go ahead if you feel they will improve how admissions officials will rank your application in their mix. If you do some research and find that your results fall below those of the top third of accepted students at more selective schools or below the median at more inclusive institutions, you may want to hold them back, experts suggest.

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Jane H. Dane, associate vice president for enrollment management at Old Dominion University in Virginia, whose first test-optional class arrives on campus this fall, notes that applicants to ODU and elsewhere who don't submit scores will be particularly scrutinized for other evidence of potential for success, like challenging course work and leadership skills. The more well-rounded you are, the better your chances of impressing without scores.

Keep in mind that even test-optional schools may require scores to dole out their merit aid awards and decide class placement. So if a good financial aid package is important, check school policies to be sure you won't lose out by holding back.

At the very least, knowing the choice exists may ease your stress.

"We want to remove fear and frenzy from the application equation," says Martha Allman, dean of admissions at test-optional Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "We're more interested in who you really are."

This story is excerpted from the U.S. News "Best Colleges 2016" guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.