Is Test Optional Really Test Optional?

Some may argue that the only positive aspect that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was that many universities and colleges announced that they are now “test optional.” Ideally, this means that students are no longer required to submit their SAT and/or ACT scores in their applications, and that universities will consider them equally to students who did submit their standardized test scores. However, this brings up the new question, is test optional really test optional? In other words, do colleges and universities really mean that not submitting scores won’t affect students' chances of acceptance?

The idea of the test optional policy is that colleges and universities will simply disregard the existence of the standardized tests when viewing applications that don’t have test scores, and will evaluate all other portions of the application, regardless of test scores, in order to determine whether the student gets accepted or not. However, the vague nature of “test optional” looms over rising juniors and seniors who have to decide if they will take the standardized tests, and if they will then submit their scores, along with their application.

As a junior myself, I decided to investigate how test optional test optional is. To do this, I looked at a variety of schools that were ranked in the top 100 schools nationwide. For the entirety of my research, I focused on applicants and data from the 2021-2022 school year applications. I first looked at the top schools nationally, according to US News. Unsurprisingly, Princeton University (ranked #1 nationally) and Johns Hopkins University (ranked #7 nationally), still require test scores for applicants. This makes sense, because the schools have such selective acceptance rates with 4% and 8% respectively, so the admissions officers have to find ways to determine which applicants are the most appropriate for their school. Standardized tests, which are a whole other topic of conversation, ultimately are another way to determine which applicants are most intellectually ready for the rigor of the university, and a way to classify people based on test results.

However, Harvard University, which is ranked #3 nationally, was test optional during the 2021-2022 school year. Out of 57,786 applicants, only 2,311 were admitted and ultimately 1,942 enrolled, meaning their acceptance rate was around 4%, similar to Princeton University. And when looking at reported statistics of the accepted students that year, 85% of enrolled students had submitted SAT or ACT scores. On the surface, this seemingly indicates that, at least in Harvard’s case, test scores had somewhat of an influence on the admissions process. However, it is significant to note that an emerging pattern is that schools will either report what percent of enrolled students submitted test scores, or the percentage of people that applied that had submitted test scores. Essentially, in order to clearly determine whether schools are truly test optional, one would have to look at what percentage of applicants submitted scores, and then what percentage of people submitted had test scores versus those who were rejected with test scores, or admitted without test scores. For instance, if 50% of applicants submitted test scores, and 50% did not, and then 50% of enrolled students had submitted test scores, it would be reasonable to assume that that particular school indeed was truly test optional, and not submitted scores did not affect admissions. So, without all the pieces of information, it can not be truly determined whether a school is truly test optional, but we can infer from the percentage of enrolled students who had submitted test scores, and come to reasonable conclusions and assumptions.

Additionally, it is quite common that when potential students research average test scores of a test optional school, the results tend to be unspecific, and students forget to take into account that only the “good” scores are being submitted. This approach skews the results to seem as though the school is more selective than it really is, and may dishearten students from applying or sending in scores.

It is also important to note that as the competitiveness of admissions lowers, the school may not be as picky with their applicants, and therefore test scores may not be as important, if the rest of one's application is well rounded and impressive. For example, University of New York, which is ranked #25 in the country, still a very respected and well known university, has an acceptance rate of around 23%. They reported that only 32% of their enrolled students had submitted an ACT or SAT score. This pattern is on par with other highly ranked universities such as Boston College (#36 nationally), which reported that 67% of admitted students had submitted standardized test scores, and Northeastern University (#44 nationally), which reported that 42% of enrolled students had submitted test scores. Although there is not sufficient evidence supporting whether or not schools are truly test optional, it is interesting and important to note that highly ranked universities, in general, are reporting that less than half of their enrolled students had submitted standardized test scores. Perhaps this is because of the fact that so many universities have gone test optional, and students no longer feel the need to submit their scores unless they are perfect, and perhaps it is because the percentage of those admitted with scores, was the equivalent to the number of students that had submitted scores. In other words, perhaps 30% of students that applied for admission had submitted scores, and 30% of enrolled students had scores, meaning that 100% of people that submitted their application with a test score, were accepted. Once again, it is impossible to determine whether schools are truly test optional without knowing what percent of applicants had submitted their scores.

Either way, one thing is for certain: there is an all time high of enrollment without standardized testing scores. What used to be the norm has now become an option, and schools nationwide are accepting applications without test scores. Does this mean that you should still take the tests? I think yes, because it can’t hurt to try, and if you are unable to get a good score or a score that you are happy with, it is good to know that you don’t have to submit it, and still have a chance at getting accepted to a good college. This information can hopefully ease the minds of those with test anxiety or general anxiety about submitting test scores, since the pattern seems to be that students are in fact being admitted without test scores, and that test optional may in fact be, test optional.